A Desert Dies

by Michael Asher

Published 1 January 1986
234X147MM.392PP+16PP INSET.NO COLOUR. ANIMALS, NO BIRDS, NOT A SINGLE TREE NOR A SINGLE STRAND OF GRASS. THERE WAS NO LIFE BUT WE TWO HUMAN BEINGS, ONE BLACK, ONE WHITE, AND THESE TWO CAMELS, ONE WHITE, ONE RED. WE WERE IN AN UNKNOWN PLACE, MARKED ON NO MAP, ON AN UNKNOWN PLANET, SOMEWHERE SPINNING SILENTLY IN SPACE.' NO WRITER HAS DESCRIBED THE EFFECTS OF THE RECENT DROUGHT FROM DIRECT EXPERIENCE WITH SUCH FORCE AS MICHAEL ASHER DOES HERE. A DESERT DIES IS BOTH A SUPERB TRAVEL BOOK AND A GUIDE FOR THE TRADITIONS AND WAYS OF THE NOMADS.