The Hunt for Zerzura

By Saul Kelly

In the 1930s, the Zerzura Club would meet once a year in London’s Café Royal to discuss their travels through the desert in early motorcars. They were a group of fearless explorers from all over the globe, bonded by their mission to find the legendary lost oasis of Zezura in the Libyan Desert. But when World War II broke out in 1939, many of the members suddenly became enemies battling for control of the desert.

Long time member Ralph Bagnold founded the British Long Range Desert Group to spy on Rommel’s advance on Cairo, while fellow member Hungarian Count László de Almásy placed German spies there. Saul Kelly’s riveting history draws on interviews with survivors and new documentary material from England, Italy, Germany, Hungary and Egypt. The Hunt for Zerzura is a gripping true story of exploration, warfare and espionage.