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Sahara Unveiled: A Journey Across the Desert
It is as vast as the United States and so arid that most bacteria cannot survive there. Its loneliness is so extreme it is said that migratory birds will land beside travelers, just for the company. William Langewiesche came to the Sahara to see it as its inhabitants do, riding its public transport, braving its natural and human dangers, depending on its sparse sustenance and suspect hospitality. From his journey, which took him across the desert's hyperarid core from Algiers to Dakar, he has crafted a contemporary classic of travel writing.
In a narrative studded with gemlike discourses on subjects that range from the physics of sand dunes to the history of the Tuareg nomads, Langewiesche introduces us to the Sahara's merchants, smugglers, fixers, and expatriates. Eloquent and precise, Sahara Unveiled blends history and reportage, anthropology and anecdote, into an unforgettable portrait of the world's most romanticized yet most forbidding desert.
In a narrative studded with gemlike discourses on subjects that range from the physics of sand dunes to the history of the Tuareg nomads, Langewiesche introduces us to the Sahara's merchants, smugglers, fixers, and expatriates. Eloquent and precise, Sahara Unveiled blends history and reportage, anthropology and anecdote, into an unforgettable portrait of the world's most romanticized yet most forbidding desert.
324 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
38 people are currently reading
806 people want to read
About the author
William Langewiesche
24 books158 followersWilliam Archibald Langewiesche was an American author and journalist who was also a professional airplane pilot for many years. From 2019, he was a writer at large for The New York Times Magazine. Prior to that, he was a correspondent for The Atlantic and Vanity Fair magazines for twenty-nine years. He was the author of nine books and the winner of two National Magazine Awards.
He wrote articles covering a wide range of topics from shipbreaking, wine critics, the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, modern ocean piracy, nuclear proliferation, and the World Trade Center cleanup.
He wrote articles covering a wide range of topics from shipbreaking, wine critics, the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, modern ocean piracy, nuclear proliferation, and the World Trade Center cleanup.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
August 16, 2024
Very hot and very dry. These words describe the Sahara, a huge desert which stretches across half of the continent of Africa and would be considered by most of us as a living hell. The author embarks on a trip through the Sahara, beginning in Algeria and ending in Dakar and his adventures are interesting and sometimes surprising.
I have to admit that I didn't know much about this vast desert and was somewhat surprised at the number of people who reside in or near the oasis areas, the source of water and vegetation. The populations are comprised of various "tribes' with varying racial/political issues which cause hostility among them. The author was usually shown great hospitality which was rather unusual for a European.
The reader meets some interesting residents who are (or may be) smugglers and surprisingly seem to have access to just about anything that people desire...........for a price, of course. And they are usually the "head man" of their small communities, for obvious reasons.
One word I forgot to use when I said "very hot and very dry" was the word "beautiful". The majority of the Sahara landscape is the fantastic, ever changing sand dunes which are particularly lovely at sunrise and sunset. But they can also be deadly as travelers can easily get lost in the constantly shifting sands with tragic consequences.
This is an informative and beautifully written travel book that holds a few surprises.
I have to admit that I didn't know much about this vast desert and was somewhat surprised at the number of people who reside in or near the oasis areas, the source of water and vegetation. The populations are comprised of various "tribes' with varying racial/political issues which cause hostility among them. The author was usually shown great hospitality which was rather unusual for a European.
The reader meets some interesting residents who are (or may be) smugglers and surprisingly seem to have access to just about anything that people desire...........for a price, of course. And they are usually the "head man" of their small communities, for obvious reasons.
One word I forgot to use when I said "very hot and very dry" was the word "beautiful". The majority of the Sahara landscape is the fantastic, ever changing sand dunes which are particularly lovely at sunrise and sunset. But they can also be deadly as travelers can easily get lost in the constantly shifting sands with tragic consequences.
This is an informative and beautifully written travel book that holds a few surprises.
March 2, 2021
Langewiesche sees for himself what it's like to traverse the Sahara, detailing the hardships that have always been involved. In the region between Taodeni and Timbuktu, a famous salt caravan of 2,000 people went astray in 1805, and all hands died of thirst. These days of course, most desert travelers use cars, buses or trucks, and fewer people die when they get lost and run out of gas. But in the vague corridor of desert known as the “Trans-Saharan highway” Langewische counted 15 abandoned vehicles within one particularly difficult mile.
A traveler in this landscape is typically subject to hallucinations, which are a common effect of dehydration. If the desert traveler misses a well, or finds it dry, the loss of body fluids proceeds rapidly. In extreme Saharan heat, a human can easily lose several gallons of water a day (two at rest in the shade, four if walking in the sun). If one gallon is lost and not replaced, dizziness, increased pulse, labored breathing, and disorientation are normal. Though a camel can survive dehydration to the point of losing a third of its body-weight, a human cannot survive losing ten to twelve percent. That is about two gallons, which can be lost in only half a day.
Of course the traditional desert travelers did everything in their power to ensure a safe passage. They committed the known paths across hundreds of miles to memory, and carefully passed on what they knew. As an old Algerian man described this lore of the desert, “Yes, by the stars at night. In daylight, by local knowledge of the desert—this soil, this tree, this ruin, these tracks, these shadows before sunset. It is passed down from father to son, and spoken of among friends.” (p. 142)
A traveler in this landscape is typically subject to hallucinations, which are a common effect of dehydration. If the desert traveler misses a well, or finds it dry, the loss of body fluids proceeds rapidly. In extreme Saharan heat, a human can easily lose several gallons of water a day (two at rest in the shade, four if walking in the sun). If one gallon is lost and not replaced, dizziness, increased pulse, labored breathing, and disorientation are normal. Though a camel can survive dehydration to the point of losing a third of its body-weight, a human cannot survive losing ten to twelve percent. That is about two gallons, which can be lost in only half a day.
