The author has been visiting the same village in Mauritania on the
remote edge of the Sahara for over twenty years. This is the story of
his most recent journey there--an intense and engaging day-by-day
account through which global change and inequality are made human.
The Sahel--the shore of the Sahara--is where cultures, customs, and
climates meet, merge, and clash. Through the numerous characters we meet
and from the obviously deep and sympathetic nature of the relationship
the author has with the local people, with whom he now runs agricultural
projects, we learn of the realities of life in one of the harshest, most
marginalised, but also quietly inspiring corners of the world.
Searingly honest and refreshing, this is a superbly written piece of
travel writing about a little-known part of the world. The author gets
under the surface and gives a sensitive account of what life is like. He
understands not just the culture and complex social dealings but also
how economics and geo-political forces that can profoundly affect the
lives of people in a remote community.
Illustrated with maps and line drawings, Under an African Sky is a
unique journey for the armchair traveler and those interested in
development, climate change, global politics, and economics.
Peter Hudson has traveled widely in Mauritania and other parts of
West Africa and has written several books including Leaf in the Wind,
Travels in Mauritania, and Two Rivers.
