SHIFTING SANDS A Human History of the Sahara

Lucy Paterson's confident narration lends authority to anthropologist Judith Scheele's wide-ranging exploration of the Sahara Desert. Scheele's mission is to complicate Western notions of the region by introducing listeners to its cultural, environmental, historical, economic, and ethnic complexity. Spanning the width of North Africa, the region's languages include both colonial (mostly Arabic and French) and indigenous tongues. Paterson's navigation of Scheele's liberal use of non-English words and phrases is mostly fluid, though occasional pauses before place names may momentarily distract listeners. Overall, however, her delivery is worthy of a BBC News broadcast, and listeners unfamiliar with the region (particularly those who keep a map handy) will emerge with a far greater appreciation of the land and its peoples than reductive stereotypes of men on camels. V.S. © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2025]