This is the true yet unbelievable story of a small crew of American merchant seaman who sail from New England in the years just after the war of 1812. In the course of their voyage they become shipwrecked on the notorious norhtwest coast of Africa, where the natives are known for enslaving the European and American survivors of wrecked ships. I originally heard about this book from the author himself as he spoke about it on C-Span 2(book T.V), which is on every weekend all weekend long and features the authors of non-fiction books presenting their work and answering questions from the audience. The author was so excited and passionate about this story that I knew it had to be an excellent read and I was not disappointed.
It is the story of the true account of the courageous struggle for survival, first along the northwest coast of Africa and then on the Zahara desert itself, as the crew becomes enslaved by desert nomads with customs and ways that are hard and unfamilliar to the hapless sailors. The survivors are treated extremely harshly and each day is a fight to stay together and alive. They are generally viewed as sub-human by their captors and are barely fed enough to keep them from collapse and are offered little protection from the merciless Zaharan sun. The captain of the crew, whose name was James Riley is forced into one difficult situation after another as he desperately tries to save his men. At the risk of being executed he is forced to decieve his captors in his only chance for survival, as he lies to his master that he has a friend in Morrocco who will pay a weighty ransom for the safe return of his survivng crew. This book is a fuckin' heartbreaker and you won't believe what these hardy seamen from New England actually live through. I thought so much of the book and the people who live the adventure that I gave it to my dad, who loved it as well and then passed it on to his brother who also loved it and then passed it along to his friend. If I could I would give ever'one a copy. "Skeletons On the Zahara" by Dean King. Absolutely Incredible!! Check it out. Peace. ::dove:: [ This Message was edited by: Eudora on 2006-02-25 09:57 ]
