One third of the globe’s land surface is desert, and much of it parched, treacherous and inhospitable. The hostile climate, lunar topography and sheer existential blankness of these zones have confounded explorers over the centuries. For indigenous and nomadic people, conversely, these hostile and forbidding places are home, and the vistas that fill Western travellers with dread bring more comfort than fear. In ‘The Immeasurable World’, over the course of eight journeys to deserts iconic and obscure, Atkins enters a landscape that he discovers is as much internal as physical.

Author William Atkins Published by Faber & Faber ISBN 9780571319749 EAN 9780571319749 Bic Code Cover Paperback