ISBN 978-0-9532324-5-1

http://www.desertwinds.co.uk/home.html

Last year as part of my retirement plan I decided to start preparing for an overland trip in my Land Rover.

I searched for a copy of the highly acclaimed “Vehicle-dependent Expedition Guide”, which I had been led to believe by various articles, was both expensive and difficult to find.

I was surprised to find, that despite the exorbitant prices for 2nd hand copies on Amazon, a brand new fourth edition was readily available for £47 + p&p on the internet from Desert Winds Publishing.

I duly ordered the guide and as I’m a glutton for travel books, I also ordered one of the other books listed, “Quiet, for a Tuesday” ISBN 978-0-9532324-5-1.

It’s an interesting account of one man’s lone expedition in the Algerian Sahara. Despite having his maps confiscated at the start of trip, by over zealous officialdom, Tom Sheppard still pursued his dream.

I am not saying this is an easy read as Tom’s mercurial mind jumps from the current trip to past experiences without warning, but it is a very rewarding read.

I also found it contained innumerable little tips peppered throughout the text which were both enlightening and helpful, if you are planning such a trip.

Tom’s enthusiasm and love of the desert and the solitude it brings comes across clearly in the narrative and the photography is stunning.

His sense of humour is also apparent when dealing with many of the situations that would cause lesser mortals to fail.

I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who has a fascination with over land travel by vehicle, although I have to confess to a certain amount of bias as many of Tom’s observations and opinions align fairly closely to my own.