What do you think?
Rate this book
A Vanished World
A Vanished World
192 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2001
2 people are currently reading
286 people want to read
About the author
Wilfred Thesiger
36 books199 followersSir Wilfred Patrick Thesiger, KBE, DSO, MA, DLitt, FRAS, FRSL, FRGS, FBA, was a British explorer and travel writer born in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.
Thesiger was educated at Eton College and Magdalen College, Oxford University where he took a third in history. Between 1930 and 1933, Thesiger represented Oxford at boxing and later (1933) became captain of the Oxford boxing team.
In 1930, Thesiger returned to Africa, having received a personal invitation by Emperor Haile Selassie to attend his coronation. He returned again in 1933 in an expedition, funded in part by the Royal Geographical Society, to explore the course of the Awash River. During this expedition, he became the first European to enter the Aussa Sultanate and visit Lake Abbe.
Afterwards, in 1935, Thesiger joined the Sudan Political Service stationed in Darfur and the Upper Nile. He served in several desert campaigns with the Sudan Defence Force (SDF) and the Special Air Service (SAS) with the rank of major.
In World War II, Thesiger fought with Gideon Force in Ethiopia during the East African Campaign. He was awarded the DSO for capturing Agibar and its garrison of 2500 Italian troops. Afterwards, Thesiger served in the Long Range Desert Group during the North African Campaign.
There is a rare wartime photograph of Thesiger in this period. He appears in a well-known photograph usually used to illustrate the badge of the Greek Sacred Squadron. It is usually captioned 'a Greek officer of the Sacred Band briefing British troops'. The officer is recognisably the famous Tsigantes and one of the crowd is recognisably Thesiger. Thesiger is the tall figure with the distinct nasal profile. Characteristically, he is in Arab headdress. Thesiger was the liaison officer to the Greek Squadron.
In 1945, Thesiger worked in Arabia with the Desert Locusts Research Organisation. Meanwhile, from 1945 to 1949, he explored the southern regions of the Arabian peninsula and twice crossed the Empty Quarter. His travels also took him to Iraq, Persia (now Iran), Kurdistan, French West Africa, Pakistan, and Kenya. He returned to England in the 1990s and was knighted in 1995.
Thesiger is best known for two travel books. Arabian Sands (1959) recounts his travels in the Empty Quarter of Arabia between 1945 and 1950 and describes the vanishing way of life of the Bedouins. The Marsh Arabs (1964) is an account of the Madan, the indigenous people of the marshlands of southern Iraq. The latter journey is also covered by his travelling companion, Gavin Maxwell, in A Reed Shaken By The Wind — a Journey Through the Unexplored Marshlands of Iraq (Longman, 1959).
Thesiger took many photographs during his travels and donated his vast collection of 25,000 negatives to the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford.
Thesiger was educated at Eton College and Magdalen College, Oxford University where he took a third in history. Between 1930 and 1933, Thesiger represented Oxford at boxing and later (1933) became captain of the Oxford boxing team.
In 1930, Thesiger returned to Africa, having received a personal invitation by Emperor Haile Selassie to attend his coronation. He returned again in 1933 in an expedition, funded in part by the Royal Geographical Society, to explore the course of the Awash River. During this expedition, he became the first European to enter the Aussa Sultanate and visit Lake Abbe.
Afterwards, in 1935, Thesiger joined the Sudan Political Service stationed in Darfur and the Upper Nile. He served in several desert campaigns with the Sudan Defence Force (SDF) and the Special Air Service (SAS) with the rank of major.
In World War II, Thesiger fought with Gideon Force in Ethiopia during the East African Campaign. He was awarded the DSO for capturing Agibar and its garrison of 2500 Italian troops. Afterwards, Thesiger served in the Long Range Desert Group during the North African Campaign.
There is a rare wartime photograph of Thesiger in this period. He appears in a well-known photograph usually used to illustrate the badge of the Greek Sacred Squadron. It is usually captioned 'a Greek officer of the Sacred Band briefing British troops'. The officer is recognisably the famous Tsigantes and one of the crowd is recognisably Thesiger. Thesiger is the tall figure with the distinct nasal profile. Characteristically, he is in Arab headdress. Thesiger was the liaison officer to the Greek Squadron.
In 1945, Thesiger worked in Arabia with the Desert Locusts Research Organisation. Meanwhile, from 1945 to 1949, he explored the southern regions of the Arabian peninsula and twice crossed the Empty Quarter. His travels also took him to Iraq, Persia (now Iran), Kurdistan, French West Africa, Pakistan, and Kenya. He returned to England in the 1990s and was knighted in 1995.
