Michael Asher (explorer) facts for kids

Michael Asher (born in 1953) is an English explorer, writer, and teacher. He is known for his amazing journeys across deserts and for living with nomadic people. He is considered one of the world's top experts on deserts and the people who live there.

Michael has traveled and lived in the Sahara Desert and the Arabian Desert. He has written many books, both true stories and fiction, based on his adventures. He has also presented several TV shows about his travels.

Early Life and Family

Michael Asher was born in Stamford, England. His father was a surveyor, and his mother was a nurse. Michael went to Stamford School and later studied English at the University of Leeds.

When he was younger, he served in the British military, including the Parachute Regiment and the SAS (Special Air Service). He also worked as a police officer for a short time. These experiences were very challenging. After a while, he decided to leave these paths and became a volunteer teacher in Sudan.

Michael has spent much of his adult life in Africa. He can speak Arabic and Swahili. He is married to Mariantonietta Peru, who is a photographer and also an expert in Arabic culture. They have a son and a daughter.

Desert Adventures and Life with Nomads

In 1979, Michael Asher went to Sudan to teach English. During his first holiday, he bought a camel and traveled about 1,500 miles (2,400 km) across the desert. He joined a group of camel herders taking their animals north to Egypt along an old trade route called the "Forty Days Road."

He later moved to a small town in Sudan called al-Gineina, which had no electricity or running water. He lived in a mud hut, kept his own camels, and often went on solo camel journeys. These trips, covering more than 1,000 miles (1,600 km), became the basis for his first book, In Search of the Forty Days Road.

In 1982, Michael lived with the Kababish nomads in western Sudan for almost three years. He wrote about this experience in his book A Desert Dies. This book shows how the nomads lived and how their way of life was affected by a terrible drought that started in 1984.

During a visit to Khartoum in 1985, UNICEF (a children's charity) asked Michael to organize a camel caravan. This caravan delivered aid to the Beja people in the Red Sea Hills who were cut off by the drought and famine.

Crossing the Sahara Desert

On this aid trip, Michael met Mariantonietta Peru, an Italian photographer and Arabist. Together, they decided to try an incredible journey: a 4,500-mile (7,200 km) trek across the Sahara Desert on foot and camel-back. This adventure became the subject of their book, Impossible Journey.

They started their journey in Mauritania in August 1986 with three camels. They traveled through Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, and Sudan. Finally, they reached the Nile River in southern Egypt in May 1987. This amazing trip took 271 days. It was the first time anyone had recorded crossing the Sahara from west to east without machines. It was also one of the first big African explorations done by a man and a woman together.

In 1988, Michael worked on a project to help the Beja nomads in eastern Sudan recover from the drought. He managed this program from Port Sudan and often traveled into the hills to talk with the nomads.

In 1991, Michael crossed the Western Desert of Egypt by camel. He traveled about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from the Mediterranean coast to Aswan in southern Egypt. He traveled for two months with only one Bedouin companion, and for the first month, they didn't see any other people.

From 2002 to 2014, Michael led camel treks for tourists in the Bayuda Desert in Sudan. He also led treks in Morocco from 2001 to 2010.

In 2008, Michael returned to Darfur, western Sudan, with a team of researchers. They studied the Janjaweed horsemen, who were involved in the civil war there. Michael helped write a report about their findings.

Investigating The Real Bravo Two Zero

In 2000, Michael Asher was asked to go to Iraq with a film crew. His job was to investigate two popular books, Bravo Two Zero and The One That Got Away. These books were about an SAS patrol during the first Gulf War in 1990. Michael wanted to find out the truth about Sergeant Vince Phillips, who had died during the mission and was blamed for its failure.

The book Bravo Two Zero claimed to be a true story and sold millions of copies. Michael followed the patrol's route in the Iraqi desert and spoke to people who had seen what happened. His discoveries suggested that many parts of both books were not true. He also found clear evidence that Vince Phillips was not a coward and was not responsible for what went wrong. Phillips' family had suffered for years because of the false claims made about him.

Michael's book, The Real Bravo Two Zero, and his TV show with the same name caused a lot of discussion. His book became a bestseller.

Teaching and Nature

From 2010, Michael Asher started writing articles about deep ecology and environmental issues for a Kenyan newspaper. Deep ecology is a way of thinking that believes nature has its own value, not just value for humans. He wrote that "the Earth is sacred" and that "nature isn't there for mankind to plunder." He believes we need to protect nature.

