Rating: 
Summary: Lawrence's "rare adventure."
Review: "In these pages," T.E. Lawrence writes in the Introductory Chapter of SEVEN PILLARS, "the history is not of the Arab movement, but of me in it. It is a narrative of daily life, mean happenings, little people. Here are no lessons for the world, no disclosures to shock peoples. It is filled with trivial things, partly that no one mistake for history the bones from which some day a man may make history, and partly for the pleasure it gave me to recall the fellowship of the revolt. We were fond together, because of the sweep of the open places, the taste of wild winds, the sunlight, and the hopes in which we worked" (p. 24).
"He was a poet, and a scholar, and a mighty warrior," one of the characters in Sir David Lean's 1962 movie, "Lawrence of Arabia," said about Lawrence. Like many readers, it was Lean's movie that prompted me to read Lawrence's personal account of the Arab revolt. Lawrence (1888-1935) was a British soldier (although it is unlikely that he ever considered himself a real soldier) who unified Arab factions against the occupying Turks in 1916. Written after World War I (1914-18) in 1919, SEVEN PILLARS follows Lawrence's guerrilla adventure through "the naked desert, under the indifferent heaven" (p. 29) and over the course of 660 pages into Damascus, Syria in October, 1918.
SEVEN PILLARS triumphs as a book in several ways. It may be read as Lawrence's unique, first-hand, account (drawn from his war-time notes) of the historical events later depicted in Lean's film. As such, SEVEN PILLARS is fascinating memoir and a great soldier's story, demonstrating Lawrence's keen memory and intellect. It may be read also as a "rare adventure" through a hostile Arabian environment (p. 158). As such, SEVEN PILLARS reads like an entertaining adventure novel, revealing Lawrence's talents as a writer. Or, it may be read as an insightful psychological study of the Arab mind wanting to chart its own course through history. As such, it will satisfy any reader interested in understanding the ongoing Middle East conflict.
G. Merritt
Rating:
Summary: Uplifting...
Review: "Seven Pillars" is both vibrant and introspective. Lawrence portrays his Arab acquaintances sensitively and his own exploits without pretense. This book is a must.
Rating:
Summary: During World War I
Review: a flamboyant and intellectual British officer named T. E. Lawrence embarked on a journey to the Arab prince Feisal (later King Feisal I of Iraq) in the Hejaz (present-day Saudi Arabia), where he would eventually unite warring Arab tribes against the Turks, sabotage railroad lines, and rewrite the political history of the Middle East.
"Seven Pillars of Wisdom" is T(homas) E(dward) Lawrence's own adventure-strewn, lyrically written account of these events.
After watching Sir David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia," I wanted to read this book to find out the real story behind the film. It's an enjoyable read and I was surprised to find that the film is (for the most part) accurate. However, as you can imagine, the political situation in the film was simplified, some things were changed and a *great deal* of interesting people and events were omitted for time's sake. Here in the book, they are presented to us in full and colorful detail, just as Lawrence remembered them.
"Seven Pillars" is a fascinating examination of war, politics, loyalty and human psychology, as well as the Middle East and its people as Lawrence came to know them. It's not an easy read, but if you're willing to give it a little extra effort, you'll discover a book that's both exciting and insightful, whether your interest is in history (of the military or the Middle East), adventure, or just the memoirs of an uncommon man.
Rating:
Summary: Lawrence - an Enigma and a Leader
Review: A junior officer in the intelligence offices in Cairo during the start of World War I, Lawrence rose to military fame as he applied his knowledge gained as a scholar to a burning drive to unit the Arabs in support of the British cause. Despite our image brought about by Peter O'Tool in the movie, Lawrence was a small man - five foot three in height - but with a physical presense of a giant.
As a source, Lawrence's descriptions of the terrain and climate are amazingly accurate, the result of many years of study and personal contact. His descriptions of the people and culture of the Arabs and their neighbors, the Turks and Egyptians, are real, even to this day and circumstance.
