Books with author Thomas E. Lawrence

"It ranks with the greatest books ever written in the English language. As a narrative of war and adventure … it is unsurpassable." — Winston ChurchillT. E. Lawrence's autobiographical tale, the basis for the film Lawrence of Arabia, offers a firsthand account of the Arab Revolt against the Turks. Lawrence was already a living legend by the time of this book's initial publication, and his colorful, poetic memoir paints a fascinating portrait of the Middle East during World War I. Faced with a deadlock on the Western front, the British pursued the opening of an Eastern front by persuading the Arabs to attack the Ottoman Empire. Lawrence's understanding of Arab culture and his skills as a tactician made him the ideal liaison. His action-packed accounts of desert campaigns and acute observations of people, places, and events form a vivid historical record that combines the power of a heroic epic with the intimacy of an autobiography.

T.E. Lawrence compiled this book from notes that he had written after enlisting in the RAF in 1922. This edition has been restored to its original and it reflects the strange physical and mental state he was in after his war experiences and his subsequent struggle to fulfill the British Government's undertakings towards the Arabs. In a letter to George Bernard Shaw, Lawrence called the book "a private diary, interesting to the world only in so far as the world may desire to dissect my personality".

Seven Pillars of Wisdom encompasses an account of the Arab Revolt against the Turks during the First World War alongside general Middle Eastern and military history, politics, adventure and drama. It is also a memoir of the soldier known as “Lawrence of Arabia.” Lawrence was a fascinating and controversial figure whose talent as a vivid and imaginative writer shines through on every page of this, his masterpiece. “It ranks with the greatest books ever written in the English language. As a narrative of war and adventure . . . it is unsurpassable.”–Winston Churchill

Seven Pillars of Wisdom encompasses an account of the Arab Revolt against the Turks during the First World War alongside general Middle Eastern and military history, politics, adventure and drama. It is also a memoir of the soldier known as €œLawrence of Arabia.€ Lawrence was a fascinating and controversial figure whose talent as a vivid and imaginative writer shines through on every page of this, his masterpiece. €œIt ranks with the greatest books ever written in the English language. As a narrative of war and adventure . . . it is unsurpassable.€€“Winston Churchill

Although T. E. Lawrence, commonly known as Lawrence of Arabia, died in 1935, the story of his life has captured the imagination of succeeding generations. Seven Pillars of Wisdom is a monumental work in which he chronicles his role in leading the Arab Revolt against the Turks during the First World War. A reluctant leader and wracked by guilt at the duplicity of the British, Lawrence nevertheless threw himself into his role, suffering the blistering desert conditions and masterminding military campaigns that culminated in the triumphant march of the Arabs into Damascus.

Full text.In his classic book, T.E. Lawrence—forever known as Lawrence of Arabia—recounts his role in the origin of the modern Arab world. At first a shy Oxford scholar and archaeologist with a facility for languages, he joined and went on to lead the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Turks while the rest of the world was enmeshed in World War I. With its richly detailed evocation of the land and the people Lawrence passionately believed in, its incisive portraits of key players, from Faisal ibn Hussein, the future Hashemite king of Syria and Iraq, to General Sir Edmund Allenby and other members of the British imperial forces, Seven Pillars of Wisdom is an indispensible primary historical source. It helps us to understand today’s Middle East, while giving us thrilling accounts of military exploits (including the liberation of Aqaba and Damascus), clandestine activities, and human foibles.

An epic account of the Great War in the Middle EastT. E. Lawrence-Lawrence of Arabia-needs no introduction. His renowned work about his experiences with King Feisal's Arab army as it fought its campaign to Damascus-The Seven Pillars of Wisdom-has become a classic of twentieth century English literature. Revolt in the Desert is not a work of literature, or even a history of the campaign. It is an account of the experiences of one remarkable British officer's war from his own perspective. His was a fluid irregular's war of lightning raids, of blown up railway tracks and trains, ambuscade and-towards the end-of open battle as the defeated Ottoman Turkish Army were harried as they retreated northwards. Here are the Imperial Camel Corps, armoured car squadrons, daring RAF pilots and their aircraft, Ghurkha and Indian infantry and a bevy of 'specialists' who are the forerunners of today's special forces like the SAS. It is, of course, unlike any other straightforward military memoir. Lawrence had an affection for the land, for nature and for the cause of the Arab people that went far beyond the mere liaison his task required. This permeates his writing which-though it provides a linear narrative of the campaign-is nevertheless a work of finely crafted penmanship which is a delight to read not only for military historians, but for everyone who appreciates great writing.