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Title: Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T. E. Lawrence, Jim Norton, T. E. Lawerence ISBN: 9-6263401-0-X Publisher: Naxos Audio Books Pub. Date: September, 1994 Format: Audio CD Volumes: 3 List Price(USD): $19.98 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.71 (7 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: the laurence of arabia story
Comment: the movie is well known--this is the biography from te laurence detailing the fascinating military life of the british officer amongst the arabs bedouin as they took on the turks. i read a first edition copy of this book and it had some incredible sketches in the book
Rating: 5
Summary: I'd feel less left out if it were less great
Comment: The is a book about men for men... About 7800 names appear in the book, half of them 'Ali' and all of them male. And it is in a way a glorification of terrorism -- at least terrorist tactics, albeit devoted to an arguably noble end. So I think I might never have read it had I not been urged on by a close friend...
But it's one of those few books which has genuinely altered my perspective. I find I keep bringing it up in conversation. Whatever one may say about the veracity of the statements made -- I gather they are to some degree in doubt -- there is no doubt about the depth of Lawrence's character. He writes beautifully -- completely beautifully.
The book is a sort of odd combination of psychology, history and fabulous anecdotes -- many of the best of which did not appear in the movie, by the way...
Lawrence, of course, loved Arabia, and clearly had very profound reservations about what he did. He questioned the validity of involving himself in the future of the Arabs to the degree that he did. He clearly felt it might have future unforeseen consequences. And he spends a fair amount of time candidly exposing his own motivations and doubts.
The picture he presents of the Bedou is generous. Nevertheless, it's hard not to be left with some sense of amazement at the extent to which diplomacy was necessary and the skill with which Lawrence was able to pull it off. Auda after being insulted on one occasion has to be physically tied down for a half hour -- otherwise everyone felt sure he would have killed several people. Such people in most Western nations are locked up. But what we throw out in this culture, Lawrence regards as material that he uses to create a sort of work of art -- some of Lawrence's reservations about his actions were rooted in an awareness that it was to some degree a form of self expression. So Auda gets untied and put at the head of an army composed of men some of whom he would otherwise have shot on sight.
This is one of the greatest books I have read.
Rating: 5
Summary: War as epic poetry
Comment: This book stands alone in the history of military memoirs. The book as a literary achievement and the subject of the book as a personal achievement are both unparalleled. What Lawrence did in WWI - unite the Arab tribes in a common fight against the Turks - was remarkable not only because no one thought it could be done but also because it was done by a man with no power or influence beyond what he could inspire by his own presense. Lawrence, a scholar before the war working as a mapmaker for the British army, was about as far removed from anyone's ideas of a military hero as could be. He nevertheless did the impossible and that story, no matter who tells it, is as fascinating as any that ever came out of warfare.
Equally fascinating is the book itself. A blend of truth and evasion, the book is told in a beautiful lazy style that suggests it had been thought out with the vast Arabian desert and ancient way of life in mind. It is helpful to have read another account of Lawrence's life, just to be sure of what is happening when he chooses to be vague, but the beauty of the writing and the insight of the keen intelligence from which it springs, is a great delight to experience.
Even more amazing is to realize that after this monumental book was completed, Lawrence left the complete manuscript - the only copy - on the London subway and had to recreate it from scratch using just his notes. This is a remarkable testiment to both his focus when he needed it, and his tendency to be frequently apart from the real world. A remarkable man. A remarkable book. Unique and worthy to be read and enjoyed.
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Title: Seven Pillars of Wisdom : A Triumph by T.E. Lawrence ISBN: 0385418957 Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 01 June, 1991 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title:Lawrence of Arabia ASIN: B00003CXB2 Publisher: Columbia Tri-Star Pub. Date: 03 April, 2001 List Price(USD): $28.98 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $23.76 |
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Title: Paris 1919 : Six Months That Changed the World by Margaret MacMillan ISBN: 0375760520 Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks Pub. Date: 09 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: On Guerrilla Warfare by Zedong Mao, Tse-Tung Mao, Mao Tse-Tung, Samuel B. Griffith ISBN: 0252068920 Publisher: Univ of Illinois Pr (Trd) Pub. Date: December, 2000 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Small Wars Manual United States Marine Corps Nineteen-Forty by Ronald Schaffer, United States ISBN: 0897451120 Publisher: Sunflower University Press Pub. Date: August, 1996 List Price(USD): $28.95 |
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