Arabian Sands is Wilfred Thesiger's record of his extraordinary journey through the parched "Empty Quarter" of Arabia. Educated at Eton and Oxford, Thesiger was repulsed by the softness and rigidity of Western life—"the machines, the calling cards, the meticulously aligned streets." In the spirit of T. E. Lawrence, he set out to explore the deserts of Arabia, traveling among peoples who had never seen a European and considered it their duty to kill Christian infidels. His now-classic account is invaluable to understanding the modern Middle East.

1945年到1950年，塞西格兩度深入阿拉伯半島南部沙漠空白之地（Empty Quarter）遊歷，當時那裡大部分的區域未曾有歐洲人涉足，他打扮成阿拉伯人，混跡於當地遊牧民族貝都人中，騎駱駝跋涉那片廣袤空曠的萬里荒地。那是一片乾旱不毛的大地，凌厲無情，絕不饒人，即使生於斯長於斯的貝都人，生活也非常艱辛。塞西格突破困苦與危險，忍饑耐渴，並與結伴同行的貝都夥伴建立了深厚的情誼，帶著對阿拉伯文化與貝都人的理解，寫下這部震撼人心的作品。