This purchase was for me. I will read and keep..
Quality: 5
Value for money: 5
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<blockquote>‘Bell bestowed her attention upon persons rather than places, her chief concern being to study the character and customs of the people. This fact sharply differentiates her work from most books on travel.’<br/><ol><li><em>New York Times</em></li></ol></blockquote>Very little about Gertrude Bell could be considered ordinary. Known as the ‘female Lawrence of Arabia’, she was not only an explorer but an expert linguist, mountaineer, archaeologist, spy and nation-builder, who helped draw the borders of modern Iraq and establish the Hashemite dynasty. Syria: The Desert and the Sown is her celebrated account of a 1905 journey through Ottoman Syria, an area that now includes parts of modern Palestine and Israel, Syria and Lebanon. She describes the heavy Ottoman presence in Arab towns and cities (the ‘sown’ areas) but their absence from the desert, where Bedouin tribes remained effective rulers, and her portraits of Syria’s people leap from the page, from haughty sheikh to lowly servant. This edition includes more than 160 of Bell’s own photographs newly sourced from her archive, from abandoned forts and camel caravans to daily life in the bazaar. A vast fold-out map of her route, in its own cloth-bound case, traces her journey from Jerusalem to Antioch via Palmyra, Baalbek and the Krak des Chevaliers. With a new introduction by Oxford anthropologist Dawn Chatty, The Desert and the Sown is a timely read about a now-troubled region, made by one who influenced its destiny.
All reviews
Just perfect
Quality: 5
Value for money: 5
Great introduction for a book I was not aware of.
Quality: 5
Value for money: 5
I was thrilled to find Gertrude Bell’s book on Syria in the sale and bought it instantaneously. It arrived beautifully packaged, safe from any bumps of the Postal Service. The book itself is everything I could’ve hoped for. It looks like a jewel. The foldout map is beautifully detailed and allows you to track the journey as you read. I could not have justified the cost of this book for myself so when it entered the sale, I was over the moon. The photos are of a wonderful quality and if you haven’t read this before, she’s an incredible writer, blending her narrative with an acute eye for detail and a sharp sense of humour. She is one of the greats (and very under-appreciated, in my opinion) so to have this quality edition is wonderful.
Quality: 5
A beautiful volume - as ever.
Quality: 5
Value for money: 5
Wonderful photos
Quality: 5
Value for money: 5
Interesting book. My only quibble is that the dark print showed through on the other face of the page to some extent.
Quality: 4
Value for money: 4
The author was an important person in the formation of the middle east. A fascinating insight into the young Gertrude Bell who became Miss Bell.
Quality: 5
Value for money: 5
Very interesting: if look forward to more reading on this place.
Quality: 5
Value for money: 5
Gertrude Bell is a legendary traveler in the Middle East. This is one of her better known works, and I appreciate very much this fine art edition.
Quality: 5
Value for money: 5
Wonderful edition of Bell's work; her photographs , almost one to every page is a real bonus.
Quality: 5
Value for money: 5
Beautiful volume.
Quality: 5
Beautifully bound with lovely details.
Quality: 5
Value for money: 5
Don’t know much about Syria, so maybe I’ll learn something
Quality: 5
Value for money: 5
gorgeous-Ilook forward to reading this work!
Quality: 5
Value for money: 5
Wonderful to have her photographs. Great book design as always.
Quality: 5
Value for money: 5
Very interesting read and wonderful pictures
Quality: 5
Value for money: 5
abs amazing
Quality: 5
Value for money: 5
Have always been interested in the mix of cultures in the Middle East and this book along with the helpful map allowed me to be in situ in the reading.
Quality: 5
Value for money: 5
A lovely edition but not read yet so cannot comment on content.
Quality: 4
Value for money: 4