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Angry Wind: Through Muslim Black Africa by Truck, Bus, Boat, and Camelby Jeffrey Tayler
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:Hailed by Bill Bryson and the New York Times Book Review as a rising star among travel writers, Jeffrey Tayler penetrates one of the most isolated, forbidding regions on earth — the Sahel. This lower expanse of the Sahara, which marks the southern limit of Islams reach in West and Central Africa, boasts such mythologized places as Mopti and Timbuktu, as well as Africas poorest countries, Chad and Niger. In parts of the Sahel, hard-line Sharia law rules and slaves are still traded. Racked by lethal harmattan winds, chronic civil wars, and grim Islamic fundamentalism, it is not the ideal place for a traveler with a U.S. passport. Tayler finds genuine danger in many guises, from drunken soldiers to a thieving teenage mob. But he also encounters patience and generosity of a sort found only in Africa. Traveling overland by the same rickety means used by the local people — tottering, overfilled buses, bush taxis with holes in the floor, disgruntled camels — he uses his fluency in French and Arabic (the regions lingua francas) to connect with them. Tayler is able to illuminate the roiling, enigmatic cultures of the Sahel as no other Western writer could. Review:"Appreciative of the generosity and patience of the region's long-suffering inhabitants, he also sees their cultures as bogged down by dogma and fatalism. Vividly written and trenchantly observed, Tayler's account opens an everyday window on a world that the West normally confronts only in crisis." Publishers Weekly Review:"This substantial and informative work is no mere travel tale — it is a firsthand account of the author's deeply personal quest for knowledge and understanding of a people and a region that continues to struggle with extreme poverty and unrest." Library Journal Review:"Angry Wind merits a solid audience at the African desks of Western intelligence agencies. There's trouble brewing in the Sahel, Tayler warns: Don't say no one told you so." Kirkus Reviews Review:"Lovers of travel literature and those who want to learn more about Islam in Africa should not miss this beautifully written travelogue." Booklist About the AuthorJeffrey Tayler is a correspondent for the Atlantic Monthly and a contributor to Conde Nast Traveler, Harper's Magazine, and National Geographic. He has written four books, most recently Angry Wind. An accomplished linguist, he is fluent in Russian, Arabic, French, and Modern Greek and can get by in Spanish and Turkish. Table of ContentsCONTENTS Prologue: The Challenge of the Sahel 1 1 . Mahamat of NDjamena 10 2. Pari-Vente 23 3. The Piste to Wadai 30 4. Abéché 46 5. Desert of Daggers 61 6. The Guns of Faya Largeau 76 7. The Sultan of Kanem 96 8. Nigeria Agonistes 105 9. Fear and Faith in Maiduguri 117 10. Return to Kano 133 11. The Mujahid of Sokoto 143 12. Torture in Zinder 152 13. Fetters of Bronze in Ayorou 169 14. Gao 177 15. Sailing the Niger to Timbuktu 190 16. Dance of the Desert 203 17. Djennés Bitter Winds 216 18. Death in the Sun 231 19. Miscre! 236 20. The Coast of Slaves 242 Acknowledgments 251 What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
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