Of course the traditional desert travelers did everything in their power to ensure a safe passage. They committed the known paths across hundreds of miles to memory, and carefully passed on what they knew. As an old Algerian man described this lore of the desert, “Yes, by the stars at night. In daylight, by local knowledge of the desert—this soil, this tree, this ruin, these tracks, these shadows before sunset. It is passed down from father to son, and spoken of among friends.” (p. 142)
November 8, 2011
Anthro-dreamboat: this book is like reading the travel journal of your sexiest professor, the rugged one who lived a way cooler life before he began teaching you at some hallowed institution, you know, the one with BETTER THINGS TO DO. The vignettes in this would make for beautiful movie scenes: the French couple with their long-suffering pet scorpion-in-a-shoebox; all the cafe scenarios wherein the author is drinking some sort of bad, mud-tasting coffee and chewing on a stale baguette. These are the kinds of travel sketches that are fragrant. I was struck many times by the author's arrogance & I would like to read the female version of it: a confident female traveler who is not overly impressionable, who is sure-footed and capable. This really made me want to dress like Isak Dinesen in the desert.
December 3, 2014
Langewiesche provides a mostly quiet journey full of small delights and surprises as he travels (basically) two legs (one south, one west) of a triangle from Algiers to Dakar to give us an up close and personal Sahara Desert experience. We meet locals; we encounter cultures; we hear of individual and collective aspirations.
Langewiesche, as a pilot has roamed the world. As a correspondent for Atlantic Monthly and Vanity Fair, he has honed his narrative and background reasearch skills. Though this is one of his early efforts (about two decades ago), many insights and observations seem to be consistent with current events. As readers we benefit from all of this. For example, this excerpt:
...In that sense the word "Berber" still expresses a common European attitude toward North Africans, though "Arab" is more commonly used. But the Arabs are if anything overcivilized. Inspired by Mohammed's teachings, their armies came to North Africa from the Middle East in the seventh century A.D. and didn't stay long. When the soldiers left, their followers remained behind as merchants and missionaries. They began to trade south into the Sahara. They interbred with the Berbers, and taught them a new philosophy and religion, and the language to understand it. Over the following centuries this potent combination spread into every corner of the wilderness, replacing the original Berber tradition. North Africa did not surrender to the Arabs, but was persuaded by them, and underwent a collective change of mind. The most determined holdouts were the tough mountain herders of the north and the even tougher Tuaregs of the central Sahara, a Berber people also originally from the north, who to this day have retained their Berber customs and language. But they, too, converted to Islam."
One of the sections that I found fascinating concerned the city of Tamanrasset and a people called Tuareg. We learn why this city of over 50,000 with a significant middle class can exist in such a remote location. "...there is no telephone connection (probably now there are satellite phones and maybe cellphones), no good road, and no decent postal service (though I expect that the Internet is now accessible)...(but) Groundwater is in such short supply that new households are not allowed to hook up to the municipal system, and old households are severely rationed..." We learn of Charles de Foucauld, and army officer in the early 20th Century who decides to abandon his military service for service to his god. He plunks himself down close to here and attempts to convert the Tuareg. After a decade he has not succeeded with even one convert. And, then he is murdered. A bit ironically, his little home becomes the destination for religious tourists and he is on the road to sainthood (beatified in 2005). We also get some insights into contemporary life from Langewiesche's stay with a "friend" Addoun. And we learn how visitors and travelers, again and again, misjudge the town, the people and the desert to their detriment and death.
He also provides us background on the Tuareg people who have had a nomadic existence in this area for over 3,000 years and their resistance to change and domination. They "...were not traders. They were camel breeders, desert guides, toll collectors, bandits. They were opportunists..." who learned to siphon wealth from those who passed through their territory. "When the time was right the Tuaregs would cut their victims out of the caravan, to rob and kill them in private. They counted on the remainder of the caravan simply to ride away. If the Tuaregs did not overreach, they could chew like this at the same caravan for weeks."
Some things change and some things stay the same. Langewiesche is very good at giving his reader a sense of both.
Langewiesche, as a pilot has roamed the world. As a correspondent for Atlantic Monthly and Vanity Fair, he has honed his narrative and background reasearch skills. Though this is one of his early efforts (about two decades ago), many insights and observations seem to be consistent with current events. As readers we benefit from all of this. For example, this excerpt:
...In that sense the word "Berber" still expresses a common European attitude toward North Africans, though "Arab" is more commonly used. But the Arabs are if anything overcivilized. Inspired by Mohammed's teachings, their armies came to North Africa from the Middle East in the seventh century A.D. and didn't stay long. When the soldiers left, their followers remained behind as merchants and missionaries. They began to trade south into the Sahara. They interbred with the Berbers, and taught them a new philosophy and religion, and the language to understand it. Over the following centuries this potent combination spread into every corner of the wilderness, replacing the original Berber tradition. North Africa did not surrender to the Arabs, but was persuaded by them, and underwent a collective change of mind. The most determined holdouts were the tough mountain herders of the north and the even tougher Tuaregs of the central Sahara, a Berber people also originally from the north, who to this day have retained their Berber customs and language. But they, too, converted to Islam."
