Arabian sands
"Arabian Sands" is Wilfred Thesiger's record of his extraordinary journey through the parched "Empty Quarter" of Arabia. Educated at Eton and Oxford, Thesiger was repulsed by the softness and rigidity of Western life-"the machines, the calling cards, the meticulously aligned streets." In the spirit of T. E. Lawrence, he set out to explore the deserts of Arabia, traveling among peoples who had never seen a European and considered it their duty to kill Christian infidels. His now-classic account is invaluable to understanding the modern Middle East.
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2014–2025years
100% recommend
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What Hacker News says
- Can you share the name & author of the book?
I'll plug Wilfred Thesiger's Arabian Sands as an extraordinary deep dive into a world that's entirely disappeared in our lifetimes:
- I recommend the travelogue Arabian Sands, by William Thesiger.
- "Arabian Sands" is an fascinating book describing travels though the empty quarter in Saudi Arabia and interactions with the Bedouin at a time when their way of life was about to start changing fast (1940s):
- in no particular order:
Lord of the Rings
Cryptonomicon
Anathem
Moby Dick
The Master and Margarita
Walden
Arabian Sands
Gawain and the Green Knight
Beowulf
- Just finished: In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger
Now reading: Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiesen
Been on a travel themed binge the last few weeks, rereading my favorite travel books. I highly recommend Arabian Sands, gives a pretty unique view of how the Arabian Peninsula was changing right after WWII.
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