A mesmerizing blend of adventure, history and culture
This book lets you vicariously experience an almost 6 week camel caravan across the western Sahara. Michael Benanev's writing is clear and descriptive and you will feel that you are with him during his adventure. He blends some historical, cultural and environmental facts with the sensations of the camel caravans, the desert and the salt mines of western Sahara.

Michael read that the camel salt caravans might cease since trucks had begun transporting the salt. Fearing that he would miss a unique caravan expereince, he travels to Mali and hires a guide to take him into the desert to meet up with a salt caravan. Ironically, when they arrive at the salt mines, the miners tell him they expect the camel caravans to continue and tell him how the truck transportation has improved their lives.

Michael's goal was to go beyond being a tourist and to become an active member of a caravan. In the beginning he's pretty inept at some tasks but he becomes familiar with caravan life and eventually is entrusted with the camels while the natives stop to visit or to pray.

This was a hard book to put down and gives a vibrant portrayal of life in an impoverished land.

Please don't preach
This review is less about the book than about my reaction to the book. If you want a conventional review, please read one of the long, 5-star alternatives.

I liked this book, most of the time. Benanav has what it takes (the youthful illusion of immortality?) to undertake adventures most of us would love to try, if only we had the guts, wherewithall, health, and time. He has the ability to describe his adventures in an engaging, entertaining fashion. When he writes about WHAT happened he is excellent. Unfortunately, when he feels compelled to write about why it happened, what he felt at the time, or the geopolitical meaning of it all - well, read fast. Benanav will develop into a fine writer of travel adventures if he doesn't get himself killed, and if he learns not to preach. He should spend some time reading books by Rory Stewart.

Absorbingly Good Reading
I thouroughly enjoyed reading this book. The author writes well and is engaging in his description of the Sahara and the people he encounters. He also writes to educate the reader about the history of the salt trade and gives a thoughtful analysis of his feelings about his journey. This is a wonderful story about the kind of travel experience few of us will ever have. It also inspired me to explore the history of the countries involved in the salt trade and to research the natural history of the Sahara.

Made me want to go there!
I read "Men of Salt" just a few weeks after returning from Timbuktu. And I thought I had it rough! It's just a brilliant narrative, written in such vivid detail that you really feel that you're there in the heat and dust of the Sahara. Now I'm reading one of the other books that Michael Benanev referenced ("Forbidden Sands" by Richard Trench, another, earlier account of crossing with a salt caravan). I highly recommend "Men of Salt" to real and armchair adventurers everywhere!

Fun Read
This is quite a fun read that exposed me to a world that I never knew about. It's well written and just the right length. It made me think quite a bit about camels, salt, the desert, and how you wipe your bottom with sand while out on a caravan.