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Books : My Mercedes is Not for Sale: From Amsterdam to Ouagadougou...An Auto-Misadventure Across the SaharaIn association with Amazon.com List Price: $12.95 Amazon.com's Price: $10.36 You Save: $2.59 (20%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 916.60433 EAN: 9780767928694 ISBN: 0767928695 Label: Broadway Manufacturer: Broadway Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 224 Publication Date: July 15, 2008 Publisher: Broadway Release Date: July 15, 2008 Studio: Broadway Sales Rank: 29287 Related Items:
Editorial Review: Product Description: “Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?” —Janis Joplin A journalist’s intrepid endeavor to sell his used car abroad results in a high-spirited and revealing look at West Africa. “Look, there’s my car,” I say, pointing at my Mercedes in the parking lot. “Where?” a fellow desert traveler asks. “There, that Mercedes,” I say. He looks at me, questioning. “You want to drive that through the Sahara?” Jeroen van Bergeijk came up with what seemed like a great scheme for making a quick profit: buy a clunker of a car in his native Amsterdam and resell it in the Third World, where a market even for jalopies still thrives. His chariot of choice is a rusted-out 1988 Mercedes 190D with 220,000 kilometers on its odometer; his route will take him from Holland through Morocco, across the Sahara, and into some of the least trodden parts of Africa. My Mercedes Is Not for Sale is a rollicking tale of an innocent abroad. The author finds himself facing a driving challenge akin to the Dakar Rally but encounters obstacles never dreamed of by race-car drivers: active minefields, occasional banditry—mostly by the border guards—and a teenage, chain-smoking desert guide with a fondness for Tupac lyrics. Food and water are scarce, sandstorms are frequent, and all he has to patch up his many car breakdowns thousands of miles from civilization is a bar of soap, some duct tape, and a pair of women’s nylons. Then there’s the coup he survived. My Mercedes Is Not for Sale captures more than the adventure—it vividly portrays the impact of globalization on Africa through a surprise-filled journey into its thriving car culture, while asking the question: is the white man’s burden really a used car? Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Pretty GoodThe author has come up with a fascinating idea for a book. I learned a lot about Saharan Africa and the countries he visited in West Africa. It took me awhile to finish the book because his digressions are sometimes a little too lengthy for me (he discusses a Mercedes factory at length and retells the Zen of Motorcycle Maintenance). There are a number of interesting characters that he meets along the way and he does a good job of describing them. You truly feel like you have some ... Read More Rating:  - Great Adventure Which Teaches the Reader a Bit of African Culture and History Along the Way!Jeroen Van Bergeijk's adventure across Western Africa in an old 1988 Mercedes 190 D is both thoroughly entertaining, as well as educational, and as an added bonus, throws in a bit of ethical debate along the way. The author is a brilliant commentator, who writes very well. This adventure was in fact two road trips with two 190's as you find out if you read the acknowledgement pages after the tale, but the story is written so well that you just can't tell it's not one adventure. Basic goal of Bergeijk's ... Read More Rating:  - Wonderful photos, interesting voyage, bit of a disconnectDutch journalist Jeroen van Bergeijk drove through Europe and Morocco, and into Burkina Faso. He had bought a 1988 Mercedes 190D in the Netherlands for the equivalent of $1,200, hoping to sell it for a profit. He describes his objective: "There are ads like this on the Dutch Internet auction site marktplaats.nl all the time: 'For sale: 1988 Mercedes 190 D Price: $1,400 136,400 miles. Alarm. Black 4-door. Excellent condition. Recent checkup, oil change, safety and emissions inspection.' This one ... Read More Rating: - wry, well written with more than a touch of Zen Taking guidance from Robert Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance," Alain de Botton, Paul Bowles and Saint Exupery, the author drives from Amsterdam to Burkina Faso in his Mercedes 190; his intent to sell the car in Africa. Along the way, he captured the essence of West Africa, its used car trade, rampant bribery and an engrossing wanderlust. A quick, fun read for the transcontinental plane ride. Rating: - timelessness in West AfricaI find that travel writing is one of the best ways to attune to one's inner gonzo. Perhaps it's best explained by the saying truth is stranger than fiction. Indeed, the mere experience of finding yourself in sand-swept Nouakchott, Mauritania, just after leaving a comfy flat in Amsterdam can hammer home said reality is a fine feeling to savor. Especially from the comfort of a good book, which is what My Mercedes is Not for Sale: From Amsterdam to Ouagadougou...an Auto Mis-adventure across the Sahara ... Read More Browse for similar items by category:
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