One of the sections that I found fascinating concerned the city of Tamanrasset and a people called Tuareg. We learn why this city of over 50,000 with a significant middle class can exist in such a remote location. "...there is no telephone connection (probably now there are satellite phones and maybe cellphones), no good road, and no decent postal service (though I expect that the Internet is now accessible)...(but) Groundwater is in such short supply that new households are not allowed to hook up to the municipal system, and old households are severely rationed..." We learn of Charles de Foucauld, and army officer in the early 20th Century who decides to abandon his military service for service to his god. He plunks himself down close to here and attempts to convert the Tuareg. After a decade he has not succeeded with even one convert. And, then he is murdered. A bit ironically, his little home becomes the destination for religious tourists and he is on the road to sainthood (beatified in 2005). We also get some insights into contemporary life from Langewiesche's stay with a "friend" Addoun. And we learn how visitors and travelers, again and again, misjudge the town, the people and the desert to their detriment and death.
He also provides us background on the Tuareg people who have had a nomadic existence in this area for over 3,000 years and their resistance to change and domination. They "...were not traders. They were camel breeders, desert guides, toll collectors, bandits. They were opportunists..." who learned to siphon wealth from those who passed through their territory. "When the time was right the Tuaregs would cut their victims out of the caravan, to rob and kill them in private. They counted on the remainder of the caravan simply to ride away. If the Tuaregs did not overreach, they could chew like this at the same caravan for weeks."
Some things change and some things stay the same. Langewiesche is very good at giving his reader a sense of both.
March 8, 2023
This is a book best read slowly. My copy is underlined, annotated, illustrated, and memorable quotes rewritten on the fly ends. To whit,
the desert teaches by taking away.
History in Africa lies on the land like a trap.
I felt threatened, weakened, overwhelmed. The heat had sharp edges.
It is the desert of more so, drier, fiercer, and wilder.
He lived unrestrained by a proper upbringing, unrestricted by family or friendship, unconcerned with his dignity or comfort, and un afraid of dying.
I made no demands, volunteered nothing, and did not complain.
I'll let you read the book to see the context for these quotes, but William Langewiesche uses simple powerful words to describe a powerful place. Unlike most travel books, you have NO desire to visit the Sahara after reading this book. He clearly loves and respects the desert, but does such a good job of NOT romanticizing it that you are well warned of its terrible allure.
His description of the deaths of a Belgium couple and their five year old son is so sad and searing. He ends it with, "I cannot stop grieving for the Belgium boy." And makes it very clear that he will never bring his own son to the Sahara.
the desert teaches by taking away.
History in Africa lies on the land like a trap.
I felt threatened, weakened, overwhelmed. The heat had sharp edges.
It is the desert of more so, drier, fiercer, and wilder.
He lived unrestrained by a proper upbringing, unrestricted by family or friendship, unconcerned with his dignity or comfort, and un afraid of dying.
I made no demands, volunteered nothing, and did not complain.
I'll let you read the book to see the context for these quotes, but William Langewiesche uses simple powerful words to describe a powerful place. Unlike most travel books, you have NO desire to visit the Sahara after reading this book. He clearly loves and respects the desert, but does such a good job of NOT romanticizing it that you are well warned of its terrible allure.
His description of the deaths of a Belgium couple and their five year old son is so sad and searing. He ends it with, "I cannot stop grieving for the Belgium boy." And makes it very clear that he will never bring his own son to the Sahara.
February 14, 2014
The Sahara: unwelcoming refuge to survivors and dreamers and outcasts
As much as I might like to, I will never travel across the Sahara desert.
It sounds beautiful and amazing and romantic and inspiringly desolate, but I will never willingly submit myself to 120 degree temperatures unless I’m wearing a fully air-conditioned suit of clothes AND I’m riding inside a fully air-conditioned car that can’t ever break down. And that car would need a mini-bar. Other reasons I probably won’t visit the Sahara: I don’t want to entertain the possibility of ever having to drink radiator fluid, or worse, just to avoid death from dehydration, and I’m not crazy about goat stew.
For those reasons and more, I’m glad William Langewiesche allows readers to accompany him on his epic journey across a desert as large as the continental United States. Sahara Unveiled is a wonderful book that meanders through the politics, geography, flora and fauna and history of the Sahara, and its people. It is deceptively spare, empty almost, as if conscious of -- or at least appropriately influenced by -- the desert he writes about. But it rewards patience with a slowly-building appreciation of the Sahara and all who live in it and pass through it: the survivors and the dreamers and the outcasts.
Langewiesche is either a very talented writer, or a very interesting thinker able to accurately record his keen insights about people and the natural world around him. Or maybe both. As a result, the book reads as if out of time, reminiscent of the works produced by all the mad, classically educated and perpetually wandering, perpetually bemused Englishmen of a hundred years ago, only it’s fully modern.
He almost died on his journey, and tries hard to never romanticize the desert (which of course has the opposite effect), carefully recounting the stories of some (many) who died along the way. The horrific demise of the Belgian family stands out as a stark reminder of why I, personally, won’t be making the trek.
