This is justifiably seen as a classic of travel literature. Thesiger was one of the greatest of the British travellers amongst the Arabs, and was one of the first Europeans to cross the Empty Quarter of Arabia, which he did a number of times with the Bedu. Those journeys are described in this book, which is a powerful insight into the lives of the Bedu in the middle art of the Twentieth Century, as the outside world began to intrude. Thesiger is a slightly contentious character these days, there are certainly some questions about his attitudes and behaviour, but he was apparently afraid of nothing, and seemed to find a kind of peace travelling as a Bedu. The journeys described in Arabian Sands are tremendous feats of determination and deprivation, and his writing captures the character of the Bedu and their territorial tensions brilliantly.