Description: Northern Africa is dominated now by the Sahara Desert, stretching across the continent from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea. This book is about the people who lived around the edges of the Desert and the different ways in which they responded to its challenges, establishing networks of communication across its expanse.
Review Quotes: "A marvellously rich book in which the Sahara holds centre stage...[Cunliffe] has once again magisterially filled a major gap in the literature with this surprisingly rich history of the far from empty Sahara and the vibrant cultures of the lands surrounding it." -- David Abulafia, Literary Review
"Facing the Sea of Sand covers a huge amount of ground, yet the clarity of the writing and the array of accompanying maps, graphs, illustrations and photographs ensure that it doesn't feel overwhelming." -- Shafik Meghji, Geographical"Professor Sir Barry Cunliffe is an historian of the grand scale ... a fascinating account of one of our planet's most hostile places." -- Anthony Sattin, Engelsberg Ideas"Distilling an extraordinary amount of Saharan research into a readable narrative is an accomplishment in itself. Successfully placing it into a continental and global context is genius ... A masterpiece of African scholarship featuring stunning full-color photography and edifying maps." -- Jessica A. Bushore, Library Journal"Barry Cunliffe completes his circumnavigation of the ancient Mediterranean world by navigating the often little known, and ever-changing, relationships between North and Sub-Saharan Africa. He describes the contests between humans and their environments and between polities for control of resources. His compelling story is based on "the detritus of human existence", also oral and written histories. He conjures up a remarkable chronicle of human interactions from often obscure and little-known sources that extend from Morocco to the East African coast and far beyond. Facing is a beautifully written masterpiece of historical synthesis that places the Sahara in its true historical context. I couldnât put the book down." -- Brian Fagan, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, University of California, and author of The Long Summer."A marvellously rich book in which the Sahara holds centre stage...Cunliffe has once again magisterially filled a major gap in the literature with this surprisingly rich history of the far from empty Sahara and the vibrant cultures of the lands surrounding it." -- David Abulafia, Literary Review"Barry Cunliffe's words are delivered with great panache, and the images and maps make the book accessible to the widest possible audience." -- Arpan Banerjee, Times Literary Supplement"A masterful account of the desert and the peoples both to the north and to the south." -- Andrew Selkirk, Current World Archaeology