The Sahara and Its People (People and Places) [Library Binding]

Simon Scoones (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1993 | Age Level: 9 and up | Series: People and Places

Explores the environment and lifestyles found in the vast and numerous regions of the Sahara.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-8-An effective overview of the region, emphasizing the dry belt south of the desert called the Sahel. Visual variety is provided by different sized full-color photographs and drawings. Maps are effectively used, and all illustrations are adequately captioned. The organization is appropriate to the topic, and the style is straightforward, with a concreteness that makes complex concepts understandable. Scoones describes the natural environment, including climatic changes that have occurred over the last 5,000 years. He gives an overview of trade across the desert, but does not consider changes over time in the routes and what was traded. The remainder of the book gives a simple but clear discussion of the impact of commercial farming on the environment, population pressures, the use of the limited water resources, the exploitation of mineral resources, the relationship between political conflict and famine, and the human and natural causes of desertification. With a very few exceptions (e.g., referring to the nomads who maintained the caravan routes and collected tolls as sometimes acting like "gangsters"), there is a warm appreciation for the wisdom of traditional ways, local people's openness to practical new ways of doing things, and their key role in constructive change.
Loretta Kreider Andrews, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-7. The Sahara Desert, where temperatures may exceed 110 degrees farenheit during the day and drop to freezing at night, covers an area equal to that of the U.S. For centuries, nomads who crossed this wasteland were virtually the only link between north and south Africa. They traded, exchanged news, and grazed their herds. As Europeans settled in Africa, they built roads that spanned the continent and brought European farming methods to a land that demanded something quite different. Drought, overgrazing, overfarming, and overpopulation have turned marginal land into desert. Scoones describes the process clearly and dispassionately, more interested in seeking solutions than casting blame. Varied and well-placed photographs, maps, and charts show the extent of the damage and the likely consequences if the present trend continues. The book makes interesting reading and is suitable for research except that the index omits such relevant subjects as weather, temperature, and size. Sheilamae O'Hara

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Library Binding: 48 pages
• Publisher: Thomson Learning (May 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568470886
• ISBN-13: 978-1568470887
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,974,080 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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