Rating: 
Summary: Great study of the land, terrible study of the people
Review: "Sahara Unveiled" is extremely informative and entertaining when talking about the Western Sahara and the Sahel. When discussing the geography, weather, transportaion in hostile and impoverished enviroments, and deep thirst, Langewiesche's tale is nearly as well written as one of John MacPhee's essays.But, and it is a big But, when talking about people, this is a very marginal story. Everyone Langewiesche met on his travels is portrayed as pathetic in one way or another. Examples? Judge Moulay Yazid is described in the most glowing terms of the whole book, and he is described as a fatalist time server, who idolizes an elderly, illiterate farmer who has only left the Sahara for two months in his entire life. Another? A German woman Langewiesche is introduced to is described as "trim, tanned, tennis-playing, cuckolding type" Cuckolding type? Pretty arrogant and sexist, in my view. Everyone else in the book is as bad or worse, in the author's eyes. As I read the book, I was struck by a sense of familiarity. Suddenly, it occured to me, that while this is written using politically correct language, this is basically a travel book in the vein of the Victorian travel writers, where the white author survives by courage and superior intelligence, facing down the natives.
Rating:
Summary: Great study of the land, terrible study of the people
Review: "Sahara Unveiled" is extremely informative and entertaining when talking about the Western Sahara and the Sahel. When discussing the geography, weather, transportaion in hostile and impoverished enviroments, and deep thirst, Langewiesche's tale is nearly as well written as one of John MacPhee's essays. But, and it is a big But, when talking about people, this is a very marginal story. Everyone Langewiesche met on his travels is portrayed as pathetic in one way or another. Examples? Judge Moulay Yazid is described in the most glowing terms of the whole book, and he is described as a fatalist time server, who idolizes an elderly, illiterate farmer who has only left the Sahara for two months in his entire life. Another? A German woman Langewiesche is introduced to is described as "trim, tanned, tennis-playing, cuckolding type" Cuckolding type? Pretty arrogant and sexist, in my view. Everyone else in the book is as bad or worse, in the author's eyes. As I read the book, I was struck by a sense of familiarity. Suddenly, it occured to me, that while this is written using politically correct language, this is basically a travel book in the vein of the Victorian travel writers, where the white author survives by courage and superior intelligence, facing down the natives.
Rating:
Summary: Great study of the land, terrible study of the people
Review: "Sahara Unveiled" is extremely informative and entertaining when talking about the Western Sahara and the Sahel. When discussing the geography, weather, transportaion in hostile and impoverished enviroments, and deep thirst, Langewiesche's tale is nearly as well written as one of John MacPhee's essays. But, and it is a big But, when talking about people, this is a very marginal story. Everyone Langewiesche met on his travels is portrayed as pathetic in one way or another. Examples? Judge Moulay Yazid is described in the most glowing terms of the whole book, and he is described as a fatalist time server, who idolizes an elderly, illiterate farmer who has only left the Sahara for two months in his entire life. Another? A German woman Langewiesche is introduced to is described as "trim, tanned, tennis-playing, cuckolding type" Cuckolding type? Pretty arrogant and sexist, in my view. Everyone else in the book is as bad or worse, in the author's eyes. As I read the book, I was struck by a sense of familiarity. Suddenly, it occured to me, that while this is written using politically correct language, this is basically a travel book in the vein of the Victorian travel writers, where the white author survives by courage and superior intelligence, facing down the natives.
Rating: 
Summary: A Vivid Picture of the Sahara
Review: A travel narrative classic: Mr. Langewiesche provides a vivid picture of the formidable Sahara. Every chapter of the journey brings us new surprises and aspects about this arid landscape. From the safari to physics of sand dunes, this book introduces us the anthropology, archaeology, meterology, geography, geology and history of the desert. Get ready and let's begin this eye-opening virtual tour of the Sahara!
Rating:
Summary: A Vivid Picture of the Sahara
Review: A travel narrative classic: Mr. Langewiesche provides a vivid picture of the formidable Sahara. Every chapter of the journey brings us new surprises and aspects about this arid landscape. From the safari to physics of sand dunes, this book introduces us the anthropology, archaeology, meterology, geography, geology and history of the desert. Get ready and let's begin this eye-opening virtual tour of the Sahara!
Rating:
Summary: Three cheers!
Review: An excellent book: one of the best pieces of travel literature I've read in a long time. Mr Langewiesche is keenly observant and brutally honest. In his book he has brought to life the stark beauty of the desert and its people, in a synthesis of life and art. In my view, he has joined the ranks of great contemporary American writers. Let us rejoice!
Rating:
Summary: The desert: Its people and its soul.
Review: At some point in this brilliant piece, the author states that writers write about the desert for the same reason that readers read about it: to fulfill their curiousity. The vast majority of us have neither the courage nor the time to travel through the Sahara and we should all thank Mr. Langewiesche for making this journey for us. And we should all complement him on just how he has shared this incredible experience. By weaving in African myths, Saharan individuals, details of science and his own musings, Mr. Langewiesche has created a masterpiece. If you have ever been interested in learning about the desert, you must read it to enjoy and to satisfy your curiousity. And if you have not, you should read it to expand your horizons.
