The Forgotten Path

by David Newman

Vivid account of a bloody-minded individual's troubled drive from the UK to Nigeria in Ford Zephyr in the late 1950s, following an obscure Saharan route through northern Mauritania.

190 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Reviews

[Daren · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Newman seems like that friend who is always in trouble - the stubborn one who refuses to back down, who seldom admits he was wrong, who is always borrowing money and is unable to repay it, and who is genuinely very lucky. Notwithstanding that he is the most interesting friend you have...

But I have go t ahead of myself. In the early 1960s Englishman David Newman had an old flatmate who was living and working in Nigeria who invited him to come over some time. Newman phoned him up out of the blue one day to let him know he was coming - by car. He had just bought himself a new Ford Zephyr, and was confident that the trip from London through the Sahara would be possible. In fact at every level of enquiry he was told it was impossible - which became his motivation to succeed.

All his savings spent he begged and borrowed to buy the last of his equipment. He set up another good friend to bankroll him by wiring him money whenever required! He obtained a few visa's but decided primarily to deal with the border complications on the way.

Initially he had a travelling companion (whose own father warned him was worthless, and that he would regret it) but he turned out to be a poor fit and was kicked out after a short time. He also had another companion in northern Africa for a time, but he was mysteriously arrested at a border, and Newman had to proceed alone. However he picked up yet another companion for the final section of his trip, an experienced fellow who was part of a Cambridge University trip by Landrover in a similar route the other direction who was prepared to come out to join him.

For the largest part, stubbornness drove him on. Extreme risks were taken, incredibly recklessly, time and time again he drove off into the desert alone to become stuck in the sand, low on water, out of food etc etc. Incredibly for him it always seemed to work out that someone came along - luckily for the reader, he got to write his book.

reliance on the French Military was high, and often made for uncomfortable reading where he promised to pay, knowing full well he hadn't the funds to do so. He borrowed from his bankrolling friend, he borrowed from British consulates, he paid the Ford Agent for carparts with a cheque he knew was going to bounce.

His route was Britain - France - Spain - Gibraltar - Morocco - Algeria - Mauritania - (perhaps a small diversion into Spanish Sahara (Western Sahara)) - Senegal - The Gambia - Senegal - Mali - Upper Volta (Burkina Faso) - Ghana - Togoland (Togo) - Dahomey (Benin) - Nigeria. It was an interesting time for many of these countries, as they were literally becoming independent from France at the time of travel. This assisted Newman as the newly independent counties were unsure how to manage visa's and border controls, so his lack of visa's didn't trip him up (much).

Anyway, all these reckless acts, his immense good luck and his ability to get outcomes from the least expected sources all made this an excellent and entertaining read. At less than 200 pages it was a quick and enjoyable read about a man prepared to take great risks for the love of travel and adventure.

Predictably by the time Newman arrives in Nigeria his flatmate has departed, and upon being asked what next, he calmly states he will return to the UK to raise some money to finance the return journey Zephyr, by a route through the middle of the Sahara this time. Impossible, everyone tells him...

4 stars

[Margaret Lind · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's the audacity of Newman's idea -- to drive his Ford Zephyr thru the Saharan Desert from Morocco to Nigeria to visit a friend -- that drew me to this book. But it was the fact that I knew it would take lots of guts and lots of mechanical ability in order to do it! And because I thought my late husband, a lifelong lover of everything automotive, would actually LOVE this book for its adventure that I chose to acquire an older copy and read it! (I first learned of it from his daughter, Veronica Bower-Feek, whose book Revolving Door drew me in also! See my review of her book elsewhere.) I do consider Path to be a little known "cult classic" among mechanics and car guys! But I also loved it! Without proper papers and under the most trying of circumstances, Newman learns how to drive in the desert... always an eye out for soft sand... also how to get the assistance of soldiers stationed in the desert! His daily adventures are quite hilarious throughout a good half of the book. But, I, as another reader who reviewed this book for amazon, also came to the place in the book where it was no longer funny. By that time, with the same determination he showed, I steeled myself to the very end...

[Gor Llewin]

a bit of a vanity trek really ! his antics couldve sparked an international incident and some of his views arent so groovy. however he did help a bit to build the clinic in agadir and THAT brings us to a real mystery : who precisely was the woman in charge of the project, cherry creswell-turner ? a sustained net search only results in more enigma although he said he met up with her afterwards back in london. but its all very hazy
G L