Sons of Sinbad Hardcover – 1 Jan. 1940

Two things make this book different - first, the time it describes, just before the second world war before the world and especially Kuwait and the Gulf changed forever, and secondly, the simple descriptive style of Alan Villiers. To my knowledge, no other writer from a first world country has written like this of Arab culture. I believe it's because his all-consuming interest is in the boats, and he leaves all the usual western sense of superiority behind but without being patronising. Whatever the reason, the sense of involvement, immediacy and respect for the boats, the sailors and the cultures that produced them shines through. The (British) National Maritime Museum published a volume of the photographs which Villiers took on the voyages described here, and together, these books make a stunning impression.