Rating: 
Summary: Read it as fiction -- but read it.
Review: Historians know that Lawrence misrepresented most of the big events in this book to boost the PR of his chosen group of Arabs -- but so what? It's impossible to believe he lied about the myriad "small" details of his immersion into Arab culture and desert warfare (and growing mental strain, and probably mental illness) that make the work gripping, charming, and appalling by turns. Once you've read Lawrence on riding a camel for 24 straight hours, warlord decorum, or trying to sleep through a sandstorm -- or, subtextually, on repressing his sexuality -- you won't forget it. And his prose is wonderful once you get used to it. Plenty good enough for me.
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Summary: T.E. Lawrence: A suprising tale
Review: I loved The classic Sir David Lean film Lawrence of Arabia since I was just a very small child. I am not a normal person in the respect that I began reading classic novels (Atlas Shrugged, for example) when I was eight years old. Therefore, my review is aimed at those who strive, or rather thirst, for great writing. T.E. Lawrence was a man with sometimes racist views and a wonderful mind. At first, reading his exploits in the desert, you gain a sense that he was just a normal person with too much time on his hands... and yet, the magical appeal of a truly great man, as shown in the film, is clearly evident in his book, however much he denies it throughout. Lean's film was very long to most viewers, but only covered the minimal highlights of T.E. Lawrence visit to Arabia. The book covers all of those things that would never appear in a film. Real life, deeper levels of thought, insight, history, etcetera. I am 100 pages into my third time through "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" and, like "To Kill a Mockingbird", enjoy it regularily and far beyond the fantastic film made from the story. A brief warning: Politically correct people will find this book extremely offensive. I am suprised that it isn't on a current "Banned Book" list here in America or given some sort of B.S. television rating to keep the younger generation naieve. By the way, Frank Herbert's "Dune" was a fictional rip-off of this book. (But also a good fictional rip off)
Rating:
Summary: Feel This Book
Review: I must admit I read this book for the wrong reasons. Namely, I wanted to spite a few adults who said I couldn't do it and wouldn't believe I can take it (I was twelve), and 'cause I thought it'd be like the movie, which I didn't see.So I took it out from the library. Only it wasn't what I expected. It was big -huge, thick, you name it, and looked heavy. It was weird reading it, since it was so different from the Lawrence of the myth, of the man who led a desert revolt agains the Turks, the tall, elegant man in flowing white desert dress as seen of Peter O'Toole. (Lawrence was actually 5'5" or thereabouts) Frequently contradictory without sounding convoluted (unlike my review), the one writing was more of a guy who was unusually scared of pain, yet had a machoistic streak. (...) He was also a neurotic, often indecisive, and faultfinding, yet thought himself a war hero, no matter how deprecating he sounded on print, or how he sought anonymity; it was as if he had a huge secret he WANTED people to find out. Through it all, Lawrence spares himself no humiliation, telling it all with brutal honesty, self-mockery (am I repeating myself?), and more, by turns lyrical and nightmarish. I expected an adventure -and I got that too. I was swept up by his descriptive imagery (ugh, I AM repeating myself), and everything I mentioned before. Maybe it's because, in retrospect, it gets better every time (I read it twice). Of course, that's up to you to decide -if you're up to the challenge.
Rating:
Summary: the deserts fondest stranger
Review: I recommend buying a map and locating the seven cities that are the seven pillars of wisdom before riding your camel through this highly rewarding terrain. T.E. Lawrence can write and write well is the magic discovery of this book. I recommend reading a biography first though. An excellent one written by Jeremy Wilson is a good start. Then read this. The biography will give you a good idea of what a complex figure Lawrence is from early days as archeologist and medieval fortification expert to being recruited for WW1 intelligence and usurping his superiors with his vast fields of knowledge, the biography will set the scene to truly enjoy this masterpiece of guerilla warfare. Those who are interested in the clash of cultures will enjoy Lawrence's way with the various Arab personalities which he must befriend and betray in due time. Lawrence's loyalties are none too sure in these perilous times and become all the more tenuous as the war nears its end. Poor Lawrence, his scholarly and energetic and wide minded ideals and impulses which win him friends in the Arab world are qualities which an older and more cynical culture merely uses to its own ends. Great great read. More stars are due.
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Summary: reveiw
Review: I'm currently reading this book and am enjoying every minute of it. I enjoy it as a military history, but people who aren't interested by military history would still enjoy this book. I highly reccomend it.
Rating:
Summary: Second Time Around Better
Review: In reading Seven Pillars for a second time, I realized how T.E.Lawerance truly loved the desert and its people (the bedowin). I also can now appreciate the fact that Lawerance misplaced/lost/had stolen his first draft (which was near completion or completed) of this novel. I wonder if the second time around, Lawerance improved on his novel. With respect to Lawerance's sexual issues, I think he was more a-sexual (he did not liked to be touched) than heter or homo sexual. Indeed, this would be consistent with his almost fanitical love for the dessert and its solitude. The movie Lawerance of Arabia caught some of this "feeling" but his own work says its much better. This is a novel that is still worth reading, decades after his death. Truly, one of the great men of the 20th Century; an amazing man, who can not be easily "pegged" as so many have tried to do over the years. As with so many of the Greats of the 20th Century, Lawerance was a person with a personality that was complex and multi-layered (cf General Patton) and someone who felt (truly believed) that he was destined, almost "called" to do what he did-- notwithstanding, those who opposed him or who wanted him to fail
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Summary: Seven Pillars of Pederasty:Wild fantasies from a pervert
Review: It has been proven by historians(eg. lawrence James) that Lawrence not only embellished, but fabricated in toto his so called exploits, depravations and exploitations in the Middle East.
Treat this as puerile fiction, laced with wild homoerotic fantasies and fetishes, from an obviously sick mind.
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Summary: Unbelievable adventure!
Review: It is hard to believe that one person experienced this much adventure. It is a true epic! This is a work of historical significance for contemporary times. Col. Lawrence's tremendous way of writing let's the reader see the beauty he saw in the Arabian desert. It makes the reader heartsick as one shares in the deep guilt that Lawrence felt during his participation in what he perceived as a lie. It's hard to put this book down. History lovers or war buffs will love this book!
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Summary: Foundations of conflict
Review: It's difficult to describe the experience of reading The Seven Pillars. It is by turns beautiful and ugly. It is military history. It is a subjective view provided by a man very much of his time. It is an apology and an excuse for the necessities of war. It is a portrait of a tribe that Lawrence came to respect and even love. It is a travel book about life in the desert at the time of writing. It is inevitably a mix of fact and history and fiction and probably at least a little bit of wishful thinking. It's a pretty amazing book to read. A few notes: Before you read the book, do some quick background reading on the history that's involved. This will help avoid confustion. Be prepared for a long read! It's not only a long book, it's an extremely dense book. The choppiness and frequent changes in tone make it hard to put on the reading cruise control. Read it as a product of its time. Lawrence was a fascinating man, but not without his prejudices or faults.
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Summary: Leaders are self made...
Review: Lawrence sets the standard concerning leadership and success. A "dreamer of the day" is the one to be feared and respected. Military officers: If you haven't read and studied this book, you certainly cannot call yourself a student of the art. In addition to being a literary classic, this book is an effective treatise on unconventional warfare, and it is the bible for intercultural military relations.
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