The Sahara: A Cultural History - Eamonn Gearon - Google Books

http://books.google.de/books?id=TKh_21ZERH4C&pg=PA43

The Sahara is the quintessence of isolation, epitomizing both remoteness and severity of environment unlike any other place on the face of the earth. Replete with myths and fictions, it is a wild land, dotted with oases and camel trains trudging through…