Rating: 
Summary: A sweeping biography of a woman ahead of her time
Review: A sweeping, fascinating tale of a woman ahead of her time. This will written, well researched biography was hard to put down. Gertrude Bell herself, a contemporary of Lawrence of Arabia, was a complex, brilliant woman whose life was peppered with many tragedies as well as adventures. Diminutive in size, she scaled mountains, camped in the desert and broke bread with tribal chiefs. She felt more at ease in the Middle East than her own homeland of England, where Victorian women were ruled by social confines. Perhaps it was because of her sex that Arabians allowed her more carte blanche. In a countryland which shuts its women off like trophies, Bell was often treated more like a preistess. She had the audacity to be ultimately feminine and intelligent at the same time, which gave her a special status on foreign soil. Professionally, Bell triumphed, and was accepted as an authority on the Middle East. Her love life, however, as well as relationships with her own family, fell short. If you want to entreat yourself to an adventure of a female "Indiana Jones", I recommend this book. Even if you don't care for Gertrude Bell's character, you will not forget her.
Rating: 
Summary: A briiliant analyst but flawed strategist
Review: A well researched book and,if you are interested in understanding Miss Bell, a deep portrait of a superb mind which could be unwisely influenced by those (males) she respected.
Ms Wallach is on the side of Miss Bell but wisely acts mostly as a narrator without pushung her agenda too hard.
That Gertrude Bell knew Iraq better than anyone, including the Iraquis, is not an issue but it also can be said that she bears a huge responsibilty for future tragedies. Locked into the dream of a united Iraq she forcefully slammed together three different cultures, brought in a king who had no business there and denied the Kurds their autonomy, therefore establishing over 80 years of bloodletting and instability.Not that it might have been better in any course of action!
One wonders whether her friend, Van Ess, was better equipped to really understand Iraq practically.
But what a mind..what a woman! Her White paper on Mesopotamia should be required reading for all governments dealing with Iraq.
Rating:
Summary: El Khatun: The Lady of the Desert
Review: Advisor to the Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia and probably one of the most influential women of the early twentieth century. Gertrude Bell was an amazing woman that led a life that any man would be jealous of. Janet Wallach sets out to tell the story of Ms. Bell's life and astounding adventures across Persia. This biography is definitely the most amazing and exciting that I have ever read. In fact it has encouraged me to look for more books on and by Gertrude Bell.
Rating: 
Summary: A somewhat lame retelling of an extraordinary life
Review: As the crisis in the Middle East continues, I find myself trying to explore how we got her. That search lead me to "Desert Queen" and the story of Gertrude Bell. I had heard of Bell of course. She pops us in a few places in TE Lawrence's "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom" and she was Churchill's great protagonist at the Cairo Conference. But she lived an extraordinary life, of which her service to the British Empire in the First World War and beyond was only a part. Yes, she was the only female political officer of the war. But before that she journeyed throughout Mesopotamia, the Levant and Arabia, often with only a small group of guides.The book is well researched and describes her travels. Yet, you feel as if there is something missing. The author spends a lot of time and print discussing Bell's failed love life, and what she was wearing to the conferences and meetings at times seems more important than the meetings themselves. Yes, Bell was a product of her age. She was a militant ANTI-Suffragette, longed desperately for a husband and family, and was, at heart, a spoilt girl of the upper class, who even during the War in Iraq and the anti-British uprisings afterward (sound familiar), was seemingly more concerned about having the latest fashions delivered to her. Given the parallels between the current crisis in Iraq and the British imperial experience, this book could have been even more relevant but the author's focus on Bell's "feminine side" detracted from the essential story. Still, the book rights a great wrong, and hopefully will rekindle interest in Gertrude Bell's career.
