Was It Worth It?: A Wilderness Warrior's Long Trail Home - Hardcover

by Doug Peacock (Author)

"This passionate work is a welcome and worthy addition to the growing canon of environmental literature." --Publishers Weekly Starred Review

"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.

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!"

Author Biography

Author, Vietnam veteran, filmmaker and naturalist Doug Peacock has published widely on wilderness issues: from grizzly bears to buffalo, from the Sierra Madres of the Sonoran Desert to the fjords of British Columbia, from the tigers of Siberia to the blue sheep of Nepal. Peacock was a Green Beret medic and the real-life model for Edward Abbey's George Washington Hayduke in The Monkey Wrench Gang. Peacock was granted an Arts and Letters Award in Literature from the Academy of Arts and Letters in 2022.