His account was disturbing to many - so much detail over too many years instilled a seed of doubt about the authenticity of the information - others wondered if Lawrence had simply aggrandized himself. His book raised questions of ethics and morality, both personal and in the course of international diplomacy immediately after it's release, to the point where Lawrence forswore his commission and joined the enlisted ranks. He is unforgiving - pointing out fault - and praising - where he thought correct, often offending military officers and diplomats who were the subject of his writing.
Undoubtedly a troubled man - and truly an enigma. I choose to remember him as a hero - and an impeachable background source for such diverse aspects as locale and ethnic physical descriptions and European/Arab political intrigue, all still applicable today as a source for my own writing about the Middle East.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating Account of Arab Revolt
Review: Absolutely fascinating account of the Arab Revolt of World War I, and of the Mind of one of its orchestrators (that being TE Lawrence). I don't know much about WWI or II history but I'd recommend this as a great place to start. It has all the elements of a great war story -- strategies, battles, troop movements, intra-battling amongst Arab tribes, Arab history and culture, plus Lawrence's inner conflict about his knowledge that the Brits were merely using the Arabs as a pawn in the greater scheme of WWI. The relevance to modern times is staggering -- if we had not made the horrible mistakes we did then (not giving the Arabs the indepence they worked so hard for), the world would certainly be a better place today. Also, this book is beautifully written and contains absolutely wonderful descriptions of the Arabian terrain. My only criticism is that Lawrence tends sometimes to get a little too abstract and pontifical, but that's okay. Excellent work of literature in the form of a non-fiction memoir.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Work Of Homosexual Literature
Review: After reading this book I read all 35 Amazon reviews and was surprised that everyone had missed the point of this masterpiece. TE Lawrence wrote a masterwork of pro-homosexual propaganda. This book is about what it is meant to be a homosexual in an early 20th Century heterosexual world through the metaphor of a deceitful British Officer operating as a leader helping to create an uprising in the Arabic War zone in the First World War. Two further twists are added to the metaphor as Arabic culture is essentially homosexual in nature and Lawrence is forced to lie about the real British motivations throughout his time in Arabia. (But please be clear I am not gay). Lawrence learned how to operate successfully in the (for him totally foreign) Arabic world in the same way that gays had to learn how to operate in the heterosexual world of the West. But also kept secret the true British military intentions for over seven years in the same way that turn of the century gays were forced to stay in their closets, never revealing their true motivations.While the book is extremely long and uses a small font size, Lawrence's prose is exceedingly economical and many of his sentences are structured in a way that a good deal more is left unsaid, yet understood, than sneers from the pages. His contemptuous descriptions and scornful imagery of his fellow men make plain an underlying self-hatred that even thousands of hours of buttock pounding on a string of prize camels cannot relieve. The strongest and most irresistible impressions about Lawrence are formed during critical moments when he executes a man, turns his back on an armed robber and slowly rides away, gets horny when whipped by Turkish soldiers for refusing to service their officer, rides endless camel miles without complaint, repeatedly radically deprives himself of creature comforts, and uses an unassailable sense of irony whenever dealing with his commanding officers. Knowing that his past roles in the army included being one of the people that hand-colored military maps, reflected appropriately upon his character. A good part of TE's current reputation was built by the 5 Oscar winning movie Lawrence of Arabia, but the movie is only loosely based on the book and takes only the story themes in the book that are most complimentary to TE and least aligned with history. The movie bests the book in scenery; the book wins in all other dimensions. TE's view of the world is not easily classified into a stereotype as he vacillates between extreme cynicism and innocent trust, and derisive commentary and respectful remarks. Nevertheless, he clearly had a world class intellect and the cunning of a terrorist. His insightful commentary on Arabs revealing them as tribal, inward-looking, blinkered, narrow-minded, unthinking, vengeful and insular explains why this book is still recommended reading at several leading Western military schools. By the end of the book, Lawrence was a real person, but not one I would like working on my team. His sarcastic, arrogant, disdainful, sardonic, acerbic, mordant, derogatory, uncomplimentary, depreciatory, critical, sniping, self-important, condescending, scathing, and mocking mindset would quickly tire me. Read the book if you want to fully understand why I wrote the sentence that way!!