Thesiger is best known for two travel books. Arabian Sands (1959) recounts his travels in the Empty Quarter of Arabia between 1945 and 1950 and describes the vanishing way of life of the Bedouins. The Marsh Arabs (1964) is an account of the Madan, the indigenous people of the marshlands of southern Iraq. The latter journey is also covered by his travelling companion, Gavin Maxwell, in A Reed Shaken By The Wind — a Journey Through the Unexplored Marshlands of Iraq (Longman, 1959).
Thesiger took many photographs during his travels and donated his vast collection of 25,000 negatives to the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 20, 2011
A few weeks ago I reviewed
by Wilfred Thesiger and heaped a whole sand dunes worth of praise onto Thesiger's life story and his quest to understand, participate in and see a world which even then was rapidly disappearing. This is heapy praise review number two where I start to create a small dune system of praise.
When Thesiger was not exploring for the Royal Geographic Society, representing Queen and country as an ambassador or writing epic books describing his experiences crossing the Empty Quarter (Rub' Al Khali in the southern Arabian Peninsular) he was also a dab-hand with a camera. A Vanished World is literally a snap-shot insight into the denizens of the nomadic tribes that Thesiger visited and travelled with, as he sought out small corners of the earth which were yet to be irreversibly altered by the clumsy march of progress. Beautifully shot, poetic and haunting, the photographs in this volume highlight the unique beauty of each human face and also capture their tribal clothes, tools, markings, gewgaws and personal decorations.
There are not a lot of words in this book but poetry comes in many forms.
by Wilfred Thesiger and heaped a whole sand dunes worth of praise onto Thesiger's life story and his quest to understand, participate in and see a world which even then was rapidly disappearing. This is heapy praise review number two where I start to create a small dune system of praise.When Thesiger was not exploring for the Royal Geographic Society, representing Queen and country as an ambassador or writing epic books describing his experiences crossing the Empty Quarter (Rub' Al Khali in the southern Arabian Peninsular) he was also a dab-hand with a camera. A Vanished World is literally a snap-shot insight into the denizens of the nomadic tribes that Thesiger visited and travelled with, as he sought out small corners of the earth which were yet to be irreversibly altered by the clumsy march of progress. Beautifully shot, poetic and haunting, the photographs in this volume highlight the unique beauty of each human face and also capture their tribal clothes, tools, markings, gewgaws and personal decorations.
There are not a lot of words in this book but poetry comes in many forms.
February 7, 2015
This book is very difficult to find and when found can be very expensive. Alone, it is a book with wonderful black and white images of Africa and the middle east principally dating from the 1920's through the early 1980"s. My compulsion to find and read this book came from my love of the author's book, "Arabian Sands. Since I finished that book I have searched for a copy of this book which is the pictorial history of the desert journeys described in "Arabian Sands" and puts a face on people and places described in his adventure. Both books are very haunting because of the hardships endured by the tribal natives and the strength of their character which is shown in the written accounts, but highlighted by every line in their faces, in their clothes and in their surroundings which this book illustrates so well. Both are examples of a very few books that I have read in the past decade that I will read again.
July 18, 2008
Not only are Thersiger's photographs excellent, his descriptions of his years of travel with the inhabitants of the Empty Quarter of what is now Saudi Arabia is personal yet a compelling story of how people live in what I might call a hostile environment and they simply call "home". He has a style for revealing the inner character of not only his traveling companions but also those they encountered and avoided. A compelling story of some of the Arabicc tribes and families in the early 1900s.
His portrayals of their care of their camels, falcons, and other animals are revealing of the character of the people. And sharing a cup of coffee is far different from a Western coffeehouse experience.
His portrayals of their care of their camels, falcons, and other animals are revealing of the character of the people. And sharing a cup of coffee is far different from a Western coffeehouse experience.
Read
January 17, 2026Thesiger spent a long lifetime living among and travelling with the various pastoralist tribes that inhabited the long dry band from Chad to Pakistan. Despising modern life he lived with people whose lives were comprised of their animals, their tribes, and the work of their own hands. His photos captured the strength and beauty of that life.
April 22, 2020
Stunning black-and-white photographs of Arabia and North Africa from the mid-20th century. I had visited Morocco a few months before I found this book which made it even more interesting.
August 22, 2008
Mostly pictures and very little commentary about what the author/photographer experienced (pictures taken long before publication, would be a good companion book while reading history of the middle east)
January 11, 2008
beautiful photographs to look at while reading arabian sands
November 23, 2009
Yes, it's a picture book. But, ah......... what pictures. The perfect companion to "Arabian Sands".
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews