Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival

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Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival

by Dean King (Goodreads Author)

4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 · rating details · 2,396 ratings · 285 reviews

Everywhere hailed as a masterpiece of historical adventure, this enthralling narrative recounts the experiences of twelve American sailors who were shipwrecked off the coast of Africa in 1815, captured by desert nomads, sold into slavery, and subjected to a hellish two-month journey through the bone-dry heart of the Sahara. The ordeal of these men - who found themselves te...more

Paperback, 353 pages

Published April 12th 2005 by Back Bay Books (first published 2004)

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Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston

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Sep 06, 2012 Nathan Moore rated it 4 of 5 stars

"Skeletons on the Zahara" is a true but gut-wrenching, dehydrating, queasy story of fate of Captain James Riley and the men of The Commerce. The story itself is horrifying and contains a quality of human suffering that is incomprehensible to the first world mind. I read this book right after reading "Endurance Shackleton's Incredible Voyage" and I was constantly comparing the two the whole time.

Both stories are remarkable and I can't imagine how anything but Divine providence could ever attribu...more

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Oct 02, 2008 Ken rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

I have read a number of true adventure and survival stories, and this one stands out as one of the most extraordinary feats of survival I’ve read. The deprivations and hardships of Riley’s crew make for fascinating reading, and the odds of their survival — never mind making it back to civilization — are truly extreme. Riley is a highly intelligent, loyal, and sensitive captain, and he gambles a risky deal to save his life and his crew.

And the author has clearly done his research, determining man...more

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May 19, 2013 Mitch rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: biographical

This is an account of the fates of several men who shipwrecked off the coast of Western Africa, were caught and then held for ransom by the Arabs who lived there back in 1815.

The facts of this account were drawn largely from narratives published by two of the men after their ordeal. Supplementary material came from the author's wide readings and I have to say, some of these were quite noticeably inserted into the storyline.

For a real life adventure book, I give this high marks. It is interestin...more

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Nov 25, 2012 Julain Schwartz rated it 5 of 5 stars

Imagine being stranded on the coast of the Zahara desert, with an extremely scarce amount of food and water. The nomadic locals are far from hospitable and there is seemingly no way to survive. This is the true story of Captain James Riley told in Skeletons on the Zahara written by Dean King and published in February 2004 by Little, Brown and company. I found the book interesting from a historical standpoint. It also taught me a lot about leadership and overall human nature. I was most impresse...more Imagine being stranded on the coast of the Zahara desert, with an extremely scarce amount of food and water. The nomadic locals are far from hospitable and there is seemingly no way to survive. This is the true story of Captain James Riley told in Skeletons on the Zahara written by Dean King and published in February 2004 by Little, Brown and company. I found the book interesting from a historical standpoint. It also taught me a lot about leadership and overall human nature. I was most impressed, however, by the narrative voice and Dean King’s ability to immerse the reader through detail, emotion, and accuracy.
During the early 1800s, the only method of trading goods between continents was for ships to sail across oceans. These voyages were extremely risky and required a crew of brave and sufficient men. Skeletons on the Zahra tells the story of Captain James Riley and his men, who were thrown into a desperate situation and had to survive under almost impossible circumstances. In February 1815, the Commerce, an American ship, departed from Connecticut and headed towards the Cape Verde Islands to receive salt. Towards the end of the journey, the crew got disoriented and the ship struck land. The Crew boarded a lifeboat and attempted to locate familiar islands nearby, but gave up after several days. Captain Riley and his men were then kidnapped by the locals and divided among different settlements to work as slaves. The crew was losing hope, but Captain Riley refused to give up.
While the plot is an amazing example of hope and courage, I consider the best aspect of the book to be the narrative voice. Captain Riley survived the ordeal and later wrote about it great detail. This gives the Author Dean King the ability to vividly describe his emotions. I found myself empathizing with Captain Riley because I knew exactly what he was thinking. Periodically the book will directly reference some of Riley’s quotes. For instance, while trying to convince someone to trust him, Riley said, “If I am lying you may cut my throat.” The absence of anything false also contributed to my overall connection to story. I never doubted any historical facts because it was based around the writings of someone who actually lived in that time period. Dean’s use of detail is also appreciated. He describes the environments and ambiences thoroughly. For example, he spares no details while describing the city of Swearah. Everything from the culture to the architecture is mentioned. At times I forgot I was reading the book within the comfort of my own living room.
Skeletons on the Zahara is an amazing book of survival. The compelling plot will have you invested instantly. James Dean’s style of writing utilizes emotion, detail, and accuracy to tell a beautiful story. It’s a riveting narrative with elements of adventure, tragedy, compassion, courage, and hope.

