28 Days, 17h 34m 44s

`A marvellous account of fortitude and faith... From the beginning...the reader will sense that he is in the hands of a masterly guide... This is one of the most absorbing and satisfying books in a very long time.'
San Francisco Chronicle

On 28 August 1815 the US brig Commerce was dashed against the western coast of the Sahara. The Commerce was lost, though its crew survived. What then followed was an extraordinary and desperate battle for survival in the face of human hostility, hunger, dehydration and despair, as the crew were captured, robbed and enslaved. Reduced to drinking urine, crippled by walking miles across burning stones and sand, some of them nevertheless held on to their sanity.

Yet over time the ship's captain James Riley and their captor Sidi Hamet came to recognize in each other men worthy of respect, and ransom and rescue began to seem possible. But Hamet had enemies of his own, and to reach safety the sailors and their saviour had to overcome not only the desert but also the greed and anger of those who would keep them in captivity...

`Compelling... King's narrative...grows in stature and certainty... As King notes, the understanding, respect and compassion between these representatives of the Christian and Muslim worlds offers a timely example in our own troubled age.'
Sunday Times

`Genuinely gripping, full of twists and turns of fate... Mesmerising... The torturous journey, with parched tongues and aching bones, in constant fear of bandits who might capture and enslave them, is described in unsparing detail...'
Daily Mail

`Skeletons is a page-turner... King's plot is right out of Homer: Will the stalwart captain and his mates ever see home again?... Even armchair adventurers satiated with exotic travelogues will appreciate heroism amid adversity in this fast-paced account of slow torture.'
Washington Post