One of the Best Books of the Year:The Christian Science MonitorNPRThe Seattle Times St. Louis Post-Dispatch Chicago TribuneA New York Times Notable BookFinalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in BiographyThe Arab Revolt against the Turks in World War I was, in the words of T. E. Lawrence, “a sideshow of a sideshow.” As a result, the conflict was shaped to a remarkable degree by a … sideshow.” As a result, the conflict was shaped to a remarkable degree by a small handful of adventurers and low-level officers far removed from the corridors of power.
At the center of it all was Lawrence himself. In early 1914 he was an archaeologist excavating ruins in Syria; by 1917 he was riding into legend at the head of an Arab army as he fought a rearguard action against his own government and its imperial ambitions. Based on four years of intensive primary document research, Lawrence in Arabia definitively overturns received wisdom on how the modern Middle East was formed.
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I have the feeling that Scott Anderson, a veteran war correspondent (according to the dust jacket of his book), may not have been completely responsible for the title of his historical work Lawrence in Arabia. Because this book is more than just a new biography about T.E. Lawrence, known romantically in history as Lawrence of Arabia. Don’t get me wrong: Lawrence plays a large role in this book; but there are so many other fascinating characters that Anderson brings to our attention in this very readable work. The subtitle of the book tells you much more about the story Anderson is trying to relate to the reader: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East. That is all admittedly a mouthful for a book title. I’m sure the publishers felt that the name Lawrence would sell more books. Either way, it is a worthwhile read, and it teaches us much about the discord and infighting that plagues the region even today.
The four main characters in Anderson’s book are Lawrence, who worked as an archeologist in Syria and Palestine before the war (which is when the book begins); Curt Prüfer a young German diplomat working at their embassy in Cairo; Aaron Aaronsohn, a Zionist living in Syria who worked as an agricultural specialist and gained the trust of the Ottoman authorities; and William Yale, son of the once mighty but now faded Yale family, who worked for Standard Oil in the Middle East, and returned in 1917 during the war as a State Department official. Behind these professional profiles they all worked for their governments behind the scenes to gather intelligence about the region. In the case of Prüfer, perhaps the most interesting character of the bunch, he was hoping to foment an Islamic rebellion against British rule in Egypt, which Britain had taken in the late 19th century to ensure control of the vital Suez Canal. In the case of Aaronsohn, he was hoping to gain statehood for a Jewish-run Palestine. To do so he set up a British-supported spy-ring in Ottoman-ruled Palestine. Anderson’s inclusion of Yale seems a stretch, and it is hard to see that he or the United States really had much of an impact in the region at the time.
The book traces the paths of these four young men (all of them in their twenties and thirties at the outbreak of the First World War), and how they set about to accomplish their goals. Of course, Lawrence is the central figure and is the center of this story. Aaronsohn is also a strong figure, whose passion to create a Jewish state is heightened by the tragedy that befalls his sister, also a Zionist spy working at his side. But other characters come alive in this book, and though they are peripheral to Anderson’s narrative centering around the four young men, they come across to the reader as vital and colorful, especially Djemal Pasha, the cruel Turkish governor of Palestine and Emir Faisal, the fierce Hashemite warrior fighting alongside Lawrence. There were times reading the book that it felt the different stories were being forced together, but the language is good and the narrative flows well. If you’ve not read a biography of Lawrence (there are scores of them dating to 1924, including bios written by such acclaimed writers are Robert Graves, Liddell Hart, and Stanley Weintraub) and if you don’t want to get wade into Lawrence’s own account of the revolt in the desert, Seven Pillars of Wisdom, this book is a good start. And it may make you want to tackle longer histories of Lawrence.
A lot of detail, maybe to much. It is not a casual read. If you want a detailed account of the Mid East during this period this is your book.
The best and comprehensive summary of the earl y 20th century and the Middle East
It should be called “The History of WWI in the Middle East starring Lawrence of Arabia” with an All-star cast, including a German spy active with the Turks (Ottaman), an American Standard Oil employee acting as a US spy, Syrian ruler, several Jewish leaders, several Arab leaders and the British.
It also details how the Middle East was divided up after the war
Although Lawrence is the focal point three other key players on WW I and weaves them into the story. Mark Sykes plays a prominent role – one of the naive architects of the Mideast problems of today.
This is a must read for those who have followed the life of T.E. Lawrence. It is a great book providing substantial additional historical information and documentation that won’t be found in Seven Pillars of Wisdom. I have read Seven Pillars of Wisdom several times and indeed it is a great book but difficult to follow at times and requires much concentration as to what Lawrence is providing the reader.
Lawrence in Arabia fills in a lot of blanks that one finds in Seven Pillars of Wisdom. Provides great additional information and history surrounding the complex diversity and make up of this extremely complex individual, T.E. Lawrence and the history of the time for which Lawrence is well known.
Personalized a central WW I theater of action.
I can not say enough about this excellent book. While its focus is of course on TE Lawrence, it also follows many other players involved in the events and conflicts of the Middle East just before, during, and immediately after World War One.
Lawrence’s early involvement in the region as a student and then an archeologist positioned him perfectly to ultimately become the behind-the-lines (and behind-the-scenes) operator known as Lawrence of Arabia, but the book also details the efforts of Curt Prufer, a German intelligence agent, Aaron Aarohnson, an agronomist who became an outspoken voice of Zionism, William Yale, a scout for Standard Oil who became an American agent in the region, and many others.
Marvelously readable, this is an in-depth analysis of the people and events that helped shape the Middle East of today. I highly recommend it.