Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East

· Anchor
3.8
85 reviews
Ebook
592
Pages
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About this ebook

NATIONAL BESTSELLER A New York Times Notable Book • Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Biography •  A thrilling and revelatory narrative of one of the most epic and consequential periods in 20th century history – the Arab Revolt and the secret “great game” to control the Middle East

“A fascinating book, the best work of military history in recent memory and an illuminating analysis of issues that still loom large today."—The New York Times


"Brilliant. . . . A dazzling accomplishment that combines superb historical research with a compelling narrative.”
—The Seattle Times


The 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 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.

One of the Best Books of the Year: NPR, The Christian Science Monitor, The Seattle Times , St. Louis Post-Dispatch , Chicago Tribune

Ratings and reviews

3.8
85 reviews
Woken't
October 29, 2018
Started off quite well ... and then the ALWAYS predictable linguistic gynocentric rot began at about a fifth of the way through the book. Yet again, empires, countries, etc., are referred to by an author using the ridiculously outdated allegorical "her" and boats are misandrically reduced to the sexist "she" -- and yet again, the lazy, inaccurate, antediluvian and wholly anthropomorphic linguistic double standards of authors, editors and publishing in general are on parade for anyone with a functioning brain and a sense of ACTUAL equality to view and revile. Pity, really ... it started out SO well.
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Michael Clayton
June 9, 2015
Read Scott Anderson's sweeping history of the making of the modern Middle East in ebook format in 4 days. It tied up some loose ends in my earlier reading on WW1 and the Paris Peace process that screwed up the Middle East prior to WW2 and long after. This book is almost academic in its attention to sources and details, but the flow of history is humanized by following the many key characters that interacted during brutal slaughters of WW1 and the treachery of the imperialist nations. And right near the end of the war, the Russian Revolution almost tips the war in Germany's favor. Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan were carved out in the peace process. The Arabs and Jews both wanted the American's to manage their recovery, but got the Brits and French instead sadly. Wilson's ideas were clear and would have prevented much of the modern mess but were ignored by the Europeans and our Congress refused to approve his League of Nations solution to carving up of conquered countries. Many books written about the period between the two wars as relates to the current mess in Middle East, but this one ties the main factors into a sweeping story about T E Lawrence's adventures to help the Arabs in spite of his own countries imperial deals with the French. Both Jews and Arabs were promised self-determination after WWI and got European and Oil interests in charge instead. 1919 Paris Treaty was "The Peace to End all Peace" for the middle East, and the US part of the story, late to the war, is told in balanced manner in spite of the many spins on our role in WW1 and after. Not for those looking for easy summer reading. Start in by looking at the pictures of the key players whose lives intertwine back and forth in this book and keep them in mind as you read. This is a tragedy in my opinion, with lessons to be learned.
4 people found this review helpful
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Mark Hales
December 31, 2017
Amazing detail, best military book I've read since Son of the Morning Star: Custer and the Little Big Horn many many years ago.
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About the author

Scott Anderson is a veteran war correspondent who has reported from Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Northern Ireland, Chechnya, Sudan, Bosnia, El Salvador and many other strife-torn countries. A contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine, his work has also appeared in Vanity Fair, Esquire, Harper's and Outside. He is the author of novels Moonlight Hotel and Triage and of non-fiction books The Man Who Tried to Save the World and The 4 O'Clock Murders, and co-author of War Zones and Inside The League with his brother Jon Lee Anderson. 

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