Seven Pillars of Wisdom

by T. E. Lawrence

Overview

"It ranks with the greatest books ever written in the English language. As a narrative of war and adventure … it is unsurpassable." — Winston Churchill
T. 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780486821498
Publisher:	Dover Publications
Publication date:	04/18/2018
Series:	Dover Thrift Editions: Biography/Autobiography
Pages:	688
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.70(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

T. E. Lawrence (1888–1935), popularly known as Lawrence of Arabia, was the most famous of the British officers who served as liaisons to the Arab forces during World War I. Lawrence worked closely with Emir Faisal, a leader of the Arab Revolt, and took an active role in military activities against the Ottoman Empire. After the war he served as a diplomat with the Foreign Office and as an enlisted man in the Army and Royal Air Force.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER

INTRODUCTION: FOUNDATIONS OF REVOLT

BOOK I: THE DISCOVERY OF FEISAL

BOOK II: OPENING THE ARAB OFFENSIVE

BOOK III: A RAILWAY DIVERSION

BOOK IV: EXTENDING TO AKABA

BOOK V: MARKING TIME

BOOK VI: THE RAID UPON THE BRIDGES

BOOK VII: THE DEAD SEA CAMPAIGN

BOOK VIII: THE RUIN OF HIGH HOPE

BOOK IX: BALANCING FOR A LAST EFFORT

BOOK X: THE HOUSE IS PERFECTED

EPILOGUE:

APPENDIX I

APPENDIX II

INDEX TO PLACE NAMES

PERSONAL INDEX

List of Drawings by Eric Kennington:

A FORCED LANDING WIND

A MISCARRIAGE

KINGERGARTEN

A LITERARY METHOD

CAESAR

Editorial Reviews

Join Lawrence (1888–1935) in his 1917–18 campaigns against the forces of the Ottoman Empire. This abridgment, skillfully narrated by British actor James Wilby, derives from the 1926 print edition of a work Winston Churchill called "one of the greatest books ever written in the English language." Wilby draws the listener into Lawrence's desert adventures and personal observations, managing to avoid melodrama when reading his descriptions of torture, battle, and death. Strongly recommended for listeners of military history, autobiography, travel narrative, or Arab history. [More info at www.csaword.co.uk.—Ed.]—J. Sara Paulk, Fitzgerald-Ben Hill Cty. Lib., GA

—J. Sara Paulk

Library Journal

Lawrence’s famous autobiographical history of the Arab wars of liberation from the Ottoman Empire during WWI is difficult to follow in this severe abridgment. The deeper historical milieu has to be known in detail by the listener for a full understanding. Nevertheless, Irish actor Jim Norton’s voice aptly expresses this weary, steely, cultured Englishman with too much integrity for his times. Scenes of pain and horror are dryly presented, but Lawrence’s anguish at governmental double-dealing comes clearly through. As usual, Naxos punctuates the narrative with well-chosen selections of stirring classical music. D.W. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine

NOV/DEC 97 - AudioFile