Shifting Sands (Paperback)

Judith Scheele

ISBN 10: 1788166469 / ISBN 13: 9781788166461

Published by Profile Books Ltd, London, 2026

About this Item

Paperback. 'A fascinating travelogue and history of the world's largest hot desert . fresh, original and energising' THE TIMES In this sweeping account, Judith Scheele reveals the rich history and complex reality of the world's largest hot desert. Drawing on decades of research, and years spent living in the region, Scheele leads us from the ancient Roman Empire through the bloody colonial era to the geopolitics of the present - and the race for resources that will define the future. The Sahara covers parts of eleven countries, and Scheele follows in the footsteps and tyre-tracks of the many people who cross the desert, taking us into the homes, mosques, palm groves and battlefields where history is written, spoken and remade. The result is a masterful portrait of the Sahara. Encompassing the geology, religions, peoples and politics that shape and fracture the region, Shifting Sands tells the immersive story of a place whose future holds implications for us all. Scheele presents a detailed, often gritty, picture of a fragile world. Her travels trace the web of exchanges, linguistic and material, that crisscross a harsh, vast and sometimes impassable terrain . Instead of "mental maps of vertical and historically immutable trade routes," Scheele finds a pattern of pathways that, like the grazing routes of the pastoralists' livestock, shifts with changes in climate, economics and politics . this is a clearsighted and unsentimental study of life on the edge. -- Dominic Green Wall Street Journal A radical new account of the Sahara - from pre-history to the present day Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781788166461

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Shifting Sands (Paperback)
• Publisher: Profile Books Ltd, London
• Publication Date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1788166469
• ISBN 13: 9781788166461
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

'A fascinating travelogue and history of the world's largest hot desert ... fresh, original and energising' THE TIMES

In this sweeping account, Judith Scheele reveals the rich history and complex reality of the world's largest hot desert. Drawing on decades of research, and years spent living in the region, Scheele leads us from the ancient Roman Empire through the bloody colonial era to the geopolitics of the present - and the race for resources that will define the future. The Sahara covers parts of eleven countries, and Scheele follows in the footsteps and tyre-tracks of the many people who cross the desert, taking us into the homes, mosques, palm groves and battlefields where history is written, spoken and remade.

The result is a masterful portrait of the Sahara. Encompassing the geology, religions, peoples and politics that shape and fracture the region, Shifting Sands tells the immersive story of a place whose future holds implications for us all.

About the Author

Judith Scheele is a social anthropologist trained at Oxford. After a few years spent in Germany she now holds a professorship at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS) in France. She has spent many years living in and researching the Sahara, with a focus on Algeria, Mali and Chad and a more recent focus on northern Sudan and its borders with Libya and Egypt. She has published three books, one with James Currey, and two with Cambridge University Press. Her second book, Smugglers and Saints of the Sahara, has been described by Deborah Harrold (The Journal of North African Studies) as 'an irresistible read', 'something particular and intensely human', and, by Roman Loimeier (Africa), as 'an academic page-turner', 'brilliantly written and thrilling to read'.