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Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph (平装)
by T. E. Lawrence
| Category:
Historical, Middle East, Saudi Arabian history, World War I |
| Market price: ¥ 218.00
MSL price:
¥ 198.00
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| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
The monumental work that assured T.E. Lawrence's place in history as "Lawrence of Arabia." A real masterpiece. |
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AllReviews |
1 Total 1 pages 6 items |
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George Coppedge (MSL quote), Czech Republic
<2007-10-14 00:00>
This is one of the most famous books written about World War I, and it also perhaps represents the most unusual story. T.E. Lawrence, i.e. the same Lawrence of Arabia of 1960's technicolor fame played by Laurence Olivier, had spent his early adult years living in Syria and was unusually fluent in Arabic. When WWI broke out, he had a rare combination of skills that lay fallow until he was appointed as British liaison to Prince Feisal to support the Arab Revolt in the Hejaz against Turkey in 1916. There was probably no other single more auspicious personnel appointment in the Middle East than this one.
With his Arabic fluency, appreciation of Beduin culture, and his rare energy and drive, Lawrence was absolutely unique in his ability to envisage and help lead the Arab Revolt. Time and time again he restored hope to Feisal and and Arab tribal chieftains with British encouragement and material backing. But even more than this, he personally led countless sabotage and military missions against Turkish railway communications and key positions, e.g. Akaba, Wejh, etc.
He alone among British officers in the Middle East seems to have understood the fundamentals of guerrilla warfare - hit and run, propaganda, recruitment, plunder. Along with Feisal, he understood the absolute necessity of securing local chieftains' support and participation in their guerilla operations. (These are lessons American and British commanders currently in Iraq should consider. Informants during the Arab Revolt were especially dangerous in defeating guerrilla activities. Also, ongoing tribal conflicts often prevented combined attacks on the Turkish occupiers.)
In fact, with Lawrence's charisma and near continual stream of successes he receives a steady flow of personal adherents who become his bodyguard force, towards the end of the war numbering over 90 persons. The book also explicitly describes his capture, torture, and escape in Deraa. But the vast majority of the book vividly captures his personal experiences during his continual travels across the expansive and geographically-varied Arabian peninsula.
The book is not so much a historical narrative of the Arab Revolt as it is a personal narrative, by turns descriptive, poetic, anthropological, and philosophical. And although the book is generously complemented by numerous portraits of the 100+ personalities mentioned in the book, I found it difficult to remember each person's background and significance. Likewise, although there are a few maps in the book I had a great deal of trouble following his journeys on those maps. Finally, despite that a few chapters are written in high poetic style the majority of the book is easily read and comprehensible. An excellent adventure book with a truly unique story! |
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Eduardo (MSL quote), Barbados
<2007-10-14 00:00>
I read this book after visiting Turkey and Jordan some years ago and was bedazzled by it in every respect. A remarkable military campaign, the extremely complex Lawrence and the account of WWI with the historical figures Ataturk, Feisal, Allenby etc. The victory of the Arabs and the British, with all the military daring and intrigue is one of the most amazing stories of the war. That Lawrence just happened to be a literary giant as well and could write as intensely well as perhaps any other 20th C English writer (that I know) is one of those strange coincidences that defies probability.
The book was all the more enjoyed for having explored Jordan (and Wadi Rumm in particular on foot) and for some chance encounters with bedouin there in the middle of nowhere. A different way of life that still survives in some parts.
The movie "Lawrence of Arabia" is based on the book, but is just a visually stunning film, but has no complexity. Admittedly I haven't seen all of it, but I would rather read the book again. |
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P. Turner (MSL quote), USA
<2007-10-14 00:00>
Lawrence of Arabia. we have all heard the name and or seen the movie. But who is this guy who was able to unite semitic tribes and help force the turks and germans out of the desert and back into the mountains of Turkey. This is a well written book that is 80 years old. It is a look at a time before oil dominated the economy of this very harsh land. Lawrence autobiographically explains his part in the Arab uprising and how he won confidence and trust from a people who avoided all outside contact. Lawrence's style of writing was difficult at first but by the third chapter the reader will adapt and then it gets fun. This is a must read for anyone doing business or war in the mideast. If only our present leaders would have read this book first. They might have avoided a few of their missteps. |
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B. J. Pruett (MSL quote), USA
<2007-10-14 00:00>
I first read this book in the early 1960s and because of it T. E. Lawrence became my favorite author. And after all of these years he still is. It's not a frivolous book; the writing does demand your attention and effort. The book is full of adventure, humor, history, analysis, and biographical insight of Lawrence and the Arabs and their life. And as other reviewers have noted, much of this book helps people understand the Arabic situation today.
