Book set in B’ir Tarfawi, Egypt. Reviewed on 2019/09: https://www.instagram.com/p/B2HQ6H5An82/
#libyansands by #rabagnold is the story of 5 #britishdudes that back in the 1930s decided (out of sheer boredom?) to drive their T Fords across a bunch of deserts including the #sahara . That’s it. Period. Those special moments that we consider extraordinary in our own lives are simply that. They do not become milestones in world history. #bagnold as a white British male is absolutely conditioned to be oblivious to that fact. As much as his European/foreign-made car, Bagnold arrives in #egypt , arrives at the Sahara with the idea of mastering the elements, mastering nature, controlling this barbaric and inhospitable environment with his own technical and foreign prowess. By doing so, he utterly fails to see the grandiose of the desert, the wisdom of local people who have crossed these deserts several times before him and the resilience of acts and monuments which are indeed milestones in world history. I don’t blame Bagnold completely. He is so immersed in the privilege of his social class that it would have taken a Dalai Lama moment to make him remotely aware of anything. He might have mastered the technique of extreme #driving in the Sahara. Sure. Humanity in the 1930s clearly couldn’t wait for this achievement. In my opinion, this guy never made it to the Sahara. He never left #london and England. By mastering the technique of driving through, he becomes oblivious and closed to learn from his voyage and the surroundings, to learn from the fullness and the voice of the desert. I’m also disappointed at #elandpublishing for not adding an updated introduction or some summary to better understand the time when the book was written. #ithasbeendonebefore #noexplorers#britishpeople #eland #saharalit#greatsandsea #libyandesert#hownottotravel #worsttravelers#britishcolonialism #betweenwars
hebdo_readings 