Rating: 
Summary: A somewhat lame retelling of an extraordinary life
Review: As the crisis in the Middle East continues, I find myself trying to explore how we got here. That search lead me to "Desert Queen" and the story of Gertrude Bell. I had heard of Bell of course. She pops us in a few places in TE Lawrence's "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom" and she was Churchill's great protagonist at the Cairo Conference. But she lived an extraordinary life, of which her service to the British Empire in the First World War and beyond was only a part. Yes, she was the only female political officer of the war. But before that she journeyed throughout Mesopotamia, the Levant and Arabia, often with only a small group of guides. The book is well researched and describes her travels. Yet, you feel as if there is something missing. The author spends a lot of time and print discussing Bell's failed love life, and what she was wearing to the conferences and meetings at times seems more important than the meetings themselves. Yes, Bell was a product of her age. She was a militant ANTI-Suffragette, longed desperately for a husband and family, and was, at heart, a spoilt girl of the upper class, who even during the War in Iraq and the anti-British uprisings afterward (sound familiar), was seemingly more concerned about having the latest fashions delivered to her. Given the parallels between the current crisis in Iraq and the British imperial experience, this book could have been even more relevant but the author's focus on Bell's "feminine side" detracted from the essential story. Still, the book rights a great wrong, and hopefully will rekindle interest in Gertrude Bell's career.
Rating:
Summary: A somewhat lame retelling of an extraordinary life
Review: As the crisis in the Middle East continues, I find myself trying to explore how we got here. That search lead me to "Desert Queen" and the story of Gertrude Bell. I had heard of Bell of course. She pops us in a few places in TE Lawrence's "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom" and she was Churchill's great protagonist at the Cairo Conference. But she lived an extraordinary life, of which her service to the British Empire in the First World War and beyond was only a part. Yes, she was the only female political officer of the war. But before that she journeyed throughout Mesopotamia, the Levant and Arabia, often with only a small group of guides. The book is well researched and describes her travels. Yet, you feel as if there is something missing. The author spends a lot of time and print discussing Bell's failed love life, and what she was wearing to the conferences and meetings at times seems more important than the meetings themselves. Yes, Bell was a product of her age. She was a militant ANTI-Suffragette, longed desperately for a husband and family, and was, at heart, a spoilt girl of the upper class, who even during the War in Iraq and the anti-British uprisings afterward (sound familiar), was seemingly more concerned about having the latest fashions delivered to her. Given the parallels between the current crisis in Iraq and the British imperial experience, this book could have been even more relevant but the author's focus on Bell's "feminine side" detracted from the essential story. Still, the book rights a great wrong, and hopefully will rekindle interest in Gertrude Bell's career.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put the book down!!
Review: Before reading this book, I knew nothing of Gertrude Bell and very little about the history of Iran and Iraq. In fact, I didn't think I even wanted to know about Mesopotamia, but the book reviews intrigued me -- and I wasn't disappointed. Upon finishing the book while on a plane, I was so moved that a nearby passenger asked me if I was alright. What an extraordinary person! And I found Wallach's style of writing exceptionally easy to follow.
Rating:
Summary: interesting, but for many readers there are better places ..
Review: Bell lived a compelling life: an uppercrust Victorian debutante too prickly to land a boy, one of the earliest woman graduates of oxford, and a self-starting desert archaeologist, linguist, diplomat, and political officer. If you enjoy other desert stories, The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, The English Patient, etc., this will likely hit home, though I unfortunately must agree with other reviewers: it's tedious in the details, and Ms. Wallach is a bit hagiographic: rather than simply letting the story tell itself she seems defensive or eager to 'sell' the reader on how cool old Gertie really was. If you have a thirst for the desert or the mideast you're better off reading the classic "From Beirut To Jerusalem" or the other two mentioned above before you get around to this one. But if you've got an itch you just can't scratch for 'Victorian Women who Broke Cultural Molds to Influence the Formation of Iraq', get ready for a real belly-scratcher.
Rating:
Summary: A great story about an incredible woman
Review: Desert Queen was read by the C.V. Hiking Club Book Group. Overall all we found the story of Gertrude Bell's life a wonderful read. Some participants felt the author got bogged down in repetative details. And some found the language archaic. But all in all we highly recomed the book.
Rating:
Summary: An amazing woman in any time period
Review: Gertrude Bell contributed so much during her life and because common history has overlooked her, I liked the historical tone of the book. I didn't find it dry. Imagine a woman trekking off into the mideastern desert alone - even today that would be an amazing, strong woman. Imagine the strength and curiosity that enabled Ms. Bell to accomplish these adventures at the turn of the century.Even the rigid British colonialists realized that they needed the help and knowledge of a "woman." The many facts in the book help me picture her daily life. The photos - of her on her desert treks, and of the place she was held prisoner - make the story even easier to imagine. I have recommended this book many times, and discussed it even more times.
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