The Road to Timbuctoo

Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1956, 221 pages. Foxing to page edges and endpapers, previous owner's name/date inside front cover, tears and chips to spine (inlcuindg 5 cm piece missing from lower spine) which have been repaired with brown paper internally and the dustjacket covered with plastic to protect.

This is a story of adventure, of the unkonwn Saraha where veiled Tuareg warriors hunt with spears and broadswords, where black serfs fill their goatskins at ancient wells, and where caravans ply the desert at camel's pace as they did long before Columbus sailed the Atlantic. It is the story of a journey that few from the outside world have ever attempted. ... Wherever [the author] went he found extraordinary personages, tribal kings, medieval caids, desert queens and prostitutes, vassals and nobles. His narrative describes every aspect of the bizarre way of life that makes survival possible in these remote places; and we are delighted throughout by his sense of discovery. There are nineteen photographs, all taken by the author. - from front and back flap