Wilfred Thesiger was born in Addis Ababa in 1910 & educated at Eton & Oxford. Though British he was repulsed by the softness & rigidity of Western life the machines the calling cards the meticulously aligned streets etc." In the spirit of T.E. Lawrence Thesiger spent five years exploring & wandering the deserts of Arabia. With vivid descriptions & colorful anecdotes he narrates his stories including two crossings of the Empty Quarter among peoples who had never seen a European & considered it their duty to kill Christian infidels."