Tahir Shah is the author of more than a dozen books and several documentary films. He also writes introductions, academic pieces for journals, and book reviews for newspapers such as the
Washington Post.
Shah's books have appeared in a dozen languages and have been published in more than forty editions. His films have been screened on National Geographic Channel, Channel 4, Five and The History Channel, as well as in cinemas worldwide.
Books
Shah's books include (in order of publication):
- Cultural Research (editor) for the London-based Institute for Cultural Research
- The Middle East Bedside Book
- Beyond the Devil's Teeth
- Sorcerer's Apprentice
- Trail of Feathers
- In Search of King Solomon's Mines
- House of the Tiger King
- The Caliph's House
- In Arabian Nights
In
The Middle East Bedside Book (1991), Shah examines the Arab and Islamic worlds through their literature and folklore.
Beyond the Devil's Teeth, Shah's first traditional travelogue, published in 1995, is the narrative of an epic journey, made through Africa, India and much of Latin America. The book follows the geological concept of an ancient supercontinent known as Gondwanaland, and links this idea to a primitive aboriginal tribe, known as the Gonds, once dominant in central India.
Sorcerer's Apprentice (1998) is an account of Shah's initiation into the world of Indian "Godmen".
Trail of Feathers (2001) is an examination into the idea that man may have been able to glide — albeit in the most rudimentary way — in ancient times. Having read in a Spanish manuscript that "the Incas flew over the jungle like birds," Shah set out to see what truth there could have been for a Conquistador monk to have penned such words. After a journey into the heart of the Peruvian Amazon, to the world of the Shuar tribe, he concluded that the Incas were taking a powerful hallucinogen known as Ayahuasca that induces a sense of imaginary flight.
Shah's next book,
In Search of King Solomon's Mines (2002), chronicles a journey to Ethiopia. Obsessed by the location of the source of King Solomon's astonishing wealth since childhood, Shah travelled to Ethiopia, which he equated with the biblical land of Ophir.
House of the Tiger King (2004) was the result of a seventeen-week journey through the Madre de Dios jungle of Peru, in search of the lost city of Paititi. The book considers matters such as the importance of searching for a lost city, and finding it. The book was selected to be read on BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week.
Sick of living in a London apartment, Tahir Shah moved to Morocco along with his wife and two infant children, where he bought a crumbling mansion in Casablanca located in the middle of a huge shantytown.
The Caliph's House (2006) charts the highs and lows of integrating into the new life, and exorcising the Djinn from the house they now call home. The book was rated by
Time Magazine as one of the top ten books of the year. It was also selected to be read on BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week.
His latest title,
In Arabian Nights (2009), examines the role traditional stories play in the transmission of values and information, especially in eastern societies, and continues his account of his life in Morocco.
Films
The main films presented by Shah include:
- The Search For King Solomon's Mines
- House of the Tiger King
- Search For the Lost City of Gold
- Search For the Lost Treasure of Afghanistan
Videos
- Tahir Shah's guide to Casablanca