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Skeletons on the Zahara by: Dean King List Price: CDN$ 36.95 Price: CDN$ 28.95 You Save: CDN$8.00 (22%)Prices subject to change. |
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Binding: Hardcover Dewey Decimal Number: 916.48041 EAN: 9780316835145 ISBN: 0316835145 Label: Little Brown and Company Manufacturer: Little Brown and Company Number Of Pages: 368 Publication Date: February 16, 2004 Publisher: Little Brown and Company Studio: Little Brown and Company Sales Rank: 240667 Browse for similar items by category:
Customer Reviews
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 Rating:  - Twin journeys very satisfyingKing follows in the desperate footsteps of Captain Riley and his marooned crew -- and in the end almost replicates as their struggle for survive and sanity. King lives out their story in his head while tracing their paths through the cruel sands. Well done. An interesting contrast is Peter Hillary's diabolical attempt to complete Captain Robert Scott's famous fatal journey -- chronicled in the beguiling and very different IN THE GHOST COUNTRY -- and nearly ended up repeating it. What makes Hillary's book both important and effective is its exploration of the inner life, of fear and guilt and loneliness, which thereby makes it a book that anyone with half a brain and a full heart can relate to. A great one. Rating: - Fascinating tale of survival"Skeletons on the Zahara" by Dean King reflects a recent trend in history writing towards more personal, localized discussions of history. Books like "Twelve Days of Terror", "The Devil in the White City" and "Krakatoa" taken events that were enormously important when they occurred, but which have, over time, faded into vague remembrance. By looking at these forgotten events, the author has an opportunity to not only tell and original story, but also reflect upon the era as a whole, and draw conclusions about how it shaped, and was shaped by, the event in question. Handled poorly, this approach can feel severely contrived, as the writer attempts to shoehorn a host of effects into his ill-fitting cause. However, when done successfully, ... Read More: Rating:  - what if a good writer had written this story?I agree with the other reviewer who said that this story cannot compare with Shackleton's story, but this is still a story worth reading. Too bad it is written by a mediocre writer. Dean King tries to enliven the story by pretending to know what Riley and his shipmates must have said or thought. At one point, he says that Riley picked up a piece of fruit that he must have thought was a date. The fruit was bitter, and King says that Riley made a connection between the looks-good-tastes-bitter fruit and Africa. Except that this little metaphor is fiction and I doubt that Riley ever thought Africa looked good. King's attempts to turn this into a spiritual journey or to find the wisdom hidden in the misery...you'd find better in high school essays. The ... Read More: Rating:  - For the malnourished reader -- a double treatAfter a frustrating run with a dozen or so mediocre books (three best-selling thrillers, two famous name memoirs, three populist science and the universe curios and assorted easy-digest sex and violence trash teasers) I've read TWO brilliant books in one week! SKELETONS OF THE ZAHARA was one of them. Survival stories can be a real drag after a while, as the miseries begin to mount with no end, but King has managed to make this tale sing with the excitement of legend. There are times when there's something spiritual about the trials of these men, especially when they go out of their minds and into a trippy state with thirst and anxiety. A superb tale. The other book that has simply stunned me is IN THE GHOST COUNTRY. It's about Peter Hillary's ... Read More: Rating: - HOPE FOR TODAY!.....SUCH A CONTRIBUTION !!Reading that the author, Dean King, was going to speak locally, I was drawn to his talk ( and film presentation) by his discovery not only of a miraculous survival story, but of the incredulous human connection between two men of very different backgrounds, ( worlds actually) which basically only knew to fear and avoid each other at all costs. Through their journey, their own humanity came forth under which we would consider brutal condtions. The trust, friendship and respect between a devout Christian and devout Muslim exceeded all bonds. This, to me, is where the author's gift and treasure lie of this book.. the historical account which King researched very thoroughly, is amazing enough, but that he was able to keep and honor that which the ... Read More: |
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