Your Assignment: Edward Abbey AND Colin Fletcher in the Anthology (pp. 145 - 156)
GI Generation. Colin Fletcher is from the GI Generation. Colin Fletch is originally from Great Britain, but we'll look at this generation from an American perspective:
Basics
Born between 1900 – 1924
Civic Type
Youth
1902 Wright Brothers – First Flight
1914-18 World War I
Rising Adults
1927 Charles Lindbergh – Transatlantic Flight
1929 Stock Market Crash & Depression
1932 Roosevelt Elected / New Deal
Adults & Midlife
1941 Pearl Harbor – World War II
1945 European War Ends
1950's Cold War & McCarthy Hearings
1961 Kennedy Elected
1965 Johnson's Great Society
1969 Apollo 11 – Moon Landing
Elders
1981 Ronald Reagan Elected
1989 Spread of Democracy in Eastern Europe
Summary
- Youth: Early members of this generation had Missionary parents which were very protective (since the Lost generation was so wild). They went on to be optimistic and confident.
- Rising Adults: When the Great Depression came, they said: "We can beat this thing" and supported FDR and the New Deal.
- Adults: They were soldiers of World War II. Worked as team to win the war.
- Adults & Midlife: Built the US into a world power. Viewed the Lost Generation as tired, old and defeatist.
- Elders: Took advantage of Social Security.
Except for some visionaries (who inspired
the Boomer Generation), they were not particularly environmentally minded.
Colin Fletcher
1922 – 2007
GI Generation
- Born in Wales
- Commando for British Royal Marines and landed in Normandy on D-day
- After the war, he managed a farm in Kenya
- He had a brief, failed marriage
- In 1958 before a second marriage, he hiked the length of California. The second marriage failed as well.
- In 1964, he published The Thousand Mile Summer, a book about his California walk.
- Walked the Grand Canyon in 1963
- The Man Who Walked
Through Time, the narrative of his Grand Canyon trek, was published in 1968
- Also pubished in 1968 was The Complete Walker which has become the best selling hiking book of all time.
- During his lifetime, he published 10 books.
The following shows Fletcher's 1963 route. . .
Silent Generation
Edward Abbey is from the Silent Generation:
Basics
Born between 1925 – 1942
Adaptive Type
Youth
1927 Charles Lindbergh – Transatlantic Flight
1929 Stock Market Crash & Depression
1932 Roosevelt Elected / New Deal
1941 Pearl Harbor – World War II
Rising Adults
1950's Cold War & McCarthy Hearings
1957 Spudnik. Rock & Roll. Beat Movement.
1961 John Kennedy becomes President
Adults & Midlife
1969 Apollo 11 – Moon Landing
1974 Watergate Scandal
1981 Ronald Reagan Elected
1989 Exxon Valdez Spill
Elders
1993 Exponential Growth of Internet
2001 September 11th terrorist attacks;
Summary
- First Generation primarily born in hospitals
- Overprotected as youth
- Missed World War II
- Enjoyed post-war prosperity
- Settled into a conformist mood
- Only 2% wanted their own business
- Produced no presidents
- A few cohorts became beatniks
(What? Why me worry?)
- They did produce some environmental leaders
- Deferred national problems rather than
solved them
- Conservative elders
Edward Abbey
1927 – 1989
Silent Generation
- Grew up in Pennsylvania
- In 1944 went west. Fell in love with the desert Southwest
- Drafted into military and served as military police in Italy
- Obtain a philosophy degree and taught at the University of New Mexico
- Published first novel (Jonathon Troy) in 1954.
- Published a second novel Brave Cowboy in 1956. Subsequently made into a movie.
- From 1956-57 served as a seasonal ranger at Arches National Monument
- In 1968 published Desert Solitaire based largely (and loosely) on his experiences while at Arches National Monument. The book became his most popular work.
- Monkey Wrench Gang published in 1975
- Married 5 times
- Buried in the desert in an unknown location
In our reading from the "Havasu" chapter in Desert Solitaire, Edward Abbey spends time in the Havasupai Indian village of Supia, shown on the map below:
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