A British explorer and writer known for his austere, immersive journeys - including this one - in this 1959 book he documents crossing the Empty Quarter of Saudi Arabia in the 1940s alongside Bedouin companions. Severe, disciplined, and deeply respectful, the book stands as a record of a way of life on the verge of disappearance. Its stature rests on its moral seriousness and its vision of travel as endurance rather than pleasure. Not exactly how most of us approach travel these days, to say the least, but there´s a lot of very worthwhile insight here. 

Read more in my post 6 of the Greatest English-Language Travel Books of all Time.