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Nov 17, 2012 Perrin Pring rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, non-fiction-adventure

After reading The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger, I just can't not compare the two. In my mind, Junger's Perfect Storm was one of the best survival tales I've ever read. Skeletons on the Zahara, not so much.

One thing that Junger does amazingly is put the story into the present tense. He does not make up dialoge, but he provides some insight as to what may or may not have been said. King, on the other hand keeps the story of James Riley and his men in the past. I never felt that connected to...more

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Jul 21, 2012 Bob Schmitz rated it 3 of 5 stars

Many readers have complained that the book is dry. It is. It is very repetitious. It is also amazing. 12 American sailors are shipwrecked on the coast of Africa in 1815 and taken as slaves by desert nomads. They are beaten, poorly fed, often nude, worked to skin and bones and traded among different groups for as little as a torn blanket. In two months Captain Riley goes from 240lbs to 90 and others are reduced to 40lbs. Through Riley's determination, leadership and guile 5 of the group eventuall...more

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Dec 28, 2011 Florence Primrose rated it 3 of 5 stars

The ship Commerce left New England in early May, 1815. After trading stops in New Orleans and Gibraltar their ship,wrecked on the rocks of northwest Africa by the Saraha desert. After struggles to renovate a long boat and continue they were captured by wandering Arabs. They were continually fought over by different groups of Arabs. They traveled back and forth across the desert usually walking, often nude as slaves, rarely fed or treated decently. They were separated from others from their ship....more

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Jul 10, 2011 Deidre rated it 5 of 5 stars

When the crew of the ship, Commerce, left America, the War of 1812 had just ended. The captain of the ship, James Riley, decided to lead the ship in order to recoup some of the fortune he lost during the war. It surprised me that a ship headed to Africa would only have a crew of eleven. Captain Riley was only thirty-seven years old. He was an accomplished sea captain. His crew had sailed together before, some were neighbors on land, and there was a close bond among them.

The ship crashed off the...more

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Apr 30, 2010 Carolyn rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm a sucker for a good survival book, and this is a good one. King retells, with historical perspective, what became a well-known story in the first half of the 19th century, that of an American crew of the merchant brig "Commerce" who shipwrecked off the coast of Africa in the early part of the century. Over the course of approximately four months, they wandered -- sometimes together, sometimes apart -- over the Western Sahara, being sold and re-sold in slavery, hoping to convince one of their...more

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May 04, 2009 Travis rated it 5 of 5 stars

I noticed my daughter recently added this book to her "to read" list, and since I read it and recommended it to her about a year ago, I thought I'd write a quick review of it.

"Skeletons on the Zahara" is a perfect example of why I'm a big fan of true-life adventure narratives--you can't make this stuff up, as they say. The book is a fascinating, and sometimes horrifying, account of early 19th century sea captain James Riley and his crew of the Commerce, who fought an epic battle to survive capti...more I noticed my daughter recently added this book to her "to read" list, and since I read it and recommended it to her about a year ago, I thought I'd write a quick review of it.

"Skeletons on the Zahara" is a perfect example of why I'm a big fan of true-life adventure narratives--you can't make this stuff up, as they say. The book is a fascinating, and sometimes horrifying, account of early 19th century sea captain James Riley and his crew of the Commerce, who fought an epic battle to survive captivity and slavery among Arabic nomads after being shipwrecked off the northwest coast of Africa in August 1815.

meant to sail through the Canary Islands, Riley's brig was swept off-course by contrary currents and ran aground on the Morocco coast, where it broke apart and left the captain and his crew adrift in two small boats. Once on shore, like many sailors before and after them, they were belguiled and attacked by muslim tribesmen, who killed a number of the crew and captured the rest, selling them off piecemeal to local slavers and other nomads. Those who survived their murderous and sometimes cannabilistic captors endured tortures, plagues of locusts, blinding sandstorms, thirst, starvation and other almost unimaginable horrors.

