Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival Kindle Edition

I could not put this down. Before bed, I would lay there wondering what would happen next. The characters were endearing, the treachery made me anxious, and the story consumed me totally. To imagine this actually happened is enough to make your whole world spin. It was easy to slip into their world and ask yourself if you could have done it as they had I do not give high ratings and I am not really a "book" person but I needed something to pass the time on the train for my daily commute. I would often sit at work and zone out of meetings to digest what I had read that morning. I was so sad when the story ended. It was as if I was saying goodbye to old friends for which together we had been through so much. I would highly recommend this.Also, how is this not a movie? We keep getting stupid reboots while great epics like this one are tucked away in the annals of history. Get it together, Hollywood! Furthermore, I used to think the greatest true story leadership read was Shackleton's Endurance. And while Endurance (Lansing) is phenomenal, I would argue Captain Riley of the Commerce offers more/better lessons to learn about leadership - for you corporate types.

A story that puts any Indiana Jones adventure to shame. “Skeletons on the Zahara” is an exciting and grisly read, detailing the horrific ordeal of Captain James Riley and his eleven-man crew after they shipwreck off the coast of Africa in the early 1800s. The loss of their boat is the least of the crew’s worries, however, when they're sold into slavery and descend into a sun-scorched nightmare of desperation and death. King’s writing brings the story to life in all its gruesome barbarity, doing a stellar job in conveying the men’s physical suffering. What they go through is nothing short of hellacious.The book fires on all cylinders thanks to the story and King’s writing. The author actually traveled to Africa and followed in Riley’s footsteps to get a better understanding of what the men went through. This first-hand experience reveals itself in King’s descriptions of the merciless landscape.For lovers of history and adventure, “Skeletons on the Zahara” is a must . . .

The story on which this book is based was apparently a must-read around 1850. Towards the end, it is mentioned that Abraham Lincoln followed this story with great interest. It is clearly a view of slavery that is not often seen - the view of free WHITE men who are captured and held as slaves in deplorable conditions. I personally found it interesting because I had never heard of the Dry Tortugas, but was en route there when I read - in this book - that ships needed to sail around the Dry Tortugas in order to get to the port of New Orleans.

This is a mesmerizing story of the ordeals experienced by shipwreck survivors on the desert coast of West Africa in the early 1800s, soon to be separated to go through ordeals that make the reader all too relieved to be reading about them rather than experiencing them. A friend loaned me the book and within a few years I yearned to read it again, so found it on Amazon. I was hypnotised by it both times. For man-against-nature and man-against-man epics, this book ranks with the most biting of all. The writing is vivid, artful, and unforgettable.

I have to consciously hold back the urge to become judgemental of the Arabs in the desert. It's a hard life, but in every walk of life there is a choice between cruelty and kindness.......Well written Dean, and I'm sure easier to read - in modern English - than the Captain's original version.

I love historical non-fiction though it can be a bit dry at times. Skeletons on the Zahara is not that! Dean King wrote a gripping and detailed account of history that puts the reader in a different time and place which would be otherwise hard to fathom. The development of the various characters is superb and draws the reader into the unfolding drama with very clear mental pictures of the various scenes. The second half of the account is a race against time that engaged me to the point of choosing to read instead of sleep. Really excellent work about a highly compelling story! Make this book part of your collection.

Ii read mostly nonfiction because I like to learn about true events.Alot of history and survival inspirational stories.I have to say that this was one of the best books I've read. It had adventure, survival in the blistering desert,overcoming unbelievable hardships, such as being taken for slaves and an iro will to survive. A truly amazing story, with a surprise ending, that was nothing short of miraculous. Well written and researched.

This book caught my eye due to its different and unusual subject matter. It was captivating and very enlightening with respect to early 19th century commerce, but I NEVER realized the extent of how shipwdecked sailors were treated as slaves by the Arabs of the western Sahara. It was also fascinating to learn about life on the Sahara and how both man and beast survive.This read is a good follow-up to Kilmeade's "Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates." From the commerce and slavery issues on the Barbary Coast, you now are now taken southwest to the coastal region of the western Sahara with eye opening, horrifying, but also compassionate behavior from those living in that little known region of Africa. You will not be disappointed!

Being shipwrecked is never pleasant, but being shipwrecked on Africa's endless Sahara coastline is about as bad as it gets. The misadventures of the poor crew members of the American brig "Commerce", hailing from the lush green hills along the Connecticut river, and having to survive in the bone-dry and hellishly hot Sahara, make for depressing reading. Departing in 1815, just after the end of the War of 1812, The "Commerce" makes a stop in New Orleans, then crosses the Atlantic and intends to sail south along the Canaries. The captain loses his bearings due to an unexpectedly fast ocean current, and the ship runs aground on the rocks near Cape Bojador, with all crew surviving.Suffering from terrible thirst, hunger and sunburn, they are eventually taken captive by the thoroughly nasty tribes inhabiting this forbidding part of our planet. Their new masters - albeit rather pious - treat them worse than slaves, at times preferring to throw away scarce water than feed it to their captives. Even the women in the tribe enthusiastically participate in mistreating the poor castaways. Probably unintentionally, 'Skeletons on the Zahara' is the ideal vacation book for cultural relativists - it might actually make them think.I do not want to give away the story, so suffice it to say that this is a book well worth reading - it is well written, riveting and provides lots of food for thought. It is a good idea to read it in small instalments, otherwise the endless suffering gets a bit too repetitive.

The privations suffered by these ship-wrecked sailors has to be read to be believed. The modern snowflake generation would just curl up and die if faced with a fraction of the troubles met.A great read which emphasises how slaves were (are) viewed by their "owners"... a commodity pure and simple.

Excellent book

Another version of sufferings in Africa by James Riley an excellent read

A fascinating tale of dramatic events and experiences.