Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Mecca

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Masterly and fascinating - Rated
It would be pretty vain for anyone to try and "review" and pass judgement on this book. The level of erudition is staggering and every page is packed full of fascinating anecdote, character and information. Burton was an intellectual giant whose learning and adventurous spirit puts us all to shame.

One of the classics - Rated
This is the first of two volumes documenting Burton's historic and famous journey to the heart of Islam, all the time disguised as an Indian Muslim. Burton's journey, exciting and dangerous, opened up for the Christian west many of the mysteries of Islam for the first time, but altough it is full of fascinating information on the languages, geography, and history of the regions he passes through, this book will be read and enjoyed primarily for his account of the trials and tribulations he suffers on the journey itself, and for the caustic and most unpolitically-correct observations on those around him. His attitude towards others and his belief in himself typify the Victorian era he was a product of, and this comes through in every page. The prose can be a little hard-going at times, but overall this is a very enjoyable read, full of insights into the customs of the nineteenth-century arabic world, but above all else a well written tale of a fantastic adventure.