Along the way, like the oases he describes (point of fact: they aren’t shimmering mirages lined by palm trees, but rather more often ramshackle villages of abject poverty built around life-sustaining wells) he intersperses his own baking hot journey with illuminating detours into a variety of engaging topics: how sand dunes form (for much more on this subject, check out Sand: The Never-Ending Story), the care and feeding of scorpions (and French lovers, for that matter), how to grow date trees, the history of shifting tribal and alliances and geopolitical forces, ancient myths and fables of the residents and more.
It is a hot, dusty and rewarding trek and I learned much, but I was constantly irritated by the description of how women are treated. He handles the topic with grace and allows readers to arrive at their own conclusions.
Sahara Unveiled made it to my list of all time favorites. And, though I’ve already established I will likely never, ever journey to the Sahara, or to the surface of the sun, I would love to see the 400,000 (!) Neolithic paintings at the Tassili plateau.
As much as I might like to, I will never travel across the Sahara desert.
It sounds beautiful and amazing and romantic and inspiringly desolate, but I will never willingly submit myself to 120 degree temperatures unless I’m wearing a fully air-conditioned suit of clothes AND I’m riding inside a fully air-conditioned car that can’t ever break down. And that car would need a mini-bar. Other reasons I probably won’t visit the Sahara: I don’t want to entertain the possibility of ever having to drink radiator fluid, or worse, just to avoid death from dehydration, and I’m not crazy about goat stew.
For those reasons and more, I’m glad William Langewiesche allows readers to accompany him on his epic journey across a desert as large as the continental United States. Sahara Unveiled is a wonderful book that meanders through the politics, geography, flora and fauna and history of the Sahara, and its people. It is deceptively spare, empty almost, as if conscious of -- or at least appropriately influenced by -- the desert he writes about. But it rewards patience with a slowly-building appreciation of the Sahara and all who live in it and pass through it: the survivors and the dreamers and the outcasts.
Langewiesche is either a very talented writer, or a very interesting thinker able to accurately record his keen insights about people and the natural world around him. Or maybe both. As a result, the book reads as if out of time, reminiscent of the works produced by all the mad, classically educated and perpetually wandering, perpetually bemused Englishmen of a hundred years ago, only it’s fully modern.
He almost died on his journey, and tries hard to never romanticize the desert (which of course has the opposite effect), carefully recounting the stories of some (many) who died along the way. The horrific demise of the Belgian family stands out as a stark reminder of why I, personally, won’t be making the trek.
Along the way, like the oases he describes (point of fact: they aren’t shimmering mirages lined by palm trees, but rather more often ramshackle villages of abject poverty built around life-sustaining wells) he intersperses his own baking hot journey with illuminating detours into a variety of engaging topics: how sand dunes form (for much more on this subject, check out Sand: The Never-Ending Story), the care and feeding of scorpions (and French lovers, for that matter), how to grow date trees, the history of shifting tribal and alliances and geopolitical forces, ancient myths and fables of the residents and more.
It is a hot, dusty and rewarding trek and I learned much, but I was constantly irritated by the description of how women are treated. He handles the topic with grace and allows readers to arrive at their own conclusions.
Sahara Unveiled made it to my list of all time favorites. And, though I’ve already established I will likely never, ever journey to the Sahara, or to the surface of the sun, I would love to see the 400,000 (!) Neolithic paintings at the Tassili plateau.
May 13, 2018
As someone who still dreams about exploration, although at this point interplanetary seems the main way to go, I found William Langewiesche's book on the Sahara fascinating. I did achieve touching Moroccan soil for a few hours last year, but Africa, and the Sahara are definitely high on my list to try and experience more.
That being said, I'm not sure about traveling from Algiers south to Niger, and then west to Dakar by myself. Langewiesche does exactly this trip solo and has some adventures that I could do without, but I suppose that makes for this memorable book.
Living in Arizona gave me a taste for arid places. Camping in Joshua Tree and Death Valley with the Fahrenheit in triple digits makes me think that I could attempt this trip, but truth be told I was not in sand and certainly as far from civilization as Langewiesche. Yet people do live all over the Sahara and survive in some pretty incredible places. Yet I, like the author, perhaps would come to this experience with some book learning and not much else.
Definitely a keeper of a book, all the better because it was in the free bin at McKay.
That being said, I'm not sure about traveling from Algiers south to Niger, and then west to Dakar by myself. Langewiesche does exactly this trip solo and has some adventures that I could do without, but I suppose that makes for this memorable book.
Living in Arizona gave me a taste for arid places. Camping in Joshua Tree and Death Valley with the Fahrenheit in triple digits makes me think that I could attempt this trip, but truth be told I was not in sand and certainly as far from civilization as Langewiesche. Yet people do live all over the Sahara and survive in some pretty incredible places. Yet I, like the author, perhaps would come to this experience with some book learning and not much else.
Definitely a keeper of a book, all the better because it was in the free bin at McKay.
September 18, 2011
really good preparation for my voyage. Langewiesche goes and figures out every corner of the desert, from Algeria to Senegal, does it to the confusion of everyone he encounters. I get it. laced with history & folklore, back- & forward-narrative in a natural, flowing progression. never gets too dense with reference like Sebald's Vertigo. felt more like Sans Soleil, like real travel, like the way a brain works or at least mine, than maybe anything I've read. there are moments when Langewiesche is perhaps too sure of his impression & perspective, but generally I loved t/his journey we went on together, am endeared to the smell of his strong pheromones permeating the book. ultimate crush: adventurer in the archive stacks. if it ends without a satisfying recapitulation, with a feeling of vapor & mist, the fast fade of the image burned on your retina from staring at something too long once you've moved your gaze: it should, that's how journeys go.