After finally being ransomed by a British consul-general, Riley returned to the United States and wrote a memoir of his experiences. Published in 1817, Riley's text became a famous and influential abolitionist document, and was translated into several European languages. A young Abraham Lincoln was apparently greatly affected by the book, as was Henry David Thoreau--who cited it in his "Cape Cod" writings. In an 1819 letter to Ohio governor E. A. Brown, Riley confessed to being perpetually tormented by recurring nightmares about his ordeal and by his anxieties over the fate of his enslaved shipmates who remained forever lost.

"Skeletons on the Zahara" is wonderfully readable, punctuated by profound moral and psychological insights about the human condition, and a page turner from start to finish. Highly recommended!(less)

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May 11, 2013 Becky rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a fascinating and horrifying true account of 12 American commercial sailors shipwrecked in 1815 off the coast of Africa. They are captured by desert nomads,sold into slavery (some bought by different masters), and face unbelievable adversity as they try to stay alive. For over two months they endure conditions that are physically and emotionally brutal. They are stripped of their clothes, made to ride as many as 14 hours on camel back without a blanket or saddle, and must wait on their m...more

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Jun 25, 2012 Anne Nichols rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a remarkable and true survival story which reminded me of the incredible courage, perseverence and determination which can be mustered by certain individuals in unimaginable and horrific circumstances, and what makes survival stories a favorite of mine. i thoroughly enjoyed Krakauer's stories Into Thin Air and Into the Wild so was intrigued when i read this book's description. I was probably also a little bit drawn to this book because of the main character's name, James Riley (my younge...more

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Apr 13, 2009 Unwisely rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, 2009, historical

This is a book about a ship that wrecked in the Western Sahara in 1815. It's a newer one, based on the books published by the survivors, plus the author's own trek out there in 2001 (although this mostly shows up in the form of footnotes). Captain Riley's diary was apparently very popular and much read in its day, and is one of the books that influenced Abraham Lincoln's anti-slavery stance.

What I learned is OMG, I don't want to be shipwrecked out there, geez. They ran out of water, they were st...more

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Nov 15, 2012 Ruth Charchian rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography

Captain Riley and his crew of 17 were marooned off the coast of North Africa in 1815 when their ship, The Commerce, sunk after hitting rocks. They were captured by bedoin tribsmen after a harrowing escape and recapture, and sold into slavery. They endured near starvation (weighing less than 90 pounds when redeemed), cruelty, unbearable, searing heat often without the benefit clothing, open sores from walking and sleeping on sharp rocks and desert hard pan, drinking their own urine to survive, an...more

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Jan 23, 2013 Licha rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, survival

I so hate the three star rating more than any other. I feel like giving it this usually means the book was just ok, average. This is not what this book was at all. I could not put this book down at all. I was sneaking peeks every time I could trying to see what was going to happen next.

This is a true story about twelve men on a ship in the early 1800's. They are crossing the Atlantic sea for trade when their boat gets shipwrecked off the coast of Northern Africa. What happens next is pure horro...more I so hate the three star rating more than any other. I feel like giving it this usually means the book was just ok, average. This is not what this book was at all. I could not put this book down at all. I was sneaking peeks every time I could trying to see what was going to happen next.

This is a true story about twelve men on a ship in the early 1800's. They are crossing the Atlantic sea for trade when their boat gets shipwrecked off the coast of Northern Africa. What happens next is pure horror when a tribe of Arabs takes them as their personal property so they can be sold as slaves. It is a story of survival, the hardships they go through, the sufferings they must endure to both the elements and to the evil spirit of human nature.

This story is a true testament to the human spirit and the will to survive. I love stories like this. How would I fare in such a situation? What would I do? Would I survive? There were many times in the story when it seemed like it would have just been easier for the men to give up and die and be done with their misery. The men have to endure traveling through the Sahara Desert, with no shoes, clothes, unable to speak the language and looked down on for being Christians in a Muslim country. They go hungry and thirsty for days at a time, suffer unbelievable torture to their bodies, all with the final goal of surviving and making it back home.

