Wilfred Thesiger: The Life of the Great Explorer - Hardcover

Maitland, Alexander

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1590201639 ISBN 13: 9781590201633

Publisher: Overlook Pr, 2011

Synopsis

Physical description; xiii, 528 pages: illustrations, maps, portrait; 24 cm. Includes bibliographical references (pages 501-510) and index. Originally published: Great Britain : Harper Press, 2006. Summary; Wilfred Thesiger (1910-2003), the last of the great gentlemen explorer-adventurers, journeyed for sixty years to some of the remotest, most dangerous places on earth from the mountains of western Asia to the marshes of Iraq. The author of Arabian Sands, The Marsh Arabs and The Life of my Choice, he was a legend in his own lifetime but his character and motivations have remained an intriguing enigma. In this authorized biography--written with Thesiger's support before he died in 2003 and with unique access to the rich Thesiger archive--Alexander Maitland investigates this fascinating figure's family influences, his wartime experiences, his philosophy as a hunter and conservationist, his writing and photography, his friendships with Arabs and Africans amongst whom he lived, and his now-acknowledged homosexuality.--From publisher description. Contents; The Emperor Menelik's 'new flower' -- Hope and fortune -- Gorgeous barbarity -- 'One handsome rajah' -- Passages to India and England -- The cold, bleak English Downs -- Eton: lasting respect and veneration -- Shrine of my youth -- The mountains of Arussi -- Across the Sultanate of Aussa -- Savage Sudan -- The Nuer -- Rape of my homeland -- Among the Druze -- The flowering desert -- Palestine: shifting lights and shades -- Prelude to Arabia -- Arabian sands -- Marsh and mountain -- Among the mountains -- A winter in Copenhagen -- Camel journeys to the Jade Sea -- With nomadic tribes in other lands -- Kenya days. Subjects; Thesiger, Wilfred, 1910-2003. Explorers--Great Britain--Biography. Travel. Arabian Peninsula--Description and travel. Africa, North--Description and travel. Great Britain.

About this title

Product Description:

The author of Arabian Sands and The Marsh Arabs and The Life of my Choice, he was a legend in his own lifetime but his character and motivations have remained an intriguing enigma. In this authorized biography--written with Thesiger's support before he died in 2003 and with unique access to the rich Thesiger archive--Alexander Maitland investigates this fascinating figure's family influences, his wartime experiences, his philosophy as a hunter and conservationist, his writing and photography, his friendships with Arabs and Africans amongst whom he lived, and his now-acknowledged homosexuality.

Review:

"Biographies of famous travelers-and Mr. Maitland's "Wilfred Thesiger" is an especially good example of the genre-are always an excuse to ponder first principles . . . Mr. Maitland has interesting things to say about all the books, noting the way, for example, in which the autobiography, "The Life of My Choice" (1987), embellishes without ever quite betraying its original material." -- "The Wall Street Journal"
"For Maitland, Thesinger's friend and literary collaborator for 40 years, this biography is clearly a labor of love. But it is also balanced, and doesn't avoid Thesinger's quirks or limitations . . . A superb tribute to an admirable but enigmatic man." -- "Booklist"
"It's the inner journey that resonates most in this sweeping biography of a late exemplar of the British yen for exotic self-exile . . . Maitland (Speke and the Discovery of the Source of the Nile), Thesiger's longtime friend and editor, serves up a vivid account of his adventures and a perceptive por

"Masterly." — Ben Macintyre, "The Times"

"Masterly."----Ben Macintyre, "The Times" (10/31/2011)

"Masterly."

"For Maitland, Thesinger''s friend and literary collaborator for 40 years, this biography is clearly a labor of love. But it is also balanced, and doesn''t avoid Thesinger''s quirks or limitations . . . A superb tribute to an admirable but enigmatic man."---"Booklist"

"This book is a worthy testament to an exceptional life . . . someone who evoked complete worlds of brutal majesty."---"The Independent on Sunday"

"For those nostalgic about for the glory days of the British empire, this biography should have a certain appeal."---"Kirkus"

"Masterly."----Ben Macintyre, "The Times"

"It''s the inner journey that resonates most in this sweeping biography of a late exemplar of the British yen for exotic self-exile . . . Maitland (Speke and the Discovery of the Source of the Nile), Thesiger''s longtime friend and editor, serves up a vivid account of his adventures and a perceptive portrait of a complex man--ebullient hunter, repressed homosexual, man''s man, and spiritual seeker who hoped that desert sand would scour clean his soul . . . The scenery is magnificent, and Thesiger makes for a charismatic travel companion."---"Publishers Weekly"

"Maitland''s respect for his friend shines through all 544 pages of"Wilfred Thesiger: The Life of the Great Explorer" . . . In this biography, Maitland paints a portrait of Thesiger detailed in a way that only the work of a close friend could be . . . Maitland puts his work in order, preserving Thesiger''s calm fascination with his travels while filling in the accounts with excerpts from letters, photographs, reports and interviews. The result is a striking and thorough biography of one of Britain''s last great explorers."----Shelf Awareness

About this edition

• Publisher: Overlook Pr
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1590201639
• ISBN 13: 9781590201633
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 528