Welcome to Litsy!

5⭐️ Grab this book if you need that fascinating read of the year! A philologist, a botanist, an astronomer, a doctor, an artist, and their manservant departed Copenhagen for Danish scientific expedition to Arabia Felix (Yemen). Hansen gives us not only a gripping adventure across different regions & cultures, but also excellent character portrayal of each member of the expedition, as well as the bureaucracy and the politics surrounding the mission

4 of the expedition members. I cant find the picture for the other two - one pretty much didn‘t contribute anything, the other was a servant to the five members, so maybe not significant for keeping records

Loving this Danish expedition. The illustrations are so precious 😍 This is easily one of the best books I read this year. It‘s so enjoyable

Starting this for my IRL NYRB book club 😊

"One of the reasons why the world has not yet gone under is perhaps that even at the most dramatic moments there is always somebody who unconcernedly looks the other way."

I don't agree with this (at least not without a lot of caveats) but it's an interesting idea.

Book mail is the best mail! #nyrb #nyrbclassics

A new book every month from the #NYRB is such great joy. This month's book is about a Danish expedition into Yemen. Six men (an artist, a botanist, an astronomer, a doctor, a philologist & a manservant) set out on an ill fated voyage. Seven years later only one returns to a country that had entirely forgotten about them. Apparently the material that comprises this book was stored in a Danish archives & not brought to light until the 20th century.