Thesiger, now in his late eighties, was only 23 when he was personally invited to attend the coronation of the Emperor Haile Selassie of Abyssinia (now Ethiopia) in Addis Ababa. Naturally, he went, but the next step was to explore the Danakil Desert, an area full not only of wild animals but of hostile tribes whose warriors made a point of killing and castrating as many men as they could. It was all terribly dangerous, but Thesiger was young, foolhardy and optimistic and he came back not only with this diary but with excellent photographs, many of which are reproduced. As an explorer, he is one of the last - possibly even the last - of a great breed.