THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED.

My Mercedes is Not For Sale by Jeroen Van Bergeijk is the true story of an intrepid, high spirited, infectiously entertaining road trip across the Sahara desert in a beloved – and very old - Mercedes. We have 5 copies to give away.

“Look, there’s my car,” I say, pointing at my Mercedes in the parking lot.
“Where?” a fellow desert traveller asks.
“There, that Mercedes,” I say.
He looks at me, questioning. “You want to drive that through the Sahara?”

It seemed like a great idea to travel and make 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 old bangers still thrives.

Jeroen Van Bergeijk’s chariot of choice is a rusted-out 1988 Mercedes 190D with 220,000 kilometres on the clock; his route will take him from Holland through Morocco, across the Sahara, and into some of the least trodden parts of Africa.

Armed with a bar of soap, some duct tape and a pair of women’s tights, he thinks he has all the essentials he needs to survive thousands of miles from civilization.

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 then there’s the coup just as he’s so nearly there…

Capturing a young journalist’s intrepid endeavour, My Mercedes Is Not for Sale is more than an adventure — it is a rowdy, witty and insightful tale of an innocent abroad, which captures the high-spirited journey of a young journalist and paints a vivid portrait of West Africa through a surprise-filled journey into its thriving car cult.

Jeroen Van Bergeijk is a journalist and has written for The New York Times, Wired, and many other publications in Europe and the US.

We have 5 copies to give away. All you have to do to enter is answer this simple question:

Which of these best describes the Sahara?

A. Desert
B. Jungle
C. Swamp

Send us your answer using the Comment on This Article box below. Please include your full name and postal address too.

Can't wait? My Mercedes is Not for Sale by Jeroen Van Bergeijk goes on sale 17th July 2008; Nicholas Brealey Publishing; RRP £9.99; available in all good bookshops and amazon.co.uk. Visit www.mijnmercedes.en