The Life of My Choice

Thesiger is a legend, and there are no dud books of his that I have read. He is fascinating, and a unique individual. Odd, for sure, but incredible in what he achieved in his life.
David Attenborough described him as “one of the very few people who in our time could be put on the pedestal of the great explorers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.”

Hailed as Thesiger's autobiography, it covers really only a part of his life, and one could be forgiven for thinking it more a history of Abyssinia (or Ethiopia) and Sudan. It is not so much an autobiography, where he shares his thoughts and ambitions, more a very detailed account of his life, based on where he was and what his did. And I do mean in great detail. His time in Abyssinia and Sudan is explained month by month (day by day almost), the people he was with, things he was tasked with, and how he achieved them.

Born in Addis Ababa, where his father was British Consul, he had always had an affection for Abyssinia, and was personally invited by Emperor Haile Selassie to attend the coronation. And thus began a long relationship with the country. He travelled among the Danakil - a dangerous warrior tribe who seldom accept visitors, and earned their respect, then returned to explore the course of the Awash River, among other side exploration.

He then joined the Sudan Political Service, where he served from 1935 until 37. In this role he manages to peace of the many tribes, and administers large areas of Sudan on behalf of the UK and Egypt. In reality Thesiger was in his element, carrying out expeditions by camel and foot to explore little known routes to remain in contact with the tribes, hunting and camping. It was a different time, and much is made of his hunting exploits - which has upset a lot of reviewers of this book. At the risk of upsetting more people - a quote:

I know that today it sounds unforgivable to have shot seventy lion in five years, but that was fifty years ago and circumstances of that time cannot be judged by those of today. Lion were then rated as vermin in the Sudan, and were especially abundant in the Western Nuer District. Now wildlife is everywhere endangered; but in those days, with few exceptions, it was under no apparent threat.

Captain Simmonds, accompanied by Lieutenant Brown's Australian Operations Centre arrived at Sakela a few days after Sandford had left for Balayia, and he sent me to join Dedjazmatch Mangasha, whose forced were investing Dangela. The town was said to be garrisoned by ten battalions, commanded by a Colonel Torelli. However the Italian High Command, who were under the impression that a British Division was about to invade Gojjam, and were concerned by the resurgence of guerilla activity, had ordered Torelli to evacuate Dangela.

Desert, Marsh and Mountain, Arabian Sands

The Marsh Arabs