About this title: The author recounts his travels in the Empty Quarter of Arabia between 1945 and 1950, and describes the vanishing way of life of the Bedouins.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Penguin
Date Published: reprinted with 2nd preface,
ISBN-13:9780140095142ISBN:0140095144
Description: Very Good-soft cover. 12mo, soft covers, 347pp, illus. edgewear, scratches, corners wearing, crease marks, cover. top of book bent at corners. yellowing, clean, tight, text. black marker line footedge. travel. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Date Published: 1985
ISBN-13:9780140095142ISBN:0140095144
Description: Good. This book is in good condition. Minimal wear and tear. This item was a donation to Goodwill of Greater Washington. Thank you for your purchase. Your order will be processed within 2 business days of receipt. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Date Published: 1985
ISBN-13:9780140095142ISBN:0140095144
Description: Good. Books have varying amounts of wear and highlighting. Usually ships within 24 hours in quality packaging. Satisfaction guaranteed. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Date Published: 1985-03-05
ISBN-13:9780140095142ISBN:0140095144
Description: Fair. 1984 Reprint Edition (w/new Preface) Penguin Books British Trade Paperback; text clean/UNMARKED; paper tan w/age; color cover rubbing/surface bends w/few creases/edge + corner wear; spine creased/strong; NOT x-library; No remainder mark; 347 pages + 16 pages of photographs; 8 maps; preface; introduction; prologue; 17 chapters; Arabic + Botanical names of plants mentioned in text; list of chief characters on the various journeys; index; author biography; color front cover photograph by ... read more
Description: Good. 0140095144 Good condition. May have some markings & or shelfwear. All pages intact. Used items may not include extras such as infotrac, CD or other web access codes. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780140095142ISBN:0140095144
Description: Very Good. 0140095144. Margins a little tanned, spine unbroken, covers uncreased, cery slight corner wear.; Travel Library; 0.79 x 7.72 x 5.04 Inches. read more
By Sitatunga,
Stoke Goldington, The United Kingdom
"The greatest travel book of them all. What I learnt was - you need to lock yourself away in a hotel room in a country far away from where you travelled, in order to see the story in all its pure condensed radiance and so be able to place it clear and fresh on the page"
"This guy was just nuts, in an amazing way. I read his obit in the Guardian awhile back, and had to check out one of his books. He grew up as a foreign service brat in what is now Ethiopia, and then went to school at Eton. Upon graduating at like 22, he promptly decided to go explore a corner of Ethiopia that had never been mapped, because it was populated by cannibalistic tribes. And pulled it off. Then he traveled all over the Sudan and the Sahara, and throughout the Middle East during WWII in the British foreign service and military.
After all of that, he decided to take on a real challenge(ha!) and explore the Empty Quarter of the Arabian Peninsula, an almost waterless sand desert where only two Westerners had travelled before in modern memory. Upon arriving at the more hospitable and populous southern coast of Arabia, he immediately sought out the Bedu tribes who were the only ones who could brave the desert interior, and adapted to their almost inhuman ways remarkably quickly and ably. The book tells the story of his adventures among them, and it's a tale evocatively, humanely, and at times poignantly told. It's a classic adventure/exploration tale, but it's also very aware that it's one of the last such tales, and that the door is closing on a world in which such places and cultures exist untouched by the modern world."
"The remarkable tale of the travels of the author with the Bedu into the 'Empty Quarter' of the Arabian desert before findings of oil and gas transformed the landscape.
The book leaves one pondering about a remarkable people who read the sands, were incredibly resilient and hardy, and whose economy and heritage was based on their abilitiy to travel in this harsh land at a time when tribal rivalries were unforgiving.
That an Englishman was able to travel as did they is striking enough - but his simply written story is not just of travel. It explores the differences of culture in what are now united countries and instils respect for the history of the Bedouin. It will also gives pause to anyone who now travels to The Emirates or Qatar (as did I with work) and is also captured by the mystery of the desert. I felt deeply sad that their qualities as desert navigators is no longer of value in our world and wonder on what happens to a people who make such a radical transition in the period of one lifetime."
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