Life of My Choice [Hardcover]

Wilfred Thesiger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 18, 2000

Wilfred Thesiger is the last of the great British eccentric explorers, renowned for his travels through some of the most inaccessible places on earth. As a child in Abyssinia he watched the glorious armies of Ras Tafari returning from hand-to-hand battle, their prisoners in chains; at the age of 23 he made his first expedition into the country of the Danakil, a murderous race among whom a man's status in the tribe depended on the number of men he had killed and castrated. His books, "Arabian Sands" and "The Marsh Arabs", tell of his two sojourns in the Empty Quarter and the Marshes of Southern Iraq. In this autobiography, Wilfred Thesiger highlights the people who most profoundly influenced him and the events which enabled him to lead the life of his choice.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Perhaps the last of the great romantic gentleman-explorers, Thesiger, author of Arabian Sands and The Marsh Arabs, here looks back on an extraordinary life. He was born in Abyssinia (Ethiopia) to British diplomatic parents who were friends of Emperor Haile Selassie. Thesiger remembers Addis Ababa, the capital, as a village with grass huts, no roads and colorful ceremonies. He attended Eton and Oxford, then returned to Africa for the first of many journeys, exploring the Awash River (home to the dreaded Danakil, whose warriors killed randomly to prove their manhood and collected their victims' genitals for trophies). As a district officer in the Sudan Political Service, Thesiger had further opportunities to travel in desert lands and meet nomadic tribes. During World War II, he served with Orde Wingate's troops, liberating Abyssinia from the Italians; later, he fought behind the lines in the Western Desert. In addition to superb adventure, Thesiger gives a fine portrait of the waning days of the British Empire in the Sudan and of the last revolution in Ethiopia. Photos.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Best known for his accounts of the Marsh Arabs of Iraq and the "Empty Quarter" of Arabia, distinguished British explorer-writer Thesiger here focuses on Ethiopia, the place of his birth and early childhood, and the Sudan, where he served in the Sudan political service. He provides first-hand descriptions of the more remote areas and peoples of the region. Especially interesting is his account of the Italian campaigns of the 1930s, and his sympathetic portrait of Emperor Haile Selassie. This remarkable autobiography is a substantial book on the waning days of colonialism in northeast Africa. For area specialists as well as lay readers. Harold M. Otness, Southern Oregon State Coll. Lib., Ashland
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 459 pages
• Publisher: Harper Collins (September 18, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 000216194X
• ISBN-13: 978-0002161947
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,156,411 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A bold life and true, November 25, 1999

By 

Patrick Woodburn (London, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Life of My Choice (Hardcover)

This describes briefly his early years in Abyssinia (today Ethiopia and Eritria), followed even more briefly by his schooling in England, before it gets to the juicy stuff, in the form of his friendship with Haile Selassi, his explorations of the least well known corners of North Africa and Arabia, his service in the Sudan and in WW2 in the SAS. I think he's still alive, as I read an account of an interview of his a couple of years ago (1997 or so) and he was still going strong then. Until a few years ago was still living in Africa, where he had been living in a native village in Kenya for about 20 years. I would especially recommend this if you have read his 'Arabian Sands' or the 'Marsh Arabs', as it would give you a much more complete idea of who he actually was.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Do such men walk among us today?, July 9, 2005

By 

R. ARANT "Toun" (Lanesville, Indiana USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Life of My Choice (Hardcover)

Wilfred Thesiger, I'm ashamed to admit, is a new discovery to me. After reading "Arabian Sands" a few days ago, I felt I had to learn more of his life. "The Life of My Choice" has many parallels to "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" and was so captivating that I had to read it in one sitting. T.E. Lawrence noted that "self-knowledge unfitted me for leadership." Thesiger puts that same sharp sword of introspection to his life. His observations on Lieutenant Colonel Orde Wingate and his thoughts on T.E. Lawrence are among the highlights of this book, as are his thoughts on Islam and Christianity.

A son of privilege, son of the Minister of the British Legation in Addis Ababa, the author fell in love with the people of the wilderness, and always found his heroes and soul mates among the harshest tribes in the most forbidding territories. He acknowledges that some of his big game hunting exploits don't go over well 50 years afterwards, but takes care to explain the realities of the situation. He obviously has a strong feeling for the underdog in any fight, not something to be taken for granted in a highly decorated battlefield veteran.

Thesiger's detailed account of the League of Nations standing by and watching the Italians brazenly use mustard gas on tens of thousands of Ethiopian soldiers and civilians reminds us of our own cowardice during more recent crimes against humanity.

In this age when we are in such great need of heroic figures, I have no knowledge of a single leader of Wilfred Thesiger's caliber alive among us. Then again, Thesiger insisted on not living inside his own society, not seeking to be known by anyone other than himself. No doubt he must serve as the model for more than a few yet to be discovered British and American heroes now posted in remote and dangerous places.

Surely one lesson to be taken from Mr. Thesiger's life is that we should live the lives our souls demand of us, consequences be damned. Mr. Thesiger realized as a young man that his path was a lonely one.

I highly recommend "Fire and the Sword in the Sudan" by Colonels Rudolph Slatin and F.R. Wingate to any reader of Wilfred Thesiger. Slatin was held prisoner for 12 years in the Sudan during the 1880s and early 1890s.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great choice, April 8, 2004

By 

josinc (San Francisco Bay Area, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Life of My Choice (Hardcover)

It was his choice. No marriage. Just adventure. It couldn't be mine. Yet one can be envious. Grant him his choice, and it's a great story. Grant him also that he's added something valuable to our better understanding of some important parts of the world that aren't so often understood. This is not the first book he wrote. He's a unique and remarkable man and author, a writer who grabs your interest and whisks you through several hundred pages. Books don't get much better than this.