February 25, 2020
I first read this while at university (1998-1999), and I have referred to it many times since then. Just finished re-reading the entire book again and I love it just as much now as I did in 1998. This book is an education in history, geography, geology, economics, politics, religion, anthropology, and art. An entire interdisciplinary course could be taught with this book as its primary text. The writing is spectacular, the perspectives are insightful, the facts are accurate, and the touch is human. It’s travel literature at its very best. One of the rare books that I wish had a sequel.
August 23, 2018
With his characteristic clear, clean prose, Langewiesche weaves topography, history, culture, politics, anecdotes, fable, geology, economics and personal experience into a taut and fascinating tapestry, revealing one of the world's most isolated and inaccessible places. At once sympathetic and clear-eyed, deeply knowledgeable and endlessly curious, he's an ideal guide, especially to the peoples who inhabit and cross this region of extremes.
February 11, 2021
I don't read many travelogues, but since I am seduced, at a distance, by deserts (I have only driven through one, the Colorado Desert, and only once, I read this book. I read a library copy and became so entranced that I've ordered my own. William Langewiesche (to be referred to as W.L.) has created a masterpiece, an auspicious weaving of nature and people and history. He begins in Algiers and ends up in Dakar, in Senegal, and along the way he immerses us in this cauldron of heat and sand, of war and occupation, of revolution and starvation, of pretense and preening and the daily embrace of inshallah. The history fascinates- Gordon Laing, Rene Caille, and their journey to the nearly mythical Timbuktu, and Charles de Foucauld, a French aristocrat who became a solitary monk in the Hoggar Mountains, and the primarily French colonialism of the Saharan region. But laced all the way through are the lives of people of the desert W.L. met, ate with, traveled with, some who became friends and others who did not. And the deaths, in the desert, of those who lived there and those Europeans who did not. If you drive in the Sahara, and get lost, and run out of gas, and drink all your water and then your urine and then the radiator contents and then you die. Early on, W.L. discards that notion that the Sahara is like the sea. But in one way the desert and the ocean are alike. Neither are vindictive nor are they benevolent. They simply are. He say, "The Sahara is not cruel, but it is indifferent." And a couple of more quotes- this about a suspicious guide- "I know now he was the type of man who would watch himself in any reflection." And this same guide. "He held two fingers together. 'This is how I am with the desert. If you love a woman, she can never hurt you. The desert is my woman.'" And about history of the region- "Normally this would have nothing to do with me, but history in Africa lies on the land like a trap." And very sound advice for more than the desert- "Salah Addoun had at various times said to me: 'When you break down, you have to be calm, because the desert is calm. Tourists panic and drive aimlessly. They are afraid of the lion before the lion. When you are lost, you should sit. Wait. One hour, two hours, a full day. Sit. You will find your orientation." Now I want to go to the Sahara. Just saying.
December 14, 2008
For ages now I have loved the idea of the Sahara, the vastness, the emptiness, the dryness, the people. In part this interest stemmed from, or at least was fueled by, a lengthy article in the Atlantic Monthly that I read about 20 years ago, cut it out of the magazine, and read it again and again until it was in tatters. About half way through "Sahara Unveiled," I realized that the author of this book was the author of that article, and this was the "book length" version. This is an honest, unromantic view of the realities of the Sahara, the frustrations, the dangers, the beauties, the politics. My only complaint is that it was not five times longer.
April 6, 2007
I read this because I absolutely love this author's articles in The Atlantic Monthly and other magazines. Even if he writes about subjects I don't have interest in, he can make me be interested in them on the strength of his writing. That said, I was a tad disappointed with this book overall. It didn't seem quite up to snuff with his other works. I'd still recommend it to anyone interested in the area or anyone interested in the author.
December 20, 2018
A delightfully well written account of travels through the Sahara. Langeweische writes in the languid prose of a campfire storyteller. Highly recommended.
September 18, 2010
Coming out watching a How the Earth Was Made overly dramatic documentary on the Sahara with my 8-year old boys, I wanted to explore the Sahara in a more subtle (and remote via reading) fashion.
Just happened to select this from the stacks at the library, unaware of the author or anything, and the wandering paid off. Despite its subject, the writing is never dry, often it veers into lyrical quality. The description of people surrendering their homes to the sand, opening the windows and doors and punching holes in them hoping that the dune will move through the home eventually was just a brief moment in the book, but amazing to me.
The book spends much more time on Ameur, and his "two" wives. One of whom we feel Langewiesche falling in love with, is this the unveiling of the Sahara that the title speaks of. It goes on with some pining and plenty of distance, and just when I thought this was going to be focus for the entire book, that story and the lovely Malika vanish. More "travel" books should adopt extensive existential interludes? Nah....but it was an interesting device.
Another element of the book that transfixed me was the Tuareg painted as the rogues if not villains of the desert. Recently around here, music from Tuareg tribes and an excellent exhibit at the Cantor Museum a few years back showcased some of the beauty of that nomadic culture. So having them seen as potentially marauders if not murderers was interesting. Of course all cultures, all stories, have multiple sides. Some of the early tales of colonization show that from all cultures.
The tales both of the author and others being stranded in the sand. This spoke as much about the merciless isolation of man as any psychological novel could.
Definitely recommend this, if something about the Sahara catches your imagination, as it does mine.
