The Sword and the Cross
2 journalers for this copy...
Looks interesting
Interesting - I don't ususally read non-fiction, but this was well written, and a subject about which I knew nothing, so very educational!
ETMadrid has asked for this, so once my boyfriend has read it it will be going that way.
ETMadrid has asked for this, so once my boyfriend has read it it will be going that way.
How brilliant!!! Can't thank you enough. And even though I did not show signs of life it got to me just in time. I'd been in Cornwall, and did a very quick turnaround at my parents' before rushing off to the airport. So here it is with me in Madrid. I've been wanting to read about Charles de Foucauld for sometime, and I know nothing about Henri Laperrine. This book couldn't be in more appreciative hands, as I can see there's a chapter on Djanet, which is precisely where I spent 5 weeks just over a year ago. I have lots of books to read, and read fairly slowly, but attentively. I'll certainly update here.
Journal Entry 4 by 
ETMadrid
from Rotherhithe, Greater London United Kingdom on Thursday, July 10, 2008
ETMadrid from Rotherhithe, Greater London United Kingdom on Thursday, July 10, 2008
It's time I return to the Sahara and I'll do so by beginning this book very shortly.
20/07 Just finished this, and really loved it. It illuminated a big part of France's history in Algeria and North Africa of which I knew only fragments, particularly the circumstances of her first steps there in the 1830s. I'm more ready to trust a non-French writer as so much of what is written in France is very opinionated and all too often one-sided, giving a somewhat distorted picture. Fleming's neutral stance is an informative one. The character of de Foucauld was clearly a complex one, that made for entertaining reading, and with regard to him too I appreciated the non-French, non-religious approach. Laperrine too was a fascinating leader and creator of the méhariste camel corps and his military career truely original. Were these admirable figures in Saharan history? De Foucauld obviously had a twinkle in his eye, and latterly, an approach to life that people he knew found appealing. Admirable or not is tricky to answer, but what is certain is that this book has given me a much greater understanding of this part of the world that I've just begun to discover. A good prelude to my reading of "Sahara Man" by Jeremy Keenan that I'm looking forward to. There was not so much about Djanet (I stayed in a building constructed in the ruins of the fort), but I guess I can conclude that for a long time it was not actually a part of Algeria (today it is about 200k from the Libyan border).
My limited research has not come up with the conclusive answer, but I'm pretty sure this is the same Fergus Fleming who is nephew of Ian and probably son of Peter, whose travels I read of in Ella Maillart's "Oasis interdites" ("Forbidden Journey").
My husband is keen to read it too, so it's going to him for a while before resuming its travels.
20/07 Just finished this, and really loved it. It illuminated a big part of France's history in Algeria and North Africa of which I knew only fragments, particularly the circumstances of her first steps there in the 1830s. I'm more ready to trust a non-French writer as so much of what is written in France is very opinionated and all too often one-sided, giving a somewhat distorted picture. Fleming's neutral stance is an informative one. The character of de Foucauld was clearly a complex one, that made for entertaining reading, and with regard to him too I appreciated the non-French, non-religious approach. Laperrine too was a fascinating leader and creator of the méhariste camel corps and his military career truely original. Were these admirable figures in Saharan history? De Foucauld obviously had a twinkle in his eye, and latterly, an approach to life that people he knew found appealing. Admirable or not is tricky to answer, but what is certain is that this book has given me a much greater understanding of this part of the world that I've just begun to discover. A good prelude to my reading of "Sahara Man" by Jeremy Keenan that I'm looking forward to. There was not so much about Djanet (I stayed in a building constructed in the ruins of the fort), but I guess I can conclude that for a long time it was not actually a part of Algeria (today it is about 200k from the Libyan border).
My limited research has not come up with the conclusive answer, but I'm pretty sure this is the same Fergus Fleming who is nephew of Ian and probably son of Peter, whose travels I read of in Ella Maillart's "Oasis interdites" ("Forbidden Journey").
My husband is keen to read it too, so it's going to him for a while before resuming its travels.
