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

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 Yet again, empires, countries, etc., are referred to by an author using the ridiculously outdated allegorical "her" and boats are misandrically reduced to the sexist "she" -- and yet again, the lazy, inaccurate, antediluvian and wholly anthropomorphic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.

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.

Amazing detail, best military book I've read since Son of the Morning Star: Custer and the Little Big Horn many many years ago.