Getting lost (on purpose) with Wilfred Thesiger

This week’s Tuesday Book Club pick is a true adventure—Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger. If you’ve ever dreamed of vanishing off the map, this book might be the closest you can get from the comfort of your armchair. It’s about long journeys on camelback, scorching deserts, and the kind of travel that’s more about listening and learning than conquering or documenting.

What’s Arabian Sands about?

Thesiger was one of the last of a certain kind of explorer—no GPS, no support teams, no blog updates. In the 1940s, he crossed the Empty Quarter (Rub’ al Khali), one of the harshest and most remote deserts in the world, with Bedu companions who taught him how to survive in a place that doesn’t forgive mistakes.

The book is part travelogue, part memoir, and part love letter to a way of life that was already disappearing even as Thesiger experienced it. He’s honest about how tough the journey was, but he’s also deeply respectful of the people who made it possible.

Why read It now?

Arabian Sands is as much about people as it is about place. Thesiger wasn’t interested in sightseeing—he wanted to understand a different world on its own terms. That curiosity, humility, and raw determination make the book more than just a tale of hardship and heat.

It’s also beautifully written. Thesiger’s descriptions of the desert are vivid and strange and sometimes even meditative. And while he’s definitely a man of his time (and it shows), his deep admiration for the Bedu culture is clear throughout.

Let’s talk about it

What stood out to you most—the physical endurance, the cultural insights, or the desert itself? Did you find Thesiger’s approach inspiring, outdated, or a bit of both?

Join the conversation using #TuesdayBookClub and #ArabianSands on X (formerly Twitter) and Bluesky. Whether you’re reading it for the first time or revisiting an old favourite, we’d love to hear what you think.