{"product_id":"9780767930222","title":"My Mercedes Is Not for Sale: From Amsterdam to Ouagadougou...an Auto-Misadventure Across the Sahara","description":"\u003ci\u003e“Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e—Janis Joplin\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA journalist’s intrepid endeavor to sell his used car abroad results in a high-spirited and revealing look at West Africa.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e“Look, there’s my car,” I say, pointing at my Mercedes in the parking lot. \u003cbr\u003e“Where?” a fellow desert traveler asks.\u003cbr\u003e“There, that Mercedes,” I say.\u003cbr\u003eHe looks at me, questioning. “You want to drive that through the Sahara?”\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eJeroen 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. \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eMy Mercedes Is Not for Sale \u003c\/i\u003eis 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. \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eMy Mercedes Is Not for Sale\u003c\/i\u003e 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?","brand":"Crown Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47127446094064,"sku":"9780767930222","price":7.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780767930222_p0.jpg?v=1763661037","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780767930222","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}