It may have been Barry Lopez's citations in his book Horizon of some of the other explorers that set me to reading the books by Wilfred Thesiger, Laurens van der Post, Gertrude Bell and others.
The six videos below are narrated by van der Post and were directed & shot by Paul Bellinger whose Youtube channel is where they're from.
Laurens van der Post's:
Testament to the Bushman Programme 1: In the Beginning
Testament to the Bushmen: Children of the Desert
Testament to the Bushmen: the beginning of the end
Testament to the Bushmen: Of Gods and Medicine
Testament to the Bushman: Man the Hunter
Testament to the Bushman: Women the Provider
If Gertrude Bell struck your fancy, you might really enjoy Freya Stark if you haven't read her.
ReplyDeleteAh, Judith K,
DeleteI think I've read *everything* by Ms. Stark. She and Beryl Markham are among my favorites.
It has been interesting to discover how many women were traveling and exploring. It seems only recently that they're getting acknowledged.
Yes, don't remember hearing about them much when I was a child. Though that was a long time ago. ha I would have loved reading them. Isabella Bird was a late find for me, but you probably know about her already. I have never known ANYBODY who was a Freya fan. Glad I mentioned her....
DeleteIsabella not in the same league as Freya, but interesting...
DeleteJudith!
DeleteI've just read of a "new" one: Fanny Bullock Workman. Have you read any of her?
Hello elevenwanderer!
ReplyDeleteI've been reading Barry Lopez's *Horizon* and he mentioned Thesiger. I just finished *Arabian Sands* and am currenty reading Laurens van der Post's *The Voice of the Thunder* another that Lopez mentioned. I recently enjoyed something by Gertrude Bell but can't remember the title.
Which books of Thesiger's do you have?
elevenwanderer,
ReplyDeleteWe moved to El Paso when I was 15 and I fell in love with the quiet of the desert. I enjoyed Thesiger's descriptions of the many tribes. It's my impression that much of the difficulties in the Mid-east are due to the lingering enmities between them.
Arabian Sands just blew my mind. I knew nothing historic about the Empty Quarter of southern Arabia. I have also thought about the lingering effect of the tribal divisions. I have his book Among the Mountains, if you ever come across that one.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read *Among the Mountains.* I'll look for it. Thanks!
ReplyDelete