LOST CITY OF THE KALAHARI (1963) - very interesting ELON MUSK association

Publisher's ochre cloth binding with illustrated dust jacket.

vii + 139pp. With 13 plates and 2 maps.

Book is divided into two parts with the first part being accounts of the various modern expeditions into the Kalahari desert in search of Farini's lost city. The three expeditions here recorded are:

1.) The Haldeman Expedition 2.) The Tainton-Hjalmar Reitz Expedition, and 3.) The Flower-Ibbetson Expedition.

It is specifically Dr Haldeman's account of his expedition into the Kalahari desert, appearing here in print for the first time, that will generate a renewed interest in this title for the fact that he was Elon Musk's grandfather.

Dr Joshua Norman Haldeman (1902-1974) was an American-born Canadian who emigrated to South Africa in 1950. He settled with his family in Pretoria where he became a well-known chiropractor. During the school holidays he would fly to the Kalahari desert with his wife and young children to search for Farini's Lost City. Elon's mother, Maye, along with her twin sister, Kaye, are mentioned twice in the text as well as on an "unofficial" map drawn by Haldeman where he named certain geographical features after all the members of his family. Thus, upon inspection of Haldeman's map, you'll find names like "Wyn Pan", "Angkor Flat", "Maye Pan", "Kaye Pan", "Haldeman Pan", etc.

Three of the photos in the book were provided by Haldeman along with the above mentioned map. On the contents page his name is incorrectly given as Dr. J. W. Haldeman and on one of the photos as Dr. N. J. Haldeman.

Of the Haldeman expedition, the author, Fay Goldie, writes, "Among the most enlightening accounts of recent expeditions are those supplied to me by Dr. J. N. Haldeman, the Pretoria chiropractor, and these I propose to quote very fully. The minute information contained in these reports should be of invaluable help to those planning further expeditions, as well as to those who are interested in the unsolved mystery presented by 'Lost City'.

Certainly the Haldeman Expeditions have been unique in the history of exploration in Africa, for on each of the successive ventures into the desert over the past five years, Dr. Haldeman has included his entire family in the hazardous adventures experienced.

While he has not yet found the actual ruins, Dr. Haldeman has amassed a quantity of information bearing upon it, and his confidence in its actual existence is quite unshaken. In fact I believe I am right in saying that it is strengthened by each fresh expedition he carries out with such imagination, courage and high spirits." - pages 1-2

The second part of this book deals with the 1885 Kalahari expedition of the picturesque American adventurer G. A. Farini who unwittingly uncovered one of the most tantalizing mysteries that has plagued the speculative minds of men in Africa - the Lost City of the Kalahari!

Binding sound. Contents clean. Jacket in very good condition.