Home > Books & Magazines > Printed Book >

The Mountains of Rasselas - Thomas Pakenham

Description: ISBN 1841880051 / Author: Thomas Pakenham / Genre: Travel / A brilliant and definitive account of great military genius at work.

Newest Review: ... decided to retrace his steps this time armed with a mature head and a lifetime of study. This sumptuous book is the result of ... more

... his second journey. The cover of this large format book is inviting in its own right, the front showing Pakenham and a local guide sat atop a mountain with and almost Martian landscape trailing off behind them. The back cover shows an expedition scene that could have graced Rider Haggard's, King Solomon's Mines and contains a rather teasing text blurb. "Behind us would be the Ethiopia of the motor road: the progressive, unromantic, secure Ethiopia of Haile Selassie; ahead the unchanging, exotic, perhaps even ...more

Read Reviews for The Mountains of Rasselas - Th...

The Mountains of Rasselas - Thomas Pakenham: Old roads and new revelations (657 words)
by - written on 15/06/06 (Very useful, 68 readings)
Rating:

Anyone familiar with romantic literature will be familiar with the name Rasselas from Dr Johnson's fantastic tale that awed Europe two hundred years ago. A story of Abyssinian princesses condemned waiting in a mountain fortress until they were called for to ensure royal succession or until death took them. Just a tale? Maybe, but in the nineteen fifties a 21 year old oxford graduate called Thomas Pakenham decided to head off to the setting of these amazing tales and try to see for himself just how much of Johnson's story was myth and how much was based in truth. That journey proved to be more revealing than he could imagine. Pakenham went on to become a leading author in ... Read the complete review