Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival in Around the World in 80 Books

Oct 02, 2008 Ken rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, true-adventure

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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Sep 11, 2016 Kay rated it really liked it

Shelves: nonfiction, harrowing-tales, africa

The Quick and the Dead

Skeletons on the Zahara was a worthy addition to my “harrowing tales” shelf (42 books and growing). Obviously, I like this kind of book. What makes a good harrowing tale is more than depicting suffering, deprivation, and endurance. No, a good harrowing tale gives the reader a sense of what qualities allowed the central figure to endure.

Captain James Riley and eight of his crew, shipwrecked on the desolate Atlantic shore of the Sahara desert, escaped one band of marauding A ...more

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Mar 27, 2015 Wes F rated it it was amazing

This book is based on a true story of the crew of an American ship called Commerce that went aground & sank off present-day Western Sahara. This was an amazing story of survival, determination, grit, and just plain perseverance in the face of incredible suffering, deprivation and horrible treatment. What an insight into the evils of slavery and how horrible people can be to other people they deem less than themselves and like inanimate property. As is often the case, though, there are always som ...more

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Apr 09, 2011 Erica rated it it was ok

Shelves: geography, non-fiction, africa

Although King's writing style is a bit boring and one-dimensional, who needs to be creative and original when you are merging two different first hand accounts of being an American white slave at the mercy of tribes in the Western Sahara for your survival after your ship wrecks in 1815?
Even though King didn't go into detail about how their ordeal could have influenced (or did influence?) anti-slavery sentiment in the US, the memoir that the captain wrote entitled, Sufferings in Africa, was read ...more

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