Lawrence and the Arabs

The real story of T. E. Lawrence’s life as told by the author of I, Claudius. “A combination of history, biography, and . . . an amazingly human tale” (Boston Evening Transcript). Immortalized in the film Lawrence of Arabia, the real T. E. Lawrence was a leader, a war strategist, and a scholar, and is here immortalized in an intimate biography written by his close friend, the award-winning British novelist, poet and classicist Robert Graves. As a student at Oxford, T. E. Lawrence was fascinated with Middle Eastern history and culture, and underwent a four-month visit to Syria to study the fortifications built by the crusaders. Later, he returned to the region, this time as an archaeologist working with the British Army’s Intelligence unit in Egypt during World War I. From there, in 1916, he joined Arab rebels fighting against Turkish domination. His brilliance as a desert war tactician earned him the respect of the Turkish fighters and worldwide renown. “Interesting and informative.” —New York Herald Tribune “[Mr. Graves] has done his job admirably and without any too obvious excesses of hero worship.” —New Statesman “[Readers] will consult Mr. Graves for information about this man.” —The New Republic