Each page is gripping, whether Thesiger describes the desert environment itself, his own adventures, or the Bedu camel herders with whom he lives and travels. This last theme is the most important in the book, and Thesiger's 1940s travels uncover the ways and even the mind of these most Arab of Arabs as well as anyone can. Thesiger understands and praises the Bedu's better aspects, but is not blinded to their faults. He points out the differences among the ways, thought and even religious practices and tolerance of the desert tribes, and their even greater differences with Arab townsfolk.
Read it to understand the places we are sending our troops, or read it to be taken away completely from whatever troubles your urban or susburban psyche, but read Arabian Sands.
One is tempted to speculate that the Arab world brings out certain facets of the English character, and perhaps it is true. "Arabian Sands" is one of the best travel books ever written. The purported idea behind the book was a chronicle of crossing Al Rub' al Khali - The "Empty Quarter" of the Eastern Arabian peninsula, one of the most barren areas on earth. This central focus of the expedition, and the story, gradually pales as one reads on and the reader becomes caught up in Thesiger's relationship with his Bedouin companions.
The Bedouin are admittedly a fringe society in the Middle East. However, the values that their way of life represent have always been seen as having a central place in the Arab view of life, and Thesiger's obvious sympathy for his companions allows us to understand them as humans as few other western books can do. In this sense he resembles T.E. Lawrence, although he manages to tell his story in a lot less words than Lawrence did.
This book will stand the test of time as one of the best books in the English language on the Arabs, and it is a rewarding read.
Often it made me very nervous, so I smoked a lot of Camels.
I think after reading it I will be a more interesting person and maybe get a lot of dates.
Thank you for your encouragement.reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, page 6, 7, 8
