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Description
Sahara: The Extraordinary History of the World's Largest DesertIn the parched and seemingly lifeless heart of the Sahara desert, earthworms find enough moisture to survive. Four major mountain ranges interrupt the flow of dunes and gravel plains, and at certain times waterfalls cascade from their peaks. Even the sand amazes: massive dunes can appear almost overnight, and be gone just as quickly. We think we know the Sahara, the largest and most austere desert on Earth yet it is full of surprises, as Marq de
In the parched and seemingly lifeless heart of the Sahara desert, earthworms find enough moisture to survive. Four major mountain ranges interrupt the flow of dunes and gravel plains, and at certain times waterfalls cascade from their peaks. Even the sand amazes: massive dunes can appear almost overnight, and be gone just as quickly. We think we know the Sahara, the largest and most austere desert on Earth-yet it is full of surprises, as Marq de Villiers reveals in his brilliant and evocative biography of the land and its people."If you traveled across the United States from Boston to San Diego, you still wouldn't have crossed the Sahara," writes de Villiers, painting a vivid picture of this most extraordinary place. He charts the course of Atlantic hurricanes, many of which are born in the Tibesti Mountains of northern Chad, and offers a fascinating disquisition on the physics of windblown sand and the formation of dunes. He chronicles the formation of the massive aquifers that lie beneath the desert, some filled with water that pre-dates the appearance of modern man on Earth. He marvels at the jagged mountains and at ancient cave paintings deep in the desert, which reveal that the Sahara was a verdant grassland 10,000 years ago-a cycle that has been repeated several times.
Woven through de Villiers's story is a chronicle of the desert's nations and people: the Berbers and Arabs of the north; its black African south, whose ancestors peopled the greatest empires of Old Africa; and the extraordinary nomads-the Moors, the Tuareg (the famous "blue men"), and the Tubu-who call the desert home today. Illuminated by the eloquent written testimonies of past travelers, Sahara is a glittering geographic tour conveying the majesty, mystery, and abundance of life in what the outside world thinks of as the Great Emptiness.
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Continnuum-3PL
Published: 09/01/2003
ISBN: 9780802776785
Pages: 320
Weight: 0.83lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.60w x 0.86d
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4.1 ★★★★★
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Product Reviews
★★★★★ 5
Riveting, believable, depressing
Format: Kindle
Anyone who studies business recognizes the evolution. At the start, employees are comrades and customer's are wooed. Beyond a certain size, employees become line times and customers become commodities.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2026
★★★★★ 5
Fantastic series by a creative artist
Format: Paperback
Amulet, a graphic novel by Kazu Kibuishi (
,
), is geared towards the 9-12 age group. However, the novel will captivate anyone that begins to read it as they are swept along a moving story with beautiful illustrations.
Our young heroine Emily witnesses the death of her father in the opening pages of this novel. Emily, her mother, and her brother Nevin move into the home of their missing great grandfather. There are secrets lurking within the house, one that soon ensnares Emily's mom. She's dragged from the basement by a tentacle through an open door and Emily and Nevin must go on a rescue mission to another world.
This story captivates the reader from the beginning. The reader is compelled to feel for the characters of the story, from Emily witnessing the death of her father to watching her mom being dragged away by some unknown creature. Although this is only the first part of the series the reader gets a true sense of the characters, their feelings, and their emotions and is left hanging at the end of this book and wanting more.
What really sells the story are the illustrations as they capture and convey the moods of the characters and their surroundings. The drawings have a light airy quality to them, with a simple, but moody, color palette to show off the extensive use of shadows to convey emotions of the character in graphic detail. The reader is never left wanting or wondering what the characters are thinking, the colors clearly display what they feel--the age of the great-grandfather is written into the lines on his face, the fear and courage of Emily as she seeks to save her what's left of her family. As the story progresses a darker palette is used and we are left wanting the lighter colors to return. Something unique about the drawings is that when the story first begins the characters almost look undefined. While we can read their emotions they are merely shapes on a page. However, as the story progresses they gain more depth and emotion.
This novel is a must read. A strong young heroine, with monsters and robots as well, enough to keep any crowd entertained. The moving illustrations and compelling story make this a great read and the book is highly recommended for all ages.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2011
★★★★★ 5
A great book
Format: Paperback
My grandson loves these novels. He's 9 and I've purchased the 7th now 2 to go
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Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2026
★★★★★ 5
A Magical Start to an Epic Series
Format: Paperback
I read Amulet: The Stonekeeper with my class, and the students couldn’t get enough of it! The artwork is absolutely stunning, and the story grabbed their attention right away. Even reluctant readers were eager to see what happened next. The mix of fantasy, adventure, and relatable characters makes it the perfect series to hook middle-grade readers. As soon as we finished, they were already asking for the next book in the series!
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Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2025
★★★★★ 4
I thought of it as a fantastical family adventure. Great artwork Wonderful Story
Format: Kindle
First thought You killed someone in the first few pages of a kids book! Wait Disney movies kill people off too. Okay, shock over.
I likes how the mother helped keep the kids upbeat when the moved into the old home and had to clean it and on the way there she was understanding of their feelings and was encouraging them to like their new home. Even encouraging Emily to learn more about her great grandfather. Just not be like him.
Emily was super brave for a kid who watched her father die and her mother get snatched by a monster. She took responsibility of her brother and the amulet and decided to help save her mother and the world that they were in. I liked the Emily has choices not just that she has to do something because she was given the amulet but she had the choice to. She also had the choice to seriously hurt someone but she made the choice to let him live even though he wasn't the nicest of beings. I like that she lets her younger brother help out and notices when he might be better suited for the situation because of his past favorite past time ( like my son, most kids and some adults...its gaming)
The story was great. A little dark but you get the whole light at the end of the tunnel feeling. That the characters will achieve what the set out to do. I also enjoyed the whole family thing. The illustrations were wonderful. I even slowed down and went back to look at the artwork. I look forward to reading this series and being able to talk about it with my son. It was a great start to a fantastical adventure.
Now that I think about it I'd recommend this to kids around middle grade but like I said my son has been reading the series for awhile so, maybe use caution it does have monsters and evil doers and its a little dark but not so much that I wouldn't say you shouldn't read this with a younger kid. I'm actually thinking about starting it with my youngest soon.
Great characters, Wonderful story and artwork, a quick read ( at least for me, an adult), fantastical adventure. I'll continue to recommend it to others and look forward to reading it with my youngest and continuing the series.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2015