Just happened to select this from the stacks at the library, unaware of the author or anything, and the wandering paid off. Despite its subject, the writing is never dry, often it veers into lyrical quality. The description of people surrendering their homes to the sand, opening the windows and doors and punching holes in them hoping that the dune will move through the home eventually was just a brief moment in the book, but amazing to me.
The book spends much more time on Ameur, and his "two" wives. One of whom we feel Langewiesche falling in love with, is this the unveiling of the Sahara that the title speaks of. It goes on with some pining and plenty of distance, and just when I thought this was going to be focus for the entire book, that story and the lovely Malika vanish. More "travel" books should adopt extensive existential interludes? Nah....but it was an interesting device.
Another element of the book that transfixed me was the Tuareg painted as the rogues if not villains of the desert. Recently around here, music from Tuareg tribes and an excellent exhibit at the Cantor Museum a few years back showcased some of the beauty of that nomadic culture. So having them seen as potentially marauders if not murderers was interesting. Of course all cultures, all stories, have multiple sides. Some of the early tales of colonization show that from all cultures.
The tales both of the author and others being stranded in the sand. This spoke as much about the merciless isolation of man as any psychological novel could.
Definitely recommend this, if something about the Sahara catches your imagination, as it does mine.
April 21, 2013
I am currently obsessed with deserts in general and the Rub' al-Khali and the Sahara in particular. And I loved this book; but I fear my obsession with deserts might have coloured my view of this book to an unacceptable degree. This is a fairly straightforward narrative about Langewiesche's trip through the core of the Sahara from Algiers to Dakar. He interlaces the narrative with a few Tuareg stories and a little bit of politics mainly dealing with how the desert peoples interact (or don't) with the peoples of the Sahel and the Mediterranean coast. So all of this is good.
But there are a few hints that I would not have liked this kind of travel book had it not been about the Sahara. First of all I have a few qualms with the style: it's a spare, Hemingwayesque style that is a bit affected. When writing on what happens to the human body when deprived of water this style is very effective. But through most of the book if feels a bit too much like a bad imitation of Hemingway.
The second problem I had with the book is that the author just doesn't seem to like the people he meets very much. Of if he does, he doesn't portray them very sympathetically. They all seem a bit remote. The author, too, seems a bit remote for most of the book - but this might be a good thing because it makes the Sahara the main character. But I do prefer such travel books as Tim Mackintosh-Smith's where the characters appear more three dimensional.
But despite these few negatives, the book was still a very rewarding read and despite my qualms about the prose it was very readable and I read the whole book in just a couple days.
But there are a few hints that I would not have liked this kind of travel book had it not been about the Sahara. First of all I have a few qualms with the style: it's a spare, Hemingwayesque style that is a bit affected. When writing on what happens to the human body when deprived of water this style is very effective. But through most of the book if feels a bit too much like a bad imitation of Hemingway.
The second problem I had with the book is that the author just doesn't seem to like the people he meets very much. Of if he does, he doesn't portray them very sympathetically. They all seem a bit remote. The author, too, seems a bit remote for most of the book - but this might be a good thing because it makes the Sahara the main character. But I do prefer such travel books as Tim Mackintosh-Smith's where the characters appear more three dimensional.
But despite these few negatives, the book was still a very rewarding read and despite my qualms about the prose it was very readable and I read the whole book in just a couple days.
November 25, 2015
This book was easily one of the best books that I have read this year. It is Paul Theroux like from the standpoint of adventure and cultural travel and gives great insight to the people of the Sahara desert. He begins his travel in Algiers and winds his way hundreds of miles through the desert oasises south through Niger and then by boat, bus and train through Timbuktu, Bamako ]where a terrorist attack occurred just a few days ago 11/15] and to the Atlantic coast at Dakar. The heart of the book, however, is his insight to the many cultures of this area and his ability to give the reader the smells, sights and sounds of this most remote land.
April 11, 2020
Langewiesche makes a slow journey from the Mediterranean port of Algiers in Northern Africa to Senegal's capital, Dakar, on the Atlantic, by way of the Sahara desert. He rides buses, desert taxis, and cargo trucks on the southbound part of his trip, experiencing many types of desert terrain, including the Sahara of our imagination, the towering, ever-moving sand dunes. Along the way he meets up with friends both old and new, undergoes a day of terror at being abandoned to die, always commenting in his insightful style on the peoples and cultures he finds.
May 12, 2019
Stunning, stunning book. Read this ahead of a 250km foot race I did in the Sahara Desert and the world that Langewiesche painted was lush, austere, and enchanting all at once. One of the most immersive books I've ever read. It gave me a greater appreciation of the desert once I was there. Even if you don't plan to go and see the Sahara in person (or particularly if you don't plan to do so) you should read this, if only to experience the magic of the Great Desert.
September 18, 2020
This was pretty good, obviously more than a little outdated at this point in the specifics. It was interesting reading the perspective of a white man in the 90s, I kind of kept my guard up and did very much get the sense that I would not like the author, but I can’t say he’s wrong about the unforgiving intensity of the desert or the general hopelessness of the people. Interesting dive into some of the colonial dynamics as well.
December 9, 2018
This book gives a good picture of life and the landscape of the Sahara as he travels overland from Algiers to Dakar. As he writes, he brings out the lives of Saharan families he gets to know intimately and also uses folk tales that help explain the harshness of life in the desert. In his writing, Langewiesche helped me get a sense of this well-known, but seldom visited place to life for me.
