My Sahara Adventure: 52 Days by Camel

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

North America seems to produce two kinds of travel writers. The first is
a person who travels to faraway lands and then judges their occupants on
how well they stand up to the writer’s preconceived prejudices. The
second kind of travel writer also harbors preconceived ideas about
foreign places and people; when reality does not match the prejudgment,
however, this writer turns the occasion into a learning experience.

Lawrie Raskin is the second type of travel writer. In his preface, he
bravely mentions that his original notion to explore the Sahara desert
was spawned by a Donald Duck comic book he read as a child. His journey
as an adult takes him from the bustling market town of Fez to the
medieval salt mines of Taoudenni. Over the course of his travels, Raskin
experiences an African snowball fight, survives a sandstorm, dodges
camel spitballs, enjoys nomad hospitality, bakes desert bread, and
recycles a cardboard box into a sand-dune toboggan. Throughout his
adventure, he is forced to reshape his concept of the Sahara and its
inhabitants. When he finally reaches Timbuktu—the mysterious city that
was the original focus of his journey—he finds it to be little more
than a typical desert town; instead of disparaging Timbuktu as a fake,
he realize that his expectations were built on false foundations.

Raskin’s intelligent and lively text, supported by dozens of charming
photographs, makes this book an outstanding travel adventure for all
ages. Highly recommended.