Sahara (Palin book)

Sahara is the companion book authored by Michael Palin to complement the BBC documentary series Sahara with Michael Palin. Similar to his previous travel publications, this book integrates Palin's narrative with a wealth of photographs captured by Basil Pao, the official stills photographer on the expedition. Additionally, Pao created a distinct photo collection titled Inside Sahara, which showcases further images from the journey.

The expedition spanned approximately 10,000 miles (16,000 km) traversing the Sahara Desert, beginning and concluding in Gibraltar. The route involved extensive exploration of Algeria—detailed in three separate chapters due to its expansive territory—as well as travels through Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Niger, Libya, and Tunisia. The Sahara Desert itself covers an area comparable to that of the United States. The book is divided into 13 chapters and follows a diary format with daily entries highlighting significant stops along the way.

Audio edition

Michael Palin also narrates an audiobook adaptation of the work, which is offered in both abridged (6 hours) and unabridged (9 hours 52 minutes) versions.