February 13, 2019
An interesting and different perspective of the Sahara thats more about the real people and cultures of the area rather than a travelogue. So, it's a different insight to this area and therefore quite intriguing.
August 21, 2019
Amazing travel writing leaving you wanting more. A real page turner
November 22, 2019
A breathtaking ride from algeria to the heart of Sahara..
April 5, 2024
I used to live in the greater Phoenix metro area for about a decade, and on vacation once to Death Valley did some hiking through the sand dunes there. Those experiences have probably satisfied my curiosities about adventures in the desert. Having read "Sahara Unveiled" now, I can say that I have little desire to wander through the Sahara Desert. But to read about those who have makes for a decidedly rich, vicarious experience.
Langewiesche starts in Algiers, heads south through the distance of Algeria, before finally crossing into Niger. Once in Niger, he heads west into Mali. He pauses while in Mali to recount an earlier trip into the Sahara section of Mauritania. There is a brief section at the end where he arrives in Dakar, Senegal. For most of the narrative, he is in the Algerian section of the Sahara.
There are many compelling narratives shared in this book. Langewiesche writes with precision about the dangers of the Sahara. He tells stories of those who ventured out into the desert. Some of these tales end in tragedy, like the one of a Belgian family that is particularly haunting. Some of the tales make you marvel at how humans can endure such extreme conditions. Langwiesche is even in danger himself for a while when he is abandoned by his guide while he is looking at some cave art while on an excursion in the desert near the Libyan border.
I picked up this book because I wanted to learn more about the country of Algeria. And while I did learn about the country of Algeria and its people, especially the Tuareg in the south of Algeria, the main character in the story is undoubtedly the Sahara itself, which threatens to expand itself into a larger and more malign character every year, with no malice intended, as Langewiesche eloquently shows us in this memorable travelogue. I wish he had written a few more books about his travels. He is worth reading.
Langewiesche starts in Algiers, heads south through the distance of Algeria, before finally crossing into Niger. Once in Niger, he heads west into Mali. He pauses while in Mali to recount an earlier trip into the Sahara section of Mauritania. There is a brief section at the end where he arrives in Dakar, Senegal. For most of the narrative, he is in the Algerian section of the Sahara.
There are many compelling narratives shared in this book. Langewiesche writes with precision about the dangers of the Sahara. He tells stories of those who ventured out into the desert. Some of these tales end in tragedy, like the one of a Belgian family that is particularly haunting. Some of the tales make you marvel at how humans can endure such extreme conditions. Langwiesche is even in danger himself for a while when he is abandoned by his guide while he is looking at some cave art while on an excursion in the desert near the Libyan border.
I picked up this book because I wanted to learn more about the country of Algeria. And while I did learn about the country of Algeria and its people, especially the Tuareg in the south of Algeria, the main character in the story is undoubtedly the Sahara itself, which threatens to expand itself into a larger and more malign character every year, with no malice intended, as Langewiesche eloquently shows us in this memorable travelogue. I wish he had written a few more books about his travels. He is worth reading.
March 12, 2023
Great travel book about the Sahara desert. I was inspired to read this book because I've been interested in traveling to the oasis towns of Algeria (Ghardaia, Timmimoun) for some time, but have never been to the Sahara desert or Africa (I'm guessing your average American probably thinks the desert was named after the hotel in Vegas). What the author succeeds at is conveying a sense of place: the vastness, harshness and beauty of the world's largest (non-polar) desert, and the tenuous existence of its human inhabitants. The author weaves in his own travel adventures from Algiers to Dakar with the history, anthropology, natural history of the areas he traverses.
What I found missing was a bit more introspection on the author's part: he seemed quick to pass judgement on the people, countries and cultures he passed through without giving a real sense of what motivated him originally to come to the Sahara. There is also the vein of 'look how much I can suffer and endure' that sometimes comes through in the travel writing of white men visiting countries in the global south.
Overall, I am glad I read this book, as it gave me a chance to get to know a region I find fascinating but will probably not actually visit anytime soon. The book is a bit dated - he wrote it in 1997 - but I think many of the issues remain pertinent: desertification, Tuareg rebellions and issues of poverty and political unrest especially in the Sahel Countries. If you are at all interested in this corner of the world, I would recommend Sahara Unveiled.
What I found missing was a bit more introspection on the author's part: he seemed quick to pass judgement on the people, countries and cultures he passed through without giving a real sense of what motivated him originally to come to the Sahara. There is also the vein of 'look how much I can suffer and endure' that sometimes comes through in the travel writing of white men visiting countries in the global south.
Overall, I am glad I read this book, as it gave me a chance to get to know a region I find fascinating but will probably not actually visit anytime soon. The book is a bit dated - he wrote it in 1997 - but I think many of the issues remain pertinent: desertification, Tuareg rebellions and issues of poverty and political unrest especially in the Sahel Countries. If you are at all interested in this corner of the world, I would recommend Sahara Unveiled.
November 1, 2025
I discovered William Langewiesche through a terrific recommendation by Nicholas Thompson through his newsletter "The Most Interesting Reads". I raced through William's article - "The World in its Extreme" published in the Nov'91 edition of The Atlantic. Once I finished the article, I was hooked and I knew that I had to read the entire book.