I was touched by this book. I cannot put in words what it must be like for a group of people who go through anything like this. It bonds you for life. This book made me cry at times, made me angry and sad--that a human being can see another another human being suffering or in pain and be indifferent to it and at times inflict even more pain on top of pain. It was just beyond my understanding of human nature. To know that there can be someone on the other end of the spectrum, who can be compassionate and help a person in need is the triumph of the human spirit.

A bit of trivia I learned from this is that the original book that this book was based on was a book that Abraham Lincoln considered to be influential in his life. I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good survival story.(less)

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Dec 05, 2012 Naomi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A absolutely remarkable story of survival from a shipwreck and sojourn in the Saharan desert. James Riley captains the Commerce in 1815, a man of great integrity and mental strength. He wrote a narrative of his experiences after managing to save most of his crew. This book was wildly popular and was said to have an influence on Abraham Lincoln concerning the slavery endured by the crew from the Arabs. Riley weighed 240 lbs. when he was captured and in the space of approximately 2 months weighed...more

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Feb 18, 2013 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

A rehashing of Captain James Riley's memoir and the shipwreck of the American ship, the Commerce, off the coast of Africa in 1815. Despite credibility problems (which I think are inherent in all memoirs), King's overarching biography of the shipwreck and the crew's subsequent capture by desert nomads is pretty good. King actually went to the Sahara to retrace the crew's route through the desert.

Fascinating survival story with interesting insight into the lives and culture of the desert nomads an...more

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Jun 03, 2013 Glen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: all-time-favs, history

I read this book several years back so my ability to offer a detailed review has diminished over time. What I do vividly remember is the veracity behind the tale and the disappointment I experienced each time I had to take a break from reading it. Simply put it is a page turner that describes one of the most incredible feats of survival I have ever heard of. Again some details are fuzzy but the general impression the novel left with me has not diminished at all in the four or five years since I...more

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Mar 20, 2010 Leigh-ann rated it 4 of 5 stars

A bit dry in parts (no pun intended), and the beginning reads like a history textbook (not a good thing), but after the first three or four chapters the story is so engrossing, appalling, and harrowing that it becomes impossible to put down. What these men endured at the hands of their captors (and at the mercy of the desert) is almost unimaginable, and it will sure make you appreciate the comfy clothes you're wearing, the meal you're eating, and the kitchen faucet that provides an endless suppl...more

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Jul 15, 2012 Byron K rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

Part novel and investigation based on a Captain's account of being shipwrecked on the Sahara desert. Hard to wrap your mind around the suffering endured by the survivors of an American ship in the early 1800's. Life in general was much more challenging at the time but the misadventures of these people make you realize people are able to endure stunning amounts. Some of the periods are rendered in minute detail while other segments of time are pretty liberally skipped over, making it a bit hard t...more

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Feb 03, 2011 Brian rated it 3 of 5 stars

The story of the hardships endured by Capt. James Riley and the crew of the Commerce is certainly shocking and unforgettable. However, when told in the form of a scholarly historical analysis, this book comes up a little short. The problem is that King relies almost entirely on two primary sources: the two autobiographies written by Riley and another crew member Robbins. This is to be expected, but I think King could have addressed the problem in a different way.

One of the most fascinating aspec...more

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Jul 28, 2009 David rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Here is a remarkable story of adventure, suffering, and redemption. The true story presented paradoxes that took the events beyond a simple tale of survival. During a period in history when white Americans enslaved non-whites, a crew of white American sailors find themselves enslaved by Arabs. And yet, while I wanted to condemn Arabs as barbarians, it is an Arab who risks his own life to deliver the Americans from their cruel fate. One of the most stunning moments in the story is when, despite t...more

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May 02, 2009 Colleen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Read this about 3 years ago. Absolutely stunning. The story is true. And it takes place in the early 1800s when a crew of white New England sailors shipwreck off the coast of West Africa, somewhere below Morrocco. The captain kept a diary and it was a horrendous tale of capture by Bedouins, and survival during the trek to the slave market across the Sahara. The captain makes it back to civilization and spends the rest of his life trying to eliminate slavery in the US. His story was corroborated...more

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May 17, 2011 Jon rated it 5 of 5 stars

If you ever doubted that you're soft then you need to read this book! I would have lasted a day at most in these guy's place. The length, depth, and height of cruelty, desperation, resolve, and outright divine providence which led this poor group of shipwrecked sailors through their trials at the hands of these barbarians is truly amazing.

