Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival
by Dean King
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Book Summary Information
Author: Dean KingEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-04-12
ISBN: 0316159352
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Book Reviews of Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival
Book Review: 1815 shipwreck and slavery, told under the Sahara sun today
Summary: 5 Stars
An 1815 shipwreck and slavery by Arabs told under the Sahara sun today
Dean King studied Captain James Riley's story of his 1815 shipwreck off the coast of Africa, and the subsequent slavery of Riley and crew when captured by the Arabs. After months in the formidable Sahara Desert, Riley and crew were freed from being hostages, by Englishman William Willshire. Riley returned to the States and in 1816 published his book, "Narrative of the Loss of the American Brig Commerce." Riley accepted an 1819 appointment from the U.S. Surveyor General Edward Tiffin to survey land in northwest Ohio, following the U.S. Treaties with the Indian Nations. In 1822, Riley platted Willshire, Ohio, to honor his benefactor, Wm. Willshire. Riley went on to become Northwest Ohio's Representative to Ohio Congress, 1834/24. In the 1830's, Riley returned to sea. U.S. President Abraham Lincoln wrote that he had read Riley's book, which influenced his attitudes concerning slavery.
Dean King read Riley's "Narrative," and became so intrigued with Riley's story, that he planned and implemented a trip in the Sahara, following Riley's route on camels. King questioned his Arab guides and related stories written by Riley, to confirm the authenticity of Riley's "Narrative." King kept a daily journal which is now posted on his website, DeanHKing.com. King's daily journal is worthy of being a companion book to his book about Riley, because it takes the reader with him under the hot desert sun.
How do I know to advise the reader to read Dean King's book about Captain James Riley? I served as Director of the Mercer County Historical Museum, The Riley Home, Celina, Ohio, for over three decades. I wrote a biography of Captain James Riley, about his ancestors, and descendants, as well as about Riley's entire life in Connecticut and Ohio. Riley's son, James Watson Riley, platted Celina, Ohio in 1834. At this Mercer County Historical Museum, the Riley Home, archival collections of Captain James Riley, include Riley's ship logs: his international correspondence with William Willshire, British Vice Consul; his correspondence with members of the U.S. Government, and his correspondence with his children. The archives also include histories of Riley's descendants in the United States, Canada, and Ireland.
I had the opportunity to become acquainted with Dean King in 2000 when he was beginning his journey to learn about Riley. We have continued our communication these past years. April 23/24, 2005, the Members of the Mercer County Historical Society were proud to host Dean King as speaker at the public program, partially funded by the Ohio Humanities Council. Descendants of Captain James Riley, from Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York, and Florida attended this program, and they shared their family stories about Captain Riley with Dean King.
Dean King's book, "Skeletons in the Zahara," should be read by anyone with the slightest hint of maritime adventure running through his veins. King's knowledge of sailing ships and the sea is superb.
King's books should be read by historians who will value not only the history of the War of 1812 maritime era, but also King's detailed footnotes and extensive bibliography.
King's books should be read by literature clubs who read for the pure pleasure of reading and discussing good books. King's literary talents are of the quality of the classical authors.
At his young age, Dean King is an uncommon man who has achieved that broad experience and ability, to be able to walk among peers in his academic world, as well as to be able to walk among camel herders, sailors, and the common man, and to tell their stories well.
Summary of Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival
Everywhere hailed as a masterpiece of historical adventure, this enthralling narrative recounts the experiences of twelve American sailors who were shipwrecked off the coast of Africa in 1815, captured by desert nomads, sold into slavery, and subjected to a hellish two-month journey through the bone-dry heart of the Sahara. The ordeal of these men - who found themselves tested by barbarism, murder, starvation, death, dehydration, and hostile tribes that roamed the desert on camelback - is made indelibly vivid in this gripping account of courage, brotherhood, and survival.Some stories are so enthralling they deserve to be retold generation after generation. The wreck in 1815 of the Connecticut merchant ship, Commerce, and the subsequent ordeal of its crew in the Sahara Desert, is one such story. With Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival, Dean King refreshes the popular nineteenth-century narrative once read and admired by Henry David Thoreau, James Fenimore Cooper, and Abraham Lincoln. King?s version, which actually draws from two separate first person accounts of the Commerce's crew, offers a page-turning blend of science, history, and classic adventure. The book begins with a seeming false start: tracing the lives of two merchants from North Africa, Seid and Sidi Hamet, who lose their fortunes?and almost their lives?when their massive camel caravan arrives at a desiccated oasis. King then jumps to the voyage of the Commerce under Captain Riley and his 11-man crew. After stops in New Orleans and Gibraltar, the ship falls off course en route to the Canary Islands and ultimately wrecks at the infamous Cape Bojador. After the men survive the first predations of the nomads on the shore, they meander along the coast looking for a way inland as their supplies dwindle. They subsist for days by drinking their own urine. Eventually, to their horror, they discover that they have come aground on the edge of the Sahara Desert. They submit themselves, with hopes of getting food and water, as slaves to the Oulad Bou Sbaa. After days of abuse, they are bought by Hamet, who, after his own experiences with his failed caravan (described at the novels opening), sympathizes with the plight of the crew. Together, they set off on a hellish journey across the desert to collect a bounty for Hamet in Swearah. King embellishes this compelling narrative throughout with scientific and historical material explaining the origins of the camel, the market for English and American slaves, and the stages of dehydration. He also humanizes the Sahrawi with background on the tribes and on the lives of Hamet and Seid. This material, doled out in sufficient amounts to enrich the story without derailing it makes Skeletons on the Zahara a perfectly entertaining bit of history that feels like a guilty pleasure. --Patrick O'Kelley
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