The Immeasurable World Journeys in Desert Places

About this book

One third of the globe's land surface is desert, and much of it parched, treacherous, and inhospitable. The hostile climate, lunar topography, and sheer existential blankness of these zones have confounded explorers over the centuries. For indigenous and nomadic people, conversely, these hostile and forbidding places are home, and the vistas that fill Western travellers with dread bring more comfort than fear.

In The Immeasurable World, over the course of eight journeys to deserts iconic and obscure, Atkins enters a landscape that he discovers is as much internal as physical. From the monasteries of Egypt – where he enters into the extreme privations of the Desert Father – to America's Black Rock Desert, and via Oman, Australia, and Central Asia, he investigates the fascinating life, history, and iconography of these untamed places. The result is a book destined to take its place alongside the most memorable works of travel literature.

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Biography

William Atkins grew up in Hampshire and now lives in North London. After studying Art History, he went on to work in publishing and edited prize-winning fiction. He now works as a freelance editor while studying and writing about Britain's marginal landscapes. His previous book, The Moor, was shortlisted for the 2015 Thwaites Wainwright Prize.