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Wilfred Thesiger was born in Addis Ababa in 1910 and educated at Eton and Oxford. Though British, he was repulsed by the softness and rigidity of Western life, "the machines, the calling cards, the meticulously aligned streets, etc." In the spirit of T.E. Lawrence, Thesiger spent five years exploring and wandering the deserts of Arabia. With vivid descriptions and colourful anecdotes he narrates his stories, including two crossings of the Empty Quarter, among peoples who had never seen a European and considered it their duty to kill Christian infidels.
About the Author
Sir Wilfred Patrick Thesiger (1910-2003) was a British travel writer born in Addis Ababa in Abyssinia (now Ethiopia). Thesiger is best known for two travel books: Arabian Sands (1959), which recounts his travels in the Empty Quarter of Arabia between 1945 and 1950 and describes the vanishing way of life of the Bedouins, and The Marsh Arabs (1964), an account of the traditional peoples who lived in the marshlands of southern Iraq.
"Following worthily in the tradition of Burton, Lawrence, Philby and Thomas, ["Arabian Sands"] is, very likely, the book about Arabia to end all books about Arabia."
-"The Daily Telegraph", London
"The narrative is vividly written, with a thousand little anecdotes and touches which bring back to any who have seen these countries every scene with the colour of real life."
-"The Sunday Times", London
| Abyssinia and the Sudan | p. 17 |
| Prelude in Dhaufar | p. 39 |
| The Sands of Ghanim | p. 54 |
| Secret Preparations at Salala | p. 75 |
| The Approach to the Empty Quarter | p. 100 |
| On the Edge of the Empty Quarter | p. 116 |
| The First Crossing of the Empty Quarter | p. 134 |
| Return to Salala | p. 155 |
| From Salala to Mukalla | p. 181 |
| Preparations for a Second Crossing | p. 203 |
| The Second Crossing of the Empty Quarter | p. 222 |
| From Sulaiyil to Abu Dhabi | p. 242 |
| The Trucial Coast | p. 263 |
| A Holiday in Buraimi | p. 280 |
| The Quicksands of Umm al Samim | p. 296 |
| The Wahiba Sands | p. 306 |
| The Closing Door | p. 319 |
| Arabic and Botanical Names of Plants Mentioned in the Book | p. 331 |
| A List of the Chief Characters on the Various Journeys | p. 332 |
| Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved. |
ISBN: 9780141442075
ISBN-10: 0141442077
Series: Penguin Classics
Audience:
General
For Ages: 18+ years old
Format:
Paperback
Language:
English
Number Of Pages: 368
Published: 4th January 2008
Dimensions (cm): 19.8 x 12.9
x 2.2
Weight (kg): 0.293
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