"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
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.
This is one of the all time great adventure and travel books. Thesiger describes a world and a lifestyle that is now passed away, but existed not very long ago. He was the last of the British explorers who can nonchalantly describe things like going without water for days at a time as if his local deli had forgotten to include sugar packets with his order of coffee.
If you read this book, you should also catch the documentary about Thesiger on the Journey Pictures channel on YouTube. In it, you can hear him, shortly before his death, reflect on his life and adventures. The filmmakers also visit and interview Thesiger's Bedouin companions and contrast their past and contemporary lives. The juxtaposition and contrast is interesting to watch and ponder.
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