SAHARA: THE EXTRAORDINARY HISTORY OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST DESERT (PAPERBACK) BY MARQ DE VILLIERS, SHEILA HIRTLE

There are few books that explains Sahara desert in detail. The Extraordinary History by Marq De Villiers in his book explains history, geography, travel journal and science of Sahara. The authors detail separate sections on the history of the Sahara, the peoples of the Sahara, the winds, the water, the geography and the wildlife. A special chapter covers the lifestyle of the Taureg tribesman. Many wonderful photographs detail everything from a desert Hilton to the beautiful sand dunes to the people and wildlife of the Sahara.

Looking at the natural and human history of this area of the world, the book's text is an intersection of the various fields of geology, botany, ecology, geography, history, climatologic, and surprisingly, even hydrology. The author, in his book, describes this area from North to South, from the Atlantic to the West, to Red Sea in the East. The author covers all sorts of topics, from the aquifers that lie below the sand dunes, to describing the insect life above it, to the salt trading paths that passes through these dunes. The book also examines how various human societies have come to live in this desert, sometimes in spite of it. These include native societies such as the Tuareg, Berbers, and more recent ones such as the various Arab nations. The book is written with a slight liberal tilt as one can sense the respect for nature and native societies, and the critique of modern societies.