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Lawrie Raskin

“I hope that my story will offer preteens the vicarious thrill of sharing my travels while they gain some understanding of and respect for very different and fascinating cultures.”

Lawrie Raskin has always been enthralled with the Sahara Desert. He has lived with desert nomads and traveled with them on their camel caravans. As a result of his many trips to North Africa and the Middle East, he became fluent in Arabic, filmed TV documentaries, worked as an expedition guide and sold his photographs to various media around the globe.

As a youngster, Raskin was deeply affected by children’s books about nomadic life and the desert. In his teens, his imagination was further stirred by seeing the epic film Lawrence of Arabia. On numerous occasions in “I hope that my story will offer preteens the vicarious thrill of sharing my travels while they gain some understanding of and respect for very different and fascinating cultures.”

Lawrie Raskin has always been enthralled with the Sahara Desert. He has lived with desert nomads and traveled with them on their camel caravans. As a result of his many trips to North Africa and the Middle East, he became fluent in Arabic, filmed TV documentaries, worked as an expedition guide and sold his photographs to various media around the globe.

As a youngster, Raskin was deeply affected by children’s books about nomadic life and the desert. In his teens, his imagination was further stirred by seeing the epic film Lawrence of Arabia. On numerous occasions in the thirty-odd years that followed, he visited, explored and lived in desert regions from the Sahara to Afghanistan. These journeys included several lengthy adventures on camelback, learning the ways and dialects of the desert peoples, with the dream of someday reaching the legendary caravan city of Timbuktu.

Raskin’s narrative 52 Days by Camel: My Sahara Adventure, written with children’s writer/editor Debora Pearson, takes readers on a travel adventure to “mysterious Africa” via Morocco and crosses the vast Sahara. At last, upon arrival in Timbuktu, his dream seems fulfilled. But then the quest continues far beyond Timbuktu, to the ancient and remote salt mines of Taoudenni. On the journey Raskin confronts danger and harsh elements, but is also able thoroughly to immerse himself in the ancient and fascinating traditions of desert culture.

In writing 52 Days by Camel, Raskin hopes to show kids “in this interactive, fast-food world, that there are still wonderful places to explore, test yourself and have great adventures!”

Raskin has lived many adventures in Toronto, London, Fez, Marrakesh, Cairo, Jackson's Point and Tichitt (Mauritania), before moving to Kingston, Ontario. He studied with the Faculty of Architecture in Toronto, and held previous positions as architect, graphic designer, interior designer, photographer and expedition organizer/leader. The co-author of Lawrence of Arabia: The 30th Anniversary Pictorial History (Doubleday, New York, 1992), Raskin now works as a design consultant and photographer in Kingston, Ontario, where he maintains a collection of over 400 camels.
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