Rating:
Summary: A Great Work Of Homosexual Literature
Review: After reading this book I read all 35 Amazon reviews and was surprised that everyone had missed the point of this masterpiece. TE Lawrence wrote a masterwork of pro-homosexual propaganda. This book is about what it is meant to be a homosexual in an early 20th Century heterosexual world through the metaphor of a deceitful British Officer operating as a leader helping to create an uprising in the Arabic War zone in the First World War. Two further twists are added to the metaphor as Arabic culture is essentially homosexual in nature and Lawrence is forced to lie about the real British motivations throughout his time in Arabia. (But please be clear I am not gay). Lawrence learned how to operate successfully in the (for him totally foreign) Arabic world in the same way that gays had to learn how to operate in the heterosexual world of the West. But also kept secret the true British military intentions for over seven years in the same way that turn of the century gays were forced to stay in their closets, never revealing their true motivations. While the book is extremely long and uses a small font size, Lawrence's prose is exceedingly economical and many of his sentences are structured in a way that a good deal more is left unsaid, yet understood, than sneers from the pages. His contemptuous descriptions and scornful imagery of his fellow men make plain an underlying self-hatred that even thousands of hours of buttock pounding on a string of prize camels cannot relieve. The strongest and most irresistible impressions about Lawrence are formed during critical moments when he executes a man, turns his back on an armed robber and slowly rides away, gets horny when whipped by Turkish soldiers for refusing to service their officer, rides endless camel miles without complaint, repeatedly radically deprives himself of creature comforts, and uses an unassailable sense of irony whenever dealing with his commanding officers. Knowing that his past roles in the army included being one of the people that hand-colored military maps, reflected appropriately upon his character. A good part of TE's current reputation was built by the 5 Oscar winning movie Lawrence of Arabia, but the movie is only loosely based on the book and takes only the story themes in the book that are most complimentary to TE and least aligned with history. The movie bests the book in scenery; the book wins in all other dimensions. TE's view of the world is not easily classified into a stereotype as he vacillates between extreme cynicism and innocent trust, and derisive commentary and respectful remarks. Nevertheless, he clearly had a world class intellect and the cunning of a terrorist. His insightful commentary on Arabs revealing them as tribal, inward-looking, blinkered, narrow-minded, unthinking, vengeful and insular explains why this book is still recommended reading at several leading Western military schools. By the end of the book, Lawrence was a real person, but not one I would like working on my team. His sarcastic, arrogant, disdainful, sardonic, acerbic, mordant, derogatory, uncomplimentary, depreciatory, critical, sniping, self-important, condescending, scathing, and mocking mindset would quickly tire me. Read the book if you want to fully understand why I wrote the sentence that way!!
Rating:
Summary: T.E. Lawrence and the Arab revolt.
Review: An absolte must for anyone seeking insight into the forces that drove early twentieth century arab nationalism. Lawrence takes center stage in the nearly forgotten Arab revolt.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: As memoirs go, this book is brilliant. Lawrence writes in a colorful prose style, and captures your attention with lucid and well organized description and analyses. No writer has ever captured the heart of Arabia as Lawrence has in this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Great account but a difficult read
Review: As the other reviews clearly state, this book is very well written. However, this book is not for the casual reader. First of all, anyone expecting an action-packed adventure will be disappointed. This book doesn't get going until after the first 100 pages. In addition, it is a difficult read and you will probably need to read it twice to take it all in. There are literally over 200 locations and another 200 characters! They are mostly Arabic names and quite challenging to keep straight. Also, in Arabic fashion, the same name can be spelled in different ways. This annoyed me because the book is obviously written for an English speaking audience and I see no reason why the naming convention could not be more consistent. Nevertheless, this book is filled with a great deal of timeless wisdom that can be unlocked with some effort.
|
