The Life of My Choice

Amazing book, from the first page to l the last page.Hewas an amazing man so self contained and content with his Spartan life and his interaction with the local tribes and to finish the book joined the SAS. His style of writing was a pleasure to read and enjoy

Wilfred Thesiger, I'm ashamed to admit, is a new discovery to me. After reading "Arabian Sands" a few days ago, I felt I had to learn more of his life. "The Life of My Choice" has many parallels to "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" and was so captivating that I had to read it in one sitting. T.E. Lawrence noted that "self-knowledge unfitted me for leadership." Thesiger puts that same sharp sword of introspection to his life. His observations on Lieutenant Colonel Orde Wingate and his thoughts on T.E. Lawrence are among the highlights of this book, as are his thoughts on Islam and Christianity. A son of privilege, son of the Minister of the British Legation in Addis Ababa, the author fell in love with the people of the wilderness, and always found his heroes and soul mates among the harshest tribes in the most forbidding territories. He acknowledges that some of his big game hunting exploits don't go over well 50 years afterwards, but takes care to explain the realities of the situation. He obviously has a strong feeling for the underdog in any fight, not something to be taken for granted in a highly decorated battlefield veteran. Thesiger's detailed account of the League of Nations standing by and watching the Italians brazenly use mustard gas on tens of thousands of Ethiopian soldiers and civilians reminds us of our own cowardice during more recent crimes against humanity. In this age when we are in such great need of heroic figures, I have no knowledge of a single leader of Wilfred Thesiger's caliber alive among us. Then again, Thesiger insisted on not living inside his own society, not seeking to be known by anyone other than himself. No doubt he must serve as the model for more than a few yet to be discovered British and American heroes now posted in remote and dangerous places. Surely one lesson to be taken from Mr. Thesiger's life is that we should live the lives our souls demand of us, consequences be damned. Mr. Thesiger realized as a young man that his path was a lonely one. I highly recommend "Fire and the Sword in the Sudan" by Colonels Rudolph Slatin and F.R. Wingate to any reader of Wilfred Thesiger. Slatin was held prisoner for 12 years in the Sudan during the 1880s and early 1890s.

A fascinating account of this remarkable man's life in a bygone era.

Received well, thank you

After reading Arabian Sands and The Marsh Arabs, this is the obvious place to go. Thesiger is (or sadly was) a remarkable individual. And individual he was. His physical toughness and deeply inquiring mind took him beyond what one might call safe or, indeed, sane. Yet he would survive slender odds by his own wits and the help of others to undertake another challenge. It wasn't hubris or being the first that drove him; he was simply deeply inquisitive. And focussed. He was at the same time a sensitive and compassionate man. His own achievements take a back seat. Not a false modesty, mind you; he states what needs to be said and leaves it at that. The best measure of Thesiger is to be found not in his own account of himself, but from the regard in which he was quite evidently held by those around him. I'm not about to list examples - read the books. His books are more than accounts of peripatetic adventures. They ascribe a world view. What is that view? Well, read his books. Oh, and the writing. Read Thesiger at your peril - he casts a long shadow.