Barbara P. (gotchagal) -
Helpful Score: 7
Based on a fascinating true story. It is without a doubt, one of the best books I've ever read. I understand that this story was a favorite of Abraham Lincoln's and I can well understand why. Do yourself a wonderful favor and read this book! It is the story of the crew of the Commerce ship that wrecks off the coast of Africa. The men washed ashore were kidnapped, tortured, and dragged across the Sahara by Muslin traders. The story is a masterpiece and every page holds your attention. I could not sleep until I finished it and it is not a book I will let go of. I know I'll be reading it again.
Helpful Score: 7
A great story teller. This is the saga of 12 men who become ship-wrecked off the coast of Africa around 1815. They are sold into slavery and must endure a two month walk through the Sahara. Sounds bleak, but it is a terrific story of courage and endurance. Highly recommended.
Helpful Score: 4
Historical nonfiction adventure of 12 American soldiers shipwrecked off the coast of Africa, captured and sold into slavery and starvation, ultimately survival. Good if you like history and adventure...the material may be questionable in terms of accuracy, but it's one of those 'against all odds' tales.
Helpful Score: 3
An amazing story of survival. This is one of the best true adventure books I have ever read. To me, it ranks alongside books like... "Into Thin Air", "Into the Wild", "Between a Rock and a Hard Place"...
Dean King takes an old manuscript and brings it up to date by putting a modern spin on it. This is definitely one book where you want to read all the 'Authors Notes' at the end of the book; and take note of the bibliography.
Dean King takes an old manuscript and brings it up to date by putting a modern spin on it. This is definitely one book where you want to read all the 'Authors Notes' at the end of the book; and take note of the bibliography.
Joan S. (Yoni) reviewed Skeletons on the Zahara : A True Story of Survival on + 327 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
An amazing tale of survival against all odds.
Laurie F. (laurief) reviewed Skeletons on the Zahara : A True Story of Survival on + 19 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This is the best book I ever read. It is about a shipwreck on the coast of Africa. The men are captured by nomads. Some of them survive to tell their story.
Carol F. (cactusflowerwomen) reviewed Skeletons on the Zahara : A True Story of Survival on + 628 more book reviews
Truly an amazing true story of survival - brutal! Definitely worth the read.
John O. (buzzby) -
Interesting story, lots of maps in the book, so their travels could be followed on Google. The author strives to be accurate, maybe at the expense of telling the story. His major source was the captain's best-selling book of 1817. Lots of characters (11 crew members, they were bought and sold by the tribespeople frequently), so sort of hard to keep track of everyone.
Amazing account of the struggles of shipwrecked Sailors in incredibly harsh conditions...............
John O. (buzzby) -
Appears to be written in 2004, even though it's an old story. There are maps at the beginning of every chapter, some sketches, too.
Frank H. (perryfran) reviewed Skeletons on the Zahara : A True Story of Survival on + 1223 more book reviews
This is the true story of Captain James Riley and his crew from the brig Commerce who were shipwrecked on the coast of western Africa in 1815 and taken as slaves by desert nomads. The crew is beaten, nearly starved to death, traded among various Arab groups, and forced to march untold distances while barely maintaining enough nourishment to survive. The captives drank both human and camel urine as a means of staying somewhat hydrated and on occasion were given the intestines of slaughtered camels to eat complete with undigested grain still in them. During the ordeal, the captives lost significant body weight -- Captain Riley going from 240 lbs to a mere 90 lbs while some of the other crew were reduced to only 40 lbs! Eventually Riley and four others of his group are freed and then later two others are also rescued from captivity. Riley writes a memoir of his experiences which is widely read and was even an inspiration for Abraham Lincoln. In fact, Riley later became an abolitionist but he also suffered from PTSD as a result of his ordeal and died at a relatively young age.
King uses Riley's memoir and another by seaman Archibald Robbins, who was one of the later rescued, as a basis for his book. He also gives some other history and geography of the region throughout the book. I found the descriptions of the nomads behavior and customs to be fascinating while their treatment to the men was often brutal. It was noted several times that the Arab women were much more severe in their treatment to the survivors than were the men. Although this narrative was for the most part engrossing, I thought it was sometimes repetitious and a little dry as King described the tedium of the everyday struggle to survive in great detail but overall it did a good job of telling this forgotten story of survival.
King uses Riley's memoir and another by seaman Archibald Robbins, who was one of the later rescued, as a basis for his book. He also gives some other history and geography of the region throughout the book. I found the descriptions of the nomads behavior and customs to be fascinating while their treatment to the men was often brutal. It was noted several times that the Arab women were much more severe in their treatment to the survivors than were the men. Although this narrative was for the most part engrossing, I thought it was sometimes repetitious and a little dry as King described the tedium of the everyday struggle to survive in great detail but overall it did a good job of telling this forgotten story of survival.
