The Danakil Diary

In 1930 Wilfred Thesiger attended the coronation of HIM Haile Selassie in Addis Ababa, at the Emperor's personal invitation. Afterwards he spent a month hunting alone in the hostile Danakil desert of Abyssinia (now Ethiopia), a thrilling experience which led three years later to his successful exploration of the Awash River. Today he still regards this expedition as the most dangerous he ever undertook. Aged only 23, Thesiger became the first European to travel through the fabled Sultanate of Aussa, a forbidding land where two Italian expeditions and an Egyptian army had previously been wiped out by Danakil tribesmen. Thesiger's remarkable journey solved one of Africa's last remaining geographical mysteries, and established the reputation of a man now considered by many to be the century's greatest living explorer. A vivid, compelling narrative, The Danakil Diary records how the young Thesiger surmounted overwhelming obstacles and survived the constant threat of death and mutilation by the Danakil, warriors whose tribal status depended on the number of men they had killed and castrated. He portrays the often beautiful, savage landscapes; their varied wildlife; and the strange, sometimes cruel customs of the Danakil, never before observed in such intimate detail. Interspersed with letters to his mother, Thesiger's diary is illustrated with original sketch-maps and drawings, and many of his previously unpublished photographs.