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Skeletons on the Zahara
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Skeletons on the Zahara (2004) (edit title/settings)

A True Story of Survival

by Dean King (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

Everywhere hailed as a masterpiece of historical adventure, this enthralling narrative recounts the experiences of twelve American sailors who were shipwrecked off the coast of Africa in 1815, captured by desert nomads, sold into slavery, and subjected to a hellish two-month journey through... read more

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Summary edit see section history

On a calm May morning in 1815, Captain James Riley and the crew of the Commerce left port in Connecticut for an ordinary trading voyage. Their nightmare began with a dreadful shipwreck off the coast of Africa, a hair-raising confrontation with hostile native tribesmen within hours of being... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

On a calm May morning in 1815, Captain James Riley and the crew of the Commerce left port in Connecticut for an ordinary trading voyage. Their nightmare began with a dreadful shipwreck off the coast of Africa, a hair-raising confrontation with hostile native tribesmen within hours of being washed ashore, and a hellish confinement in a rickety longboat as they tried, without success, to escape the fearsome coast. Eventually captured by desert nomads and sold into slavery, Riley and his men were dragged along on an insane journey through the bone-dry heart of the Sahara - a region unknown to Westerners. Along the way the Americans would encounter everything that could possibly test them: barbarism, murder, starvation, plagues of locusts, death, sandstorms that lasted for days, dehydration, and hostile tribes that roamed the desert on armies of camels. They would discover ancient cities and secret oases. They would also discover a surprising bond between a Muslim trader and an American sea captain, men who began as strangers, were forced to become allies in order to survive, and in the tempering heat of the desert, became friends - even as the captain hatched a daring betrayal in order to save his men.

Characters/People edit see section history

  • Captain James Riley: Merchant sea captain out of Middleton, Connecticut. Author of the memoir Sufferings in Africa (1817)
  • Sidi Hamet: Arab trader on the Sahara
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First Sentence edit see section history

On a brisk early-May morning in 1815, when Captain James Riley gave the order to cast off from Savage's wharf in the Upper Houses section of Middletown, Connecticut, he had ten men attuned to his every word.

Table of Contents edit see section history

Foreward
The officers and crew of the Connecticut merchant brig Commerce, 1815
Places
Prologue: 1812
Part One: Acts of God
1. A good Yankee crew
2. Omens
3. Shipwreck on Cape Bojador
4. A hostile welcome
5. Misery in an open boat
Part Two: Ships of the sand
6. Purgatory
7. Captured
8. Thirst
9. The sons of the father of lions
10. Sidi Hamet's feast
Part Three: Journeys and sandstorms
11. Is it sweet?
12. Honor among thieves
13. Skeletons
14. Wednoon and the Atlas
15. Valley of the locusts
Part Four: A slow rush to Swearah
16. Sheif Ali
17. The captain has long been dead
18. From the mouth of a moor
19. The road to Swearah
Epilogue: Homecomings
Appendix: the publishing of Riley's narrative
Glossary of Arabic terms
Notes
Selected bibliography
Acknowledgments
Index

Series & Lists edit see section history

This book is in Book Lust to Go. (authoritative list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Dean King (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Little Brown & Co
Country: USA
Publication Date: 2004
ISBN: 0316835145
Page Count: 368

Awards edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: DT189 K56 2004
  • Dewey: 916.4804'1

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