From 2014 to 2019, Michael taught English literature and creative writing at Hillcrest International School in Nairobi, Kenya. He also led the debate club, coached fencing, and ran a survival club with the help of local people.

Today, Michael Asher emphasizes the idea of "interbeing," which means that all things are connected. He believes we should live in harmony with nature, just like nomadic societies often do.

Documentary Films

Michael Asher has presented and directed several documentary films:

• In Search of Lawrence (1997): This film followed the footsteps of T. E. Lawrence, a famous British officer, using the same old methods of travel.
• Death, Deceit and the Nile (2000): This documentary recreated an 1856 expedition to find the source of the Nile River. Michael and Mariantonietta traveled by boat and donkeys.
• The Real Bravo Two Zero (2002): This film investigated the true story of the SAS patrol, as mentioned above.
• Survivors (2008): This film looked at the lives of people who survived the 1998 bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi.
• Paradise is Burning (2008): Michael talked to survivors of another bombing, this time at the Paradise Hotel in Kenya.
• Stalking Hitler's Generals (2012): This documentary was filmed in Libya and was based on Michael's book Get Rommel. It was about British attempts to capture or stop German generals during World War II.

Published Works

Michael Asher has written many books, including ten novels (fiction) and fourteen non-fiction books (true stories). His books have been published in many languages around the world.

His non-fiction books include travel stories about his desert journeys and experiences with nomads. He has also written historical books like Get Rommel, about a British plan to stop Erwin Rommel in Libya in 1941, and Sands of Death, about an expedition in the Sahara in 1881. Khartoum, the Ultimate Imperial Adventure tells the story of the fall of Khartoum in Sudan.

He has also written two biographies (life stories): Thesiger - A Biography about explorer Wilfred Thesiger, and Lawrence - The Uncrowned King of Arabia about T. E. Lawrence.

Michael's most recent book, The Oasis of the Last Story - Tales from the Desert (2022), is different from his earlier work. It's a collection of stories set in the desert, connected by an adventure. It's like a fictionalized autobiography, based on his real experiences but told as a single journey. The book tells the story of a former soldier who searches for a lost oasis and goes through a spiritual journey.

Michael's writing has also appeared in many newspapers and magazines, including The Guardian, Daily Mail, Washington Post, and New Scientist.

Novels

• The Eye of Ra (1999)
• Firebird (2000)
• Rare Earth (2002)
• Sandstorm (2003)
• The Last Commando (2009)
• The Flaming Sword (2010)
• Highroad to Hell (2012)
• Code of Combat. (2014)
• The Colour of Fire (2018)

Stories

• The Oasis of the Last Story: Tales from the Desert (2022)

Non-fiction

• In Search of the Forty Days Road: Adventures with the Nomads of the Desert (1984)
• A Desert Dies (1986)
• Impossible Journey – Two Against the Sahara (1988)
• Shoot to Kill: A Soldier's Journey Through Violence (1990)
• Thesiger – A Biography (1994)
• Sahara (with Kazuyoshi Nomachi) (1996)
• Phoenix Rising – The UAE Past, Present & Future (with Werner Forman) (1996)
• The Last of the Bedu: In Search of the Myth (1996)
• Lawrence: The Uncrowned King of Arabia (1998)
• The Real Bravo Two Zero: The Truth Behind Bravo Two Zero (2002)
• Get Rommel: The British Plot to Kill Hitler's Greatest General (2004)
• Khartoum: The Ultimate Imperial Adventure (2005)
• Sands of Death: An Epic Tale of Massacre and Survival in the Sahara (2007)
• The Regiment: The Real Story of the SAS (2007)

Philosophical Essays

• How Schopenhauer Saved Tolstoy's Life (2022)
• Spinoza was an Idealist (2023)
• Non-dualism in ancient Greece? Dionysos as infinite, eternal, conscious life (2024)

Awards and Honours

Michael Asher has received several awards for his work:

• 1994 – Ness Award from the Royal Geographical Society
• 1996 – Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
• 1997 – Mungo Park Medal from the Royal Scottish Geographical Society
• 2016 – Lawrence of Arabia Memorial Medal from the Royal Society for Asian Affairs