1950s action action-packed activism adrenaline adrenaline-fueled adrenaline-rush adventure aerial aerial-combat aerial-maneuvers aerial-warfare air-combat air-force aircraft airplanes ambition american-literature american-southwest american-west anarchism anarchy arches-national-park arid arizona atmospheric aviation aviators beautiful-prose beauty betrayal bravery brotherhood camaraderie character-driven character-study colorado-plateau colorado-river combat coming-of-age competition comradeship conflict conservation courage danger dangerous-missions death desert desert-ecology desert-exploration desert-flora desert-flora-and-fauna desert-landscape desert-landscapes desert-life desertification destiny determination drama duty ecological-balance ecology emotional endurance environment environmental-activism environmental-ethics environmental-philosophy environmental-writing environmentalism environmentalist escapism excitement exhilarating exhilaration existential existentialism exploration fate fear fiction fighter-jets fighter-pilots fighter-planes flying friendship grief gripping heroism hiking honor hunters hunting intense intensity introspection introspective james james-salter korean-war landscape landscapes literary literary-fiction literature loss love love-affairs love-for-nature love-of-nature love-triangle loyalty masculinity meditation memoir military military-fiction moab morality mortality national-park national-parks natural-beauty naturalist nature nature-writing non-fiction nonfiction novel obsession outdoor outdoor-adventure outdoor-exploration outdoor-life outdoor-literature outdoor-living outdoor-writing park-ranger passion perseverance personal-growth personal-journey personal-narrative personal-reflection philosophical philosophy pilot pilots post-war power-dynamics preservation psychological pursuit redemption reflection reflections relationships resilience risk risk-taking rivalries rivalry romance sacrifice salter self-discovery solitaire solitude southwest southwest-literature southwest-united-states spirituality squadron strategy struggle survival suspense suspenseful sustainability teamwork tension the-hunters thrill thrill-seeking thriller thrilling tragedy trauma triumph utah victory vietnam vietnam-war vivid-imagery war wilderness wilderness-preservation wildlife world-war-ii