King Solomon & the showman

the long version

"The legendary lost city of southern Africa and its untold riches fascinated the Romans, European explorers and writers such as Rider Haggard, Alan Paton, Wilbur Smith, and Lawrence Green. Even the apartheid government searched for it in vain. Adam Cruise sets out on a quest into history and across the Kalahari to find the mythical city that inspired King Solomon's Mines, and 'the Great Farini', the daredevil showman of the Victorian age at the heart of the legend. On the way, Cruise runs into lions and snakes, battles savage desert conditions, and ends up somewhere more extraordinary than the fabled Lost City."--Publisher description.