Kirjahaku

This vintage book is Bertram Thomas's 1932 travelogue, "Arabia Felix." It is a factual account of his epic voyage across the vast southern desert of the Arabian Peninsula from 1930-3. A fascinating page-turner that chronicles a stunning achievement likely never to be attempted again, "Arabia Felix" would make for a worthy addition to any collection, and constitutes a must-read for lovers of exciting non-fiction. Contents include: "A Propitious Start and an Early Check," "At Dhufar: Anarchy, Treachery, and Hospitality," "Skull-Measuring and Devil-Dancing," "In the Qara Mountains: 'Ain ar Rizat," "In the Qara Mountains, Ancient Survivals and the Blood Sacrifice," "The Qara Mountains. Hyenas, Faith Cures and Circumcision," etc. Bertram Sidney Thomas (1892-1950) was an English Arabist and the first person from the West to cross the Rub' al Khali. We are republishing this classic volume in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new biography of the author.

It is often assumed Wilfred Thesiger was the first non-Arab to cross the Rub Al Khali desert, despite doing so over a decade after Thomas and relying on the very Bedouin who Thomas used to guide him for the crossing. This edition has been completely retyped, images from the original books were scanned to improve print quality, and place-specific modern photographs included for context. Punctuation and spellings, though occasionally at odds with current usage and often inconsistent within the book have generally been kept as in the Bertram Thomas text. The expedition described in Arabia Felix is the culmination of several years of anticipation, and planning from 1926 by Bertram Thomas to achieve the first crossing by a non-Arab of the Rub Al Khali, the Empty Quarter desert. It might not be far-fetched in thinking that his taking employment in Oman was to be the means to that end.

The Annotated Account of the First Crossing of the Rub Al Khali Desert by a non-Arab.Bertram Thomas spent his working life from 1916, to his death in 1950 in the Arab World. In this book he describes his crossing of the vast Rub Al Khali Sand Desert from Salalah, in Dhofar Oman, though the desert to Doha, Qatar. He planned this epic adventure while working as a government minister to the Sultan of Muscat and Oman, having worked for many years in Iraq and then Jordan. New to this edition are place-specific modern Colour photographs for context, in addition to scanned black & white images by Bertram Thomas. An introductory biography to Thomas gives background to his achievement. This annotated edition has been completely retyped from the original Readers Union book, its images were scanned to improve print quality. Punctuation and spellings, though occasionally at odds with current usage and often inconsistent within the book have generally been kept as in the Bertram Thomas text. Full of unexpected events and fascinating insights into the Arabian culture, this is a must-read to understand parts of Arabia as they are today.This is a fascinating account of a groundbreaking expedition and ideal for anyone interested in Arabia and its people.