"If wilderness is outlawed,
only outlaws can save wilderness.” Edward Abbey
In a collection of
gripping stories of adventure, Doug Peacock, loner, iconoclast,
environmentalist, and contemporary of Edward Abbey, reflects on a life lived in
the wild, asking the question many ask in their twilight years: "Was It Worth
It?”
Recounting sojourns
with Abbey, but also Peter Matthiessen, Doug Tompkins, Jim Harrison, Yvon
Chouinard and others, Peacock observes that what he calls "solitary walks” were
the greatest currency he and his buddies ever shared. He asserts that "solitude
is the deepest well I have encountered in this life,” and the introspection it
affords has made him who he is: a lifelong protector of the wilderness and its
many awe-inspiring inhabitants.
With adventures both
close to home (grizzlies in Yellowstone and jaguars in the high Sonoran Desert)
and farther afield (tigers in Siberia, jaguars again in Belize, spirit bears in
the wilds of British Columbia, all the amazing birds of the Galapagos), Peacock
acknowledges that Covid 19 has put "everyone's mortality in the lens now and
it's not necessarily a telephoto shot.” Peacock recounts these adventures to
try to understand and explain his perspective on Nature: That wilderness is the
only thing left worth saving.
In the tradition of
Peacock's many best-selling books, Was It Worth It? is both
entertaining and thought provoking. It challenges any reader to make certain
that the answer to the question for their own life is "Yes!”
