Description

‘Engrossing, enlightening, original … brilliant’ The Times

This is the story of the Sahara as you’ve never seen it before

In this sweeping, majesterial account, Judith Scheele reveals the rich history and complex reality of the world’s largest hot desert. Drawing on decades of research, and years spent living in the region, Scheele leads us from the ancient Roman Empire through the bloody colonial era to the geopolitics of the present – and the race for resources that will define the future. The Sahara covers parts of eleven countries, and Scheele follows in the footsteps and tyre-tracks of the many people who cross the desert, taking us into the homes, mosques, palm groves and battlefields where history is written, spoken and remade.

The result is a masterful portrait of the Sahara. Encompassing the geology, religions, peoples and politics that shape and fracture the region, Shifting Sands tells the immersive story of a place whose future holds implications for us all.

‘A detailed, often gritty, picture of a fragile world … a clearsighted study of life on the edge’ Wall Street Journal

‘A fascinating and intimate perspective of the region from the ground-up’ Barnaby Rogerson

Publisher Review

A fascinating travelogue and history of the world’s largest hot desert … Fresh, original and energising * The Times * A captivating and indispensable work: Scheele clears the dust from our eyes to reveal the intricacies of a region few of us know nearly as well as we might believe. — Maxim Samson, author of Invisible Lines A gritty, deeply engaged, history of the fusion of peoples whose homeland is the Sahara. This is a fascinating and intimate perspective of the region from the ground-up: complete with plastic sandals, smugglers, migrants, border boom towns upheld by the Sahara’s enduring love affair with both camel and truck — Barnaby Rogerson, author * In Search of Ancient North Africa * A stunningly original and deeply empathetic guided tour of the world’s greatest desert … This is far and away the best book on a distant place that might represent our near future — Gregory Mann, Professor of History, Columbia University In this excellent book, the Sahara is given a present and a past as seen from the inside … Read her beautifully written and compelling account, ready for every preconception you might have held about its subject matter to be overturned — Peregrine Horden, All Souls College, Oxford Praise for Smugglers and Saints of the Sahara:
‘An irresistible read … something particular and intensely human’ — Deborah Harrold * The Journal of North African Studies * An academic page-turner … brilliantly written and thrilling to read — Roman Loimeier * Africa * A must-read for anyone interested in the region — Ghislaine Lydon – University of California, Los Angeles Scholarship is impressive, arguments convincing; this is the book many who know the Sahara will wish they had written — E. Ann McDougall – University of Alberta