I could not find a truer book that this one to describe us, the Arabs in the proper & correct way. The Arabic mentality is fully explained in this book. Although the incidents occurred more than fifty years ago, the true essence of Arab culture today is still mirror image of ancient times, which was described fully in this book.

As an Arab, I can attest to the author's success in understanding Arabs, although from time to time he confuses Islamic tradition with tribal traditions. For example, in one paragraph, the author describes the marriage process as if it's solely an Arab process, while in reality it is an Islamic process shared by every Muslim whether in Malaysia or in US.

I'll admit I've got a deep suspicion of comfort and convenience, probably because they seem so inexplicably important to a lot of people. Sure, we can like our easy chairs; but without a steady diet of raw experience and unprotected (social) intercourse we lose our edge. Thesiger was addicted to living on the edge, and he was lucky and intrepid enough to capitalize on some sweet opportunities. He had the explorer's instinct to be the first one in, the humility to be accepted most places he went, and the intelligence to understand and record what he experienced.

After living in Saudi myself, I still look forward to every opportunity I get to go back and visit; but they've got air conditioning there now. I can appreciate the unique-window-to-a-vanishing-culture angle, but at several points in this book I wondered to myself, "Why in the world would this guy keep going back to such a hellish place?" The desert may seem romantic from a distance, but to be stuck in the middle of one without food or water is truly heinous. Even the solitude he expected from being in the middle of nowhere was hard to find. Not many people today would choose to do what Thesiger did.

It's interesting to speculate why Thesiger did keep going back: ego? masochism? love? Or did he want something we've been conditioned not to want anymore? With all the money and psychological expertise that's gone into advertising since Thesiger made his trips it's naïve to think our desires haven't been conditioned to some extent, and this conditioning will not have been designed to make us seek out hardship. I worked for three years to recruit people to join my team in Saudi. That experience made me very pessimistic about the sense of adventure and curiosity in people these days.

Thesiger shows in his observations that there was genuine curiosity at work. Love, masochism, and ego were probably also involved; but there's a strong possibility that Thesiger really did understand he was preserving a mosaic of cultures the only way he was capable. And it's obvious that the awe he felt for these dying, ancient ways of life placed a heavy responsibility on him that he worked hard to shoulder. Today, this kind of awe seems too often overcome by a strong temptation to bow down to the dollar... or the easy chair.

I feel strongly for an era now gone. It used to be a much simpler world, with different values that developed slowly, and endured longer. Mr.Thesiger belongs to that era of rugged adventure, and I have enjoyed reading this book. There is a connection between people's feelings, and a developed respect, instead of just avarice. Good reading!

I have not been to Arabia, but as an Archaeologist I worked with Arabs in Israel and Palestine and enjoyed their company greatly. Thesiger's book gives the reader an excellent introduction to the nobility of the majority of Arabs; their willingness to die defending a friend and traveling companion; and, their contradictory nature. To see the world of the Arabs in the era before Middle Eastern industrialization is a real treat not to be missed by anyone who enjoys visiting "vanished worlds."