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Loading... Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival (2004)by Dean King
  Marlene-NL | Apr 12, 2013 |  Fantastic, page-turning tail of shipwrecked sailors in captivity to various groups of Arabs in the Sahara. Their tale of how they survived (some of them) and life on the desert is astounding. The survival tale was actually first written by the captain of the boat in the early 19th century and was a popular adventure book back in the day. Dean King discovered this tale and brought it back to light with additional background and corroborating information. DrBrewhaha | Jan 31, 2013 | "Skeletons on the Zahara" is a true but gut-wrenching, dehydrating, queasy story of fate of Captain James Riley and the men of The Commerce. The story itself is horrifying and contains a quality of human suffering that is incomprehensible to the first world mind. I read this book right after reading "Endurance Shackleton's Incredible Voyage" and I was constantly comparing the two the whole time. Both stories are remarkable and I can't imagine how anything but Divine providence could ever attribute to their survival. From a writing style, I found Dean King's prose preferable but a little choppy at times. His re-telling was much faster paced than Shackleton's though the events in Africa were far more eventful than in the Antarctic. Additionally, though King painted many scenes like a novelist would, I found myself wishing that he worked harder to develop his real-life characters and portrayed even more of their humanness.On a personal note, reading survival stories like those of Shackleton and Riley seem have a noticeable impact on my moral character. I can't imagine how one could read these stories and not find their hearts swelling in thanksgiving and gratitude. I am reminded how heavy God's hand of blessing and how light his hand of affliction has been on me.Shackleton and Riley have left their mark on me and I imagine I will tell these stories to my children (once they develop strong enough stomachs of course). (  ) nathan.c.moore | Oct 1, 2012 | Reading more like an historical adventure novel, Skeletons on the Zahara by Dean King tells the true story of twelve American sailors who were shipwrecked off the coast of Africa in 1815. Captured by Arab nomads, these men endured starvation, brutality, dehydration and constant fear. Separated from each other, marched back and forth across the desert, their survival, much less their return to America seemed an impossible dream, but this was often all these men had to hold onto. The author obviously researched extensively and supplied many details about the land, the climate, and the people as well as the fate of these twelve sailors. Breathing life into a forgotten story from the past, this page-turner held my attention from beginning to end. I was grateful that the author supplied lots of maps, which help define the journey these men were forced to bear, along with a glossary, and reading notes for further clarification. I suspect this will be a story that I long remember, Skeletons On The Zahara is a prime example of how absorbing narrative non-fiction can be. (  )2  DeltaQueen50 | Jan 26, 2012 | Click Here: https://catalog.nprlibrary.org/record=b1050794~S0 ( ) rkleimnprpl | Apr 7, 2011 | no reviews | add a review
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LibraryThing AuthorDean King is a LibraryThing Author, an author who lists their personal library on LibraryThing.
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So it was so much fun to receive a package from Hong on with 2 books I have been wanting to read for many years. Thanks azuki.