Rating:
Summary: The Living Desert
Review: Have you ever wanted to escape from the daily routine of the world? Ever wished to travel to a remote destination with nothing but a backpack and na adventurous spirit to rely on? Is your answer is yes, then you can probably quench that craving - even if only vicariously - by reading William Langewiesche's `Sahara Unveiled'. What starts off as just another travel book quickly speeds up in the middle chapters to become a wonderful work of non-fiction, narrowly bordering on religion, history, philosophy, politics, and anthropology as the author paints a harrowingly realistic picture of his journey across the desert. If on the one hand the book lacks warmth (as ludicrous as that may sound it being a narrative on the Sahara), and the author's attitude reveals a tinge of cold impersonality, one must also admit that that very attitude allows the reader to see the adventure from a first-person perspective. The descriptions are colourful and the writer has what appears to be an innate talent for defining the characters, for their essences and spirits can be clearly distinguished throughout. The chapters follow Langewiesche's route from Algiers to Dakar, stopping at dozens of towns, villages, oases and settlements that dot the vast seas of gravel and sand. Definitely ranking among the best travel books ever written, `Sahara Unveiled - A Journey Across The Desert' is a worthwhile read, coming as something of a shock to all those who picture the Sahara as just one vast, lifeless expanse.
Rating:
Summary: The Living Desert
Review: Have you ever wanted to escape from the daily routine of the world? Ever wished to travel to a remote destination with nothing but a backpack and na adventurous spirit to rely on? Is your answer is yes, then you can probably quench that craving - even if only vicariously - by reading William Langewiesche's 'Sahara Unveiled'. What starts off as just another travel book quickly speeds up in the middle chapters to become a wonderful work of non-fiction, narrowly bordering on religion, history, philosophy, politics, and anthropology as the author paints a harrowingly realistic picture of his journey across the desert. If on the one hand the book lacks warmth (as ludicrous as that may sound it being a narrative on the Sahara), and the author's attitude reveals a tinge of cold impersonality, one must also admit that that very attitude allows the reader to see the adventure from a first-person perspective. The descriptions are colourful and the writer has what appears to be an innate talent for defining the characters, for their essences and spirits can be clearly distinguished throughout. The chapters follow Langewiesche's route from Algiers to Dakar, stopping at dozens of towns, villages, oases and settlements that dot the vast seas of gravel and sand. Definitely ranking among the best travel books ever written, 'Sahara Unveiled - A Journey Across The Desert' is a worthwhile read, coming as something of a shock to all those who picture the Sahara as just one vast, lifeless expanse.
Rating: 
Summary: A sober and intelligently observed travelogue
Review: Having got to know Algeria as a commercial pilot (or so one presumes, we learn nothing about the author apart from the existence of a wife and son) William Langewiesche travels from Algiers to Dakar in the early 1990s, as Islamic revolution and Tuareg unrest spread paranoia along trans-Saharan Highway. He revisits old friends, including the neglected and now destitute wife of a once respected Mr Fixit who suffered brain damage following a car crash with his mistress. Along the way we learn about former visits to the oasis of Adrar and Mauritania, cautionary parables à la Paul Bowles and deserty topics like dunes, rock art, Tuaregs (including the late Mano Dayak) and good old Foucauld. Langewiesche's local connections provide him with a unique insight into the bitter unravelling of Algerian society. In Tamanrasset he takes an excursion east to explore some remote art, but is used as an unwitting decoy to enable his truly odious guide to smuggle in Libyan arms for the Tuareg cause. The festering acrimony between the two is laid bare after Langewiesche is abandoned in a canyon for a couple of days where he is forced to confront his own death. Mirroring local attitudes, he writes without sentimentality about the Sahara and its inhabitants: wily opportunists, smug entrepreneurs, mendacious braggarts, "Camel commercial" adventurers and sun-fried ex-pats. There's a lip-smacking "I-told-you-so" sensationalism used to recount several tales of travellers perishing in the desert, embellishing the deadly glamour of the cruel Sahara. Having crossed the Sahara and now without the privilege of local friends, the mood grows gloomier and possibly resentful as the author has to fend for himself and becomes preoccupied with the incompetence and corruption of the desiccated Sahel region south of the Sahara. Weakened by illness, the books speeds towards a quick end in Dakar. A back cover quote from Newsweek suggests the book "makes the desert's exoticism bloom...", it's a nice idea but incorrect. Langewiesche writes unsentimentally and with a sparse, gritty realism whether describing the futility of the Tuareg rebellion and overseas aid, the short-sighted "Inshallah-syndrome" and, ultimately, the desert's relentless indifference. Readers familiar with the Sahara will become easily absorbed with the many familiar characters and situations described during this unhappy episode of Saharan history and having travelled in the same area, I can testify to the authenticity of his observations. While Langewiesche prefers to remain studiously enigmatic and, at his worst, comes across as patronising and condescending (other tourists become an easy target as they did in Quentin Crewe's "In Search of the Sahara") the book is true to its title and will be a compelling addition of any Saharophile's library. END
|
