author
Baron Francis James Rennell Rodd Rennell of Rodd
1895–1978
A soldier, explorer, and writer, he led a life that moved from Saharan journeys to senior wartime service in the Mediterranean. His books draw on real experience in North Africa and on a deep curiosity about the people and places he encountered.
1 Audiobook
People of the veil : being an account of the habits, organisation and history of the wandering Tuareg tribes which inhabit the mountains of Air or Asben in the central Sahara
by Baron Francis James Rennell Rodd Rennell of Rodd
About the author
Born in 1895, Lord Rennell was educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford, and grew up in a diplomatic family with strong international ties. He became known not only as a British Army officer but also as a geographer and traveler, especially for his expeditions in the Sahara and his interest in Tuareg life.
During the First World War he served in artillery and intelligence roles, helped by his fluency in several European languages. In the Second World War he went on to hold important civil affairs posts in the Mediterranean, including work connected with Allied military government in occupied territories.
Alongside his military and public service career, he wrote about travel and North Africa from first-hand knowledge. That mix of field experience, administrative responsibility, and curiosity about culture gives his work a grounded, observant quality that still makes it interesting to readers today.