I'm currently reading, and want to recommend the presented biography of Richard Burton. This is not the guy* who was married to Elisabeth Taylor, but the one who was a 19th century polyglott, spy, soldier, poet etc; the man who translated The Kama Sutra and Arabian Nights into English; who in disguise as a moslem dervish travelled to the holy city of Mecca; who took part in the search for the source of the Nile and a person who in many aspects was larger than life. He is also the protagonist in Philip José Farmer's SciFi epic Riverworld.
It is a fascinating read about a time and a world so different, and yet so crucial to understanding our current times. The author, Edward Rice, in addition to vividly picturing the immensely strong-willed explorer (in this aspect reminding me of Nietzsche), also makes the Middle East from almost two hundred years ago come alive in inspiring detail.
For instance, I read about the Portugese concept of Saudade, which fascinated Burton. Saudade allegedly is an untranslatable word described as feeling the "presence of absence – not
merely something that isn't there, but an absence felt acutely with longing, almost as a tangible entity.
Or the Arabian concept of Kayf – a state of blissful animalistic contentment, a state of being, not doing. Picture a cat, basking in the sun. Unlike Western concepts of
happiness, tied to activity or accomplishment, "kayf" is about savoring the
present moment without striving for anything.
In my mind I'm playing around with The Drawn Lands – an upcoming desert type expansion to the Forbidden Lands TTRPG game world, and for inspiration, this book is solid gold.
* Incidently, I based Gottard of Melse, the bailiff of Marjura in ”The Brimstone Sleep” adventure which I'm currently reediting for the Dragonbane TTRPG, on the actor Richard Burton, so I like him too :-)
(RPG = tabletop role-playing game, if you didn't know)
The book was published by Charles Scribner's sons in 1990
