The Last of the Bedu: In Search of the Myth - Softcover

Asher, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140147500 ISBN 13: 9780140147506

Publisher: Penguin, 1997

Synopsis

Michael Asher, distinguished Arabist and explorer, set out to discover whether the spirit of the Bedu, the nomads of the desert, has survived into the last decade of the twentieth century. His travels took him deep into history, mythology, anthropology and philosophy, and tens of thousands of miles through the most exotic and remote locations of the Middle East. This is a vivid portrayal of a culture that has succeeded in preserving its unique traditions while adapting and surviving in the post-industrial world.

About this title

Synopsis:

The view of the Arab as a hospitable, honest, wild yet noble camel herder living the simple unfettered life in his black tent has been nurtured so strongly in our own culture that the myth has continued to outshine the reality. Michael Asher first encountered the reality of the Bedu during his work as a teacher in Saudi Arabia - they bore little resemblance to the myth of the noble camel herder of popular Western legend. This book is his search for the Bedu of the past and his description of the Bedu of the present throughout the whole of the Arab world.

About the Author:

Michael Asher has been called 'one of Britain's two greatest living desert explorers' - the other being Wilfrid Thesiger. In 1993 he won the Royal Geographical Society's Ness Award for his desert expeditions. His books are highly acclaimed and include IN SEARCH OF THE FORTY DAYS ROAD, A DESERT DIES, IMPOSSIBLE JOURNEY, SHOOT TO KILL and THESIGER. He is currently working on a new biography of T. E. Lawrence. Michael Asher lives in Edinburgh.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0140147500
• ISBN 13: 9780140147506
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320