Skeletons on the Zahara |
 |
 click here for more details, find new or used items |
Dean King
|
|
Pages: 368 (Paperback)
ISBN: 0099435926
Pub: Arrow Books Ltd
Pub date: 2005-06-02
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 26945
Reader Reviews:
A gripping tale of humanity - and its failings (0/0 people found this helpful)
This is a really fascinating story in the vein of all the best survival books. What differentiates it from most survival stories is its setting in the Sahara, not an icy waste, and the date it occurred - 1815.
The treatment of the shipwrecked sailors is nothing short of shocking by today's standards. They were treated as a commodity to be traded, and yet this is eerily similar to the treatment doled out to black africans by white slavers. In an uncomfortable table-turning, we come to appreciate some of the injustices doled out by humanity.
The fact that some of the sailors survived is nothing short of miraculous, and fortitude of the ship's captain, Riley is the key to this. There is no doubt that those who escaped were extremely fortunate and this is what keeps this book gripping. The other fascinating element of the book is the attitude of the sailors to their captors. Some captors were better than others, and the blinkered viewpoint of sailors to start with was considerably broadened by their experiences, particularly the strength and commitment to some of the locals to freeing them.
Read this book and enjoy - and be grateful you're not enslaved in the Sahara.
A tale of two gritties (4/6 people found this helpful)
King follows in the desperate footsteps of Captain Riley and his marooned crew -- and in the end almost replicates as their struggle for survive and sanity. King lives out their story in his head while tracing their paths through the cruel sands. Well done. An interesting contrast is Peter Hillary's diabolical attempt to complete Captain Robert Scott's famous fatal journey -- chronicled in the beguiling and very different IN THE GHOST COUNTRY -- and nearly ended up repeating it. What makes Hillary's book both important and effective is its exploration of the inner life, of fear and guilt and loneliness, which thereby makes it a book that anyone with half a brain and a full heart can relate to. A great one.
An epic of gritty parallels (2/4 people found this helpful)
King fellows in the desperate footsteps of Captain Riley and his marooned crew -- and in the end almost replicates as their struggle for survive and sanity. King lives out their story in his head while tracing their paths through the cruel sands. Well done. An interesting contrast is Peter Hillary's diabolical attempt to complete Captain Robert Scott's famous fatal journey -- chronicled in the beguiling and very different IN THE GHOST COUNTRY -- and nearly ended up repeating it. What makes Hillary's book both important and effective is its exploration of the inner life, of fear and guilt and loneliness, which thereby makes it a book that anyone with half a brain and a full heart can relate to. A great one.
Similar Products
Sufferings in Africa: The Astonishing Account of a New England Sea Captain Enslaved by North African Arabs
The Caliban Shore: The Fate of the Grosvenor Castaways
Josiah the Great: The True Story of the Man Who Would Be King
White Gold
Marked for Misfortune: An Epic Tale of Shipwreck, Human Endeavour and Rescue in the Age of Sail
Categories
Amazon.co.uk places this book into the following categories:
Books -> Refinements -> Language (feature_browse-bin) -> English
Books -> Refinements -> Age (feature_two_browse-bin)
Books -> Refinements -> Format (binding_browse-bin) -> Paperback