Here for the first time available to the English-speaking public in paperback form is the geographical classic "Le Sahara." The author Emile Gautier, an eminent authority on the geography and history of the Sahara and the nearby steppes in the mid-20th century, is recognized on both sides of the Atlantic for his literary style as well as his personality. A longstanding friend of the UnitedStates, he lectured in American classrooms and trod American deserts. In this book, Gautier journeys into one of the most fascinating regions of the world. The reader becomes acquainted with the real Sahara - the one noted for its exceptional aridity and its rare destructive rains. It is a land of temperature contrasts, with unbearable heat during the day and below freezing cold at night. The traveler is impressed with a magnificent sense of absolute emptiness. Both layman and scientist will find profit as well as pleasure in following Gautier"s reconstruction of the Sahara of past geologic ages, and his discussion of the progressive desiccation of the Great Desert. [~~Douglas Johnson]