While reading you may find yourself questioning if this is fiction, yet this really happened and some lived to tell the tale.

A definite goodread for anyone wit...more

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Oct 13, 2008 Christina rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I thought this book was generally fairly dry, but punctuated by oases of fascinating material. Har har.
But seriously, it taught me a lot about the Sahara and the people who live there, along with some amazing facts about camels. I really came to like Captain Riley- his loyalty, his perseverance, his faith, his general pluck and intelligence. In order to enjoy those nuggets, though, I felt like I had to wade through a lot of boring geography (then they came to a wadi, then they came to some dune...more

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Oct 21, 2007 Nicholas Whyte added it · review of another edition

http://nhw.livejournal.com/767172.html[return][return]An account of a group of American sailors who were shipwrecked off the Saharan coast in 1815, captured and enslaved by the locals, and how their captain and a few of his crew eventually made it to freedom, being bought out by the British consul at Essaouira ("Swearah") in Morocco. The captain, James Riley, and one of his crewmen published accounts of their journey and captivity after they had got back which were apparently widely read in earl...more

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Aug 27, 2007 Molly rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: survival/outdoorsy types

This book remains very vividly in my mind despite the fact that I read it several years ago. It is the AMAZING, extremely griping TRUE story of the survivors of the 1815 shipwreck off the coast of Africa of the American merchant ship "Commerce". The sailors, alone and with few supplies, wander the shore for days (fighting nomads) looking for a way inland to find food and water, only to realize they are on the edge of the Sahara. The "meet up" with a caravan of nomadic Arabs and submit themselves...more

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Aug 23, 2012 Chris rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: history-american, history-africa-middle-east, explorers-real-and-fiction

I enjoyed Unbound: A True Story of War, Love, and Survival better than this book. In Unbound, it seemed like King had better handle on his subjects, not surprising considering the modern setting. Here the only subject King seems to have a handle on is Capt Riley (not surprising, he wrote a book).

It is, however, a fasinating, if not riveting, story about survival and far more interesting than say Robinson Crusoe. Not only did Riley and co have to live though the shipwreck, they had to cross the Z...more

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Mar 31, 2013 Lana Owens rated it 4 of 5 stars

Not for everyone but a good recommendation for those of us (mostly survivors in one way or another I suspect) who are hooked on true life human endurance stories. If you liked books like The Perfect Storm, Endurance, Into Thin Air, Annapurna, you'll like Skeletons on the Zahara. It is the story of ship of British soldiers shipwrecked of the coast of Africa in 1815 who were captured by Bedouins and held as starved slaves in a nomadic trek across the desert. The survivors journals provided the res...more

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Dec 05, 2012 R rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bio, escape, memoir, exploration, history-non-fiction, seafaring

Enjoyed the heck out of it! Really excellent. This is an updated account of a story from 1815 about American shipwrecked sailors and how they survived starvation, slavery, ill-treatment in Saharan Africa. Their own fortitude along with help from well-meaning Arabs & Brits makes for an amazing tale. I found myself wondering, "How is it have I never even heard about this story before?!" Especially, when the original narrative (which forms the basis for King's book) was published, it was hugely...more

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About Dean King

I like to read, wander cross-country, travel in cultures I don't understand, cycle, play squash, and I'm a foodie. But most of all I like to be in the throes of writing a book. This is invigorating work. The moment when the hard-won research combines with a bit of sweat and blood and occasionally a tear to become a fluid paragraph is like no other. What I hope to achieve is to suspend time and dis...more

More about Dean King...

Books by Dean King

A Sea of Words: A Lexicon and Companion to the Complete Seafaring Tales of Patrick O'Brian

Harbors and High Seas: An Atlas and Geographical Guide to the Complete Aubrey-Maturin Novels of Patrick O'Brian

The Feud: The Hatfields and McCoys: The True Story

Unbound: A True Story of War, Love, and Survival

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