Wilfred Thesiger
Born 1910 · Died 2003
From Addis Ababa, Ethiopia · Nationality: United Kingdom · Writes nonfiction
Major Sir Wilfred Patrick Thesiger, CBE, DSO, FRAS, FRGS, also called Mubarak bin London (Arabic for "the blessed one from London")1 (3 June 1910 – 24 August 2003) was a British explorer and travel writer.
Thesiger is best known for his travel books Arabian Sands (1959), on his foot and camel crossing of the Empty Quarter of Arabia, and The Marsh Arabs (1964), on his time living in the marshes of Iraq with the Marsh Arabs. He donated his collection of 23,000 travel photographs to the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford.
Quotes
“Now I had crossed it [the Empty Quarter]. To others my journey would have little importance. It would produce nothing except a rather inaccurate map which no one was ever likely to use. It was a personal experience, and the reward had been a drink of clean, nearly tasteless water. I was content with that.”
Arabian Sands, p. 138 “In the deserts, however arid, I have never felt homesick for green fields and woods in spring, but now that I was in England I longed with an ache that was almost physical to be back in Arabia.”
Arabian Sands, p. 187 “I craved for the past, resented the present, and dreaded the future.”
Arabian Sands, p. 20 “It is characteristic of Bedu to do things by extremes, to be either wildly generous or unbelievably mean, very patient or almost hysterically excitable, to be incredibly brave or to panic for no apparent reason.”
Arabian Sands, p. 152 “As the plane climbed over the town and swung above the sea I knew how it felt to go into exile.”
Arabian Sands, p. 310
Quotes from Wikiquote (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Books by Wilfred Thesiger in order
Books by Wilfred Thesiger in the order they were published, from Southern Arabia (1948) to My Life and Travels (2002).
- 1Southern ArabiaSouthern Arabia1948
- 2A Journey in NuristanA Journey in Nuristan1957
- 3Arabian Sands
Arabian Sands1959 - 4The Marsh Arabs
The Marsh Arabs1964 - 5Desert, Marsh, and Mountain
Desert, Marsh, and Mountain1979 - 6The Last Nomad
The Last Nomad1980 - 7The Life of My Choice
The Life of My Choice1984 - 8Visions of a Nomad
Visions of a Nomad1987 - 9Die Brunnen der Wüste. Mit den Beduinen durch das unbekannte
Die Brunnen der Wüste. Mit den Beduinen durch das unbekannte Arabien1991 - 10The Thesiger Collection
The Thesiger Collection1993 - 11Wilfred Thesiger's PhotographsWilfred Thesiger's Photographs1993
- 12My Kenya Days
My Kenya Days1994 - 13The Danakil Diary
The Danakil Diary1996 - 14Les déserts des déserts
Les déserts des déserts1997 - 15Among the Mountains
Among the Mountains1998 - 16Crossing the Sands
Crossing the Sands2000 - 17The DesertThe Desert2000
- 18A Vanished World
A Vanished World2001 - 19My Life and Travels
My Life and Travels2002