This book was one of the oldest on my TBR pile, and I'm not sure what prompted me to put it on there.
Knud is a man from Denmark, but he's no ordinary European. He's embraced Islam and wants to drive from the west side of Africa to the east and then on to Mecca. This is 1930, and a war is raging between the Italians and the native people of the lands Knud has to pass through.
Along the way, he picks up and drops off a few traveling companions, gets lost in the desert and has various dangerous encounters - with both the natives and the Italians. He also witnesses the harsh realities of what the Italians are doing to the people. In areas as remote as the ones Knud is going through, it's all too easy to get away with cruelty and evil.
I can't really explain why this book intrigued me so much. I couldn't see any of the pictures. For some reason, they were so washed out, I couldn't read the captions or tell what most of them were. The story itself wasn't uplifting, and Knud didn't accomplish his goal. He was imprisoned and left Africa before he could make it. Honestly, with the amount of times his car broke down, I would've quit long before he did. If there's a chance I'm stuck in the middle of the desert, I'm not going.
Anyway, I did like this book. I appreciate everything Knud went through, and it was a once in a lifetime experience. The book was published in 1931, and later that year, he tried to make his way to Mecca again. This time, though, he was attacked and killed while on the journey. Rumors claim the Italians ordered the murder, but no evidence was ever found. Knud's book was highly controversial and banned in Italy, so it's plausible they are responsible for his death. Either way, the world lost a good writer and explorer. Good Book!
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