Sahara Unveiled took me through a journey across Algeria, Libya, Niger, Maurtania and Mali. This is one of the best travelogues I have read in a long time. It covers a wide gamut of issues - moral, political, social, historical and geographical. I could almost taste the sand of the Sahara in my mouth. The author maintains a balanced and bias-free approach to his writing. The reader is not urged to feel pity for the residents of the desert/Africa as some writings on Africa tend to do.
This book introduced me to a region and culture that I was unaware of. A must-read.
Sahara Unveiled took me through a journey across Algeria, Libya, Niger, Maurtania and Mali. This is one of the best travelogues I have read in a long time. It covers a wide gamut of issues - moral, political, social, historical and geographical. I could almost taste the sand of the Sahara in my mouth. The author maintains a balanced and bias-free approach to his writing. The reader is not urged to feel pity for the residents of the desert/Africa as some writings on Africa tend to do.
This book introduced me to a region and culture that I was unaware of. A must-read.
December 29, 2023
A rambling travelogue through an impossibly remote and exotic part of the world, but as usual I didn't get what I wanted out of it. It was never clear to me what the author's purpose was - he is a former airline pilot turned...what? Travel writer? Reporter? He didn't seem to derive much pleasure or satisfaction from his journey, nor to reach any firm conclusions about...what? African life? The evolution of Saharan societies? French colonialism? Race and class divisions in Africa? Stylistically, there were some distracting time and geography jumps in the narrative, and here and there the author inserted two-page "chapters" wherein he would retell an African/Saharan folktale, presumably to illustrate some Deeper Truth about life in the Sahara, but I was never able to figure out what point was being made. And the bits about recent Algerian history, the Tuareg wars, and the Islamic revolution were impossible to follow. Maybe I need to stop reading travelogues as I inevitably find them unsatisfying and disappointing. (I probably wrote that exact sentence the last time I reviewed a travelogue!)
September 11, 2025
4.5/5.0
This was William Langewiesche's second book (1996). It feels like a travel memoir, but a very nerdy one. It is more like a geographical journey highlighting the people and history of a relatively unknown part of the world.
I read this book every night. I preferred reading it in complete silence or with a low-volume instrumental track in the background. I think I preferred the solitude because it was as if I was watching scenes from a compelling, scenic, expansive movie. But instead of watching, I had to read, and that required my absolute attention. I did not want a single distraction as I slipped into this alternate reality.
There are so many important things that the author covered in this book that feel timeless. He spends a lot of time discussing the desert and desertification (climate change). He talks about human nature, of which he was a keen observer, indirectly through his interactions with the people of the region. The book's majority is on the travels in Algeria, in particular. I really loved reading about the ancient drawings because this region went through significant climate change during the mid-Holocene.
The latter part of the book lacks the liberated tone of the earlier part, but I suspect it's because the latter part of the journey through Niger, Mali, and Senegal was miserable and, frankly, life-threatening. The abject poverty is portrayed both rationally and with empathy. Langewiesche describes what he sees with no judgment, and truly puts us right where he was. The reality of post-colonial identity persists throughout the text.
As I read this book, I wondered to myself, who in their right mind would voluntarily take a journey like this? Dusty, dirty, lonely, isolated, and very, very hot. It isn't particularly romantic, the desert, but somehow, it is mesmerizing. Bravely done. RIP William Langewiesche.
This was William Langewiesche's second book (1996). It feels like a travel memoir, but a very nerdy one. It is more like a geographical journey highlighting the people and history of a relatively unknown part of the world.
I read this book every night. I preferred reading it in complete silence or with a low-volume instrumental track in the background. I think I preferred the solitude because it was as if I was watching scenes from a compelling, scenic, expansive movie. But instead of watching, I had to read, and that required my absolute attention. I did not want a single distraction as I slipped into this alternate reality.
There are so many important things that the author covered in this book that feel timeless. He spends a lot of time discussing the desert and desertification (climate change). He talks about human nature, of which he was a keen observer, indirectly through his interactions with the people of the region. The book's majority is on the travels in Algeria, in particular. I really loved reading about the ancient drawings because this region went through significant climate change during the mid-Holocene.
The latter part of the book lacks the liberated tone of the earlier part, but I suspect it's because the latter part of the journey through Niger, Mali, and Senegal was miserable and, frankly, life-threatening. The abject poverty is portrayed both rationally and with empathy. Langewiesche describes what he sees with no judgment, and truly puts us right where he was. The reality of post-colonial identity persists throughout the text.
As I read this book, I wondered to myself, who in their right mind would voluntarily take a journey like this? Dusty, dirty, lonely, isolated, and very, very hot. It isn't particularly romantic, the desert, but somehow, it is mesmerizing. Bravely done. RIP William Langewiesche.
October 11, 2024
William Langewiesche describes the world of deserted strip of Northern Africa. From the start of his journey onto the faraway sands of Algeria, you learn about true identity of Tuaregs and why Europeans travel and die on the border of Algeria and Niger. You get to explore the Moors identity in Mauritania, and get to dissolve the magic of Malian Timbuktu.
As someone who’s travelling to the region soon,
I found this book very insightful, real and well-researched.
Thank you for such wonderful Saharan world immersion.
P.S. “In its kindness and celebration, in its acceptance of life, Africa can feel like the most human place on Earth.” — quote from the book
As someone who’s travelling to the region soon,
I found this book very insightful, real and well-researched.
Thank you for such wonderful Saharan world immersion.
P.S. “In its kindness and celebration, in its acceptance of life, Africa can feel like the most human place on Earth.” — quote from the book
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