Vietnam veteran George Washington Hayduke III returns home to the desert only to find his beloved canyons and rivers now threatened by industrial development. Joining forces with Bronx exile and feminist saboteur Bonnie Abzug, wilderness guide and social outcast Mormon Seldom Seen Smith, and libertarian billboard torcher Doc Sarvis, M.D., Hayduke is ready to fight the power and take on the strip miners, clear cutters, as well as the highway, dam, and bridge builders who are threatening to destroy the natural habitat.
With the Monkey Wrench Gang newly formed, the team sets out to destroy eyesores and protect their environment’s natural beauty. This wildly funny and infinitely wise novel is among Abbey’s most famous works of fiction. It was, in fact, so influential that the term “monkey wrench” became a blanket term for any activity performed in the name of environmental preservation.