Sahara: The Forbidding Sand

A gifted photographer's arresting color pictures bring to life the majestic mountains, lush oases, great shifting sands, and fascinating peoples that make up the incredible landscapes of the famous Sahara.

"The desert cannot be described; it must be lived," states the Saharan nomad whose text opens this sensitive appreciation of the world's largest desert. For readers who will never experience that reality, this volume's stunning photographs and engrossing text will evoke its essence. From Timbuktu and its legendary gold riches to Tuareg nomads and their battles with European expeditions for control of the land, the book unfolds the Sahara's dramatic history of exploration and exploitation. Added to this background are thrilling personal accounts written by explorers, naturalists, and journalists whose own tales of adventure and survival in the ever-changing environment of the Sahara match the passion and sense of wonder conveyed in Durou's photographs.

JEAN-MARC DUROU, a professional photographer, has written widely about the Sahara and other deserts.

MANO DAYAK is a nomad residing in the Sahara.

THÉODORE MONOD is a naturalist and explorer and member of several marine and geographical societies.

BRUNO LAMARCHE, a naturalist, is a professor at the Ecoles Normales Suprieurs of Bamako and Nouakchott.

LOUIS GARDEL is a writer.

HERVÉ DERAIN directs a French travel agency.

MOHAMED AOUTCHIKI CRISKA is a naturalist.

IBRAHIM LITNY is a writer. EDMOND BERNUS is an ethnologist, geographer, and research director of ORSTROM.

117 illustrations, 78 in full color, 10 x 121/2"