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The immeasurable world : journeys in desert places / William Atkins.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Doubleday, [2018]Copyright date: ©2018Edition: First United States editionDescription: 352 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780385539883
  • 0385539886
Subject(s): Genre/Form:
Contents:
The desert library : the Empty Quarter, Oman -- Field of thunder : the Great Victoria Desert, Australia -- Troublemakers : the Gobi Desert and the Taklamakan Desert, China -- Bastard sturgeon : the Aralkum, Kazakhstan -- Between great fires : the Sonoran Desert, USA -- Matter out of place : the Black Rock Desert, USA -- The inner mountain : the Eastern Desert, Egypt.
Summary: "In the classic literary tradition of Bruce Chatwin and Geoff Dyer, a rich and exquisitely written account of travels in six deserts on five continents that evoke the timeless allure of these remote and forbidding places. One-sixth of the earth's surface is classified as desert. Restless, unhappy in love, and intrigued by the Desert Fathers who forged Christian monasticism in the Egyptian desert, Will Atkins decided to travel in six of the world's driest, hottest places: the Empty Quarter of Oman, the Gobi Desert of North China, the Great Victoria Desert of Australia, the man-made desert of the Aral Sea in Kazkahstan, the Black Rock and Sonoran Deserts of the American Southwest, and the Sinai Desert of Egypt. Each of his travel narratives effortlessly weaves aspects of natural history, historical background, and present-day reportage into a compelling tapestry that reveals the human appeal of these often inhuman landscapes"-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 910.9154 A874 Available 33111009228855
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Winner of the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year (UK)

"William Atkins is an erudite writer with a wonderful wit and gaze and this is a new and exciting beast of a travel book."--Joy Williams

In the classic literary tradition of Bruce Chatwin and Geoff Dyer, a rich and exquisitely written account of travels in eight deserts on five continents that evokes the timeless allure of these remote and forbidding places.

One-third of the earth's surface is classified as desert. Restless, unhappy in love, and intrigued by the Desert Fathers who forged Christian monasticism in the Egyptian desert, William Atkins decided to travel in eight of the world's driest, hottest places: the Empty Quarter of Oman, the Gobi Desert and Taklamakan deserts of northwest China, the Great Victoria Desert of Australia, the man-made desert of the Aral Sea in Kazkahstan, the Black Rock and Sonoran Deserts of the American Southwest, and Egypt's Eastern Desert. Each of his travel narratives effortlessly weaves aspects of natural history, historical background, and present-day reportage into a compelling tapestry that reveals the human appeal of these often inhuman landscapes.

"In the classic literary tradition of Bruce Chatwin and Geoff Dyer, a rich and exquisitely written account of travels in six deserts on five continents that evoke the timeless allure of these remote and forbidding places. One-sixth of the earth's surface is classified as desert. Restless, unhappy in love, and intrigued by the Desert Fathers who forged Christian monasticism in the Egyptian desert, Will Atkins decided to travel in six of the world's driest, hottest places: the Empty Quarter of Oman, the Gobi Desert of North China, the Great Victoria Desert of Australia, the man-made desert of the Aral Sea in Kazkahstan, the Black Rock and Sonoran Deserts of the American Southwest, and the Sinai Desert of Egypt. Each of his travel narratives effortlessly weaves aspects of natural history, historical background, and present-day reportage into a compelling tapestry that reveals the human appeal of these often inhuman landscapes"-- Provided by publisher.

The desert library : the Empty Quarter, Oman -- Field of thunder : the Great Victoria Desert, Australia -- Troublemakers : the Gobi Desert and the Taklamakan Desert, China -- Bastard sturgeon : the Aralkum, Kazakhstan -- Between great fires : the Sonoran Desert, USA -- Matter out of place : the Black Rock Desert, USA -- The inner mountain : the Eastern Desert, Egypt.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 331-341) and index.

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