The Mountains of Rasselas

London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson. Fine in Near Fine dust jacket. 1998. First Edition. Hardcover. 0297823698 . Pakenhams' first book on this subject was published in 1959 in a smaller 8vo format - Nearly 40 years later, the author, now an accomplished photographer, retraced his 1953 footsteps, adding historical insight and new full colour photography to his original story. The result is a magical book. This is the First Edition of this Superb Large Format Fully Illustrated Edition. A Beautiful book/copy. Black boards with bright silver gilt titling to the spine. In the original publisher's pictorial dustjacket, which is not price-clipped. There is some VERY light edge-wear and VERY SLIGHT chipping/surface rubbing to the tips of the dustjacket edges/corners. The top board is very slightly bumped to the top of the spine and is slightly rubbed to the top edge. There are NO inscriptions or other marks. 176 pp. Illustrated with b/w and colour plates and maps. Index; Acknowledgements. Overall, apart from the minor 'faults', as detailed above, this is an EXCELLENT, Very Clean, Tight and Bright, Near 'FINE' copy. " A fascinating book of history and travel, by a master storyteller who retraces his 1953 journey to discover the truth about the strange fate of the Royal Princes of Abysinia. Spurred on by reading Dr Johnson's 18th century bestseller 'Rasselas' which describes the strange fate of the Royal Princes of Abyssinia, who were condemned to be imprisoned in a mountain fortress until they died, or the order of succession called them to the throne. Thomas Pakenham's life-long obsession with Ethiopia, The stories behind 'Rasselas' and the three principal Ambas (thumb-shaped peaks) is the basis for 'The Mountains of Rasselas', a thrilling spin through a thousand years of mid-Eastern history. With large colour photographs and narrative text, the author explores the highs and lows of this fascinating region....and much much more...." ; 4to 11" - 13" tall .