Shifting Sands by Judith Scheele (Paperback)

A radical new account of the Sahara - from pre-history to the present day

'A fascinating travelogue and history of the world's largest hot desert ... fresh, original and energising' THE TIMES

In this sweeping account, Judith Scheele reveals the rich history and complex reality of the world's largest hot desert.
Drawing on decades of research, and years spent living in the region, Scheele leads us from the ancient Roman Empire through the bloody colonial era to the geopolitics of the present - and the race for resources that will define the future.
The Sahara covers parts of eleven countries, and Scheele follows in the footsteps and tyre-tracks of the many people who cross the desert, taking us into the homes, mosques, palm groves and battlefields where history is written, spoken and remade.
The result is a masterful portrait of the Sahara. Encompassing the geology, religions, peoples and politics that shape and fracture the region, Shifting Sands tells the immersive story of a place whose future holds implications for us all.

Scheele presents a detailed, often gritty, picture of a fragile world. Her travels trace the web of exchanges, linguistic and material, that crisscross a harsh, vast and sometimes impassable terrain ... Instead of "mental maps of vertical and historically immutable trade routes," Scheele finds a pattern of pathways that, like the grazing routes of the pastoralists' livestock, shifts with changes in climate, economics and politics ... this is a clearsighted and unsentimental study of life on the edge. -- Dominic Green ― Wall Street Journal