The Sahara by Eamonn Gearon

The Sahara- a cultural history

I have been reading this book by Eamonn Gearon and I must say that for anyone who is interested in the Sahara it is well worth getting. There are many general photographic books on the Sahara but not many histories- in English- and no cultural histories like the one Mr Gearon has written. He is particularly good on the early period from Ancient Egypt to the Arab invasions. He is also good at picking up films and books with a Sahara reference- from Beau Geste to Ballard’s The Day of Creation, from Len Deighton to the English Patient. Since the fascination with the desert has always been fed by books (my own started with reading Earle Stanley Gardner’s Hunting the Desert Whale- Gearon’s, apparently, with Bagnold’s Libyan Sands) it is marvellous to have all these key books referenced in such a lively and informative way. For width of learning, and skill in finding gems of interest, this book is hard to beat.