No writer has ever provided a better psychological analysis or been more clear and honest about his strengths and weaknesses than T.E. Lawrence himself. Read what he wrote before you read what others have written.
A number of good reviews of this book have already been written here so I won't repeat their commentary. Just let me say that to really understand this book, it does help to have a useful background about TEL and his life. "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" represents only a couple of the early years in his adult life, yet those years strongly impact the rest of his life in many ways(approximately another 15 years). And, conversely, it's also true that the life he led after his Arabian adventure influenced the way he told the story of his experiences. The quickest way for readers to acquire this necessary background is to visit "TELawrence.net," a web site dedicated to placing all of T. E. Lawrence's writings online. The full text and publishing history of "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" and his other books, translations, and writings are there, as are approximately 700 of his letters, with many more to be added. It brings together in a searchable website all of T.E. Lawrence's published works and letters that went out of British copyright on 1 January 2006. In addition, UK copyright still covers writings by Lawrence that were first published after January 1, 1956. While the text of these writings cannot be posted, this site will tell you what they are, where to find them, and will identify them; each cite will include page references in the chronological and alphabetical contents lists. |
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Brian M. Rowe (MSL quote), USA
<2007-10-14 00:00>
I wanted something that was relevant to events in the Arab world in a context that I could understand. Aljazeera comes in English, it is plain enough to read, but I'm afraid I don't really understand it. I was looking for an understanding of the background of people native to Arab parts of the world with a focus on an audience that matched my demographic. What was it that lead up to this point? What things are familiar to these people? What things are taboo? What do they want? These are things I want to know.
Certainly most people have seen the movie. The movie is not why I read the book. I read it because it is a journal of an English man who was said to have "gone native" in the Arab world at a critical moment in its history. I felt I could relate to this man. To this end, the book illustrates the perspective very well.
I should not have been surprised that in the editions 600 or so pages that the story from the movie was a rather embellished minor episode in the book. There were many long treks across the desert in the book, not just one.
The book is very well illustrated. There are many drawings of people in the book. My only thought about the effort to include so many drawings is that there could have been a better map. Most of the book has to do with going from one place to another. It is a war story after all. I found myself looking for maps on Google.
My personal analysis is that the Arab history of this time places a fiercely independent people with strong family and tribal ties into a situation with the outside world lacking these benefits and encumberments. They did not appear to be nations as much as tribes and individuals. This thread at least still seems to be true to a degree. On the other hand, an outside man who was willing to adopt the dress, language and customs of the Arab world did quite well in securing trust and cooperation. It is clear to me that there is common ground. The Arab revolt during WWI was a struggle for freedom and recognition. Everyone wants that, so it makes a good story. |
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Roger Thompson (MSL quote), USA
<2007-10-14 00:00>
T. E. Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia, is not just a character in an overrated movie. I found him to be much more engaging in his print narrative, Seven Pillars of Wisdom. But even here, in purportedly a true account (that he later confessed was embellished), he comes across as a divided person. He tells the most personal of details (who among us would casually tell of being urinated on by a camel while lying half dead of some illness?) but retains a very remote, properly British reserve on every single page. This is my first complaint with Lawrence; he recites events very quickly and without much explanation. I think part of this comes from his target audience - British readers in the twenties, who would be expected to know more of the personal and place names. Still, there is virtually no background and even with the maps, trying to keep track of where he's going and what he's doing is difficult. Since I'm on the subject of problems, I'll bring up the other one, his honesty. Nowhere in the book itself does he say that he's embellishing anything. That admission came later in his life, so the text itself gives no hints as to what's true and what isn't. My best understanding is that he portrayed the Arabs as being more heroic and effective than they really were. If so, I have to wonder when. This matters because while the earlier parts of the book involved very up close and personal narratives of the battles and travels, later parts remain more remote, with Lawrence announcing that he sent of so-and-so number of fighters to some location where they routed the Turks in X number of days. If his embellishment was in this latter portion, then the damage is minor. Certainly there would be plenty of opportunity to simply state that the Arabs were good when they weren't. But if he made up the more detailed events of the earlier parts, then this is a serious problem. I'm inclined to think the former case is likely, since the early chapters aren't really all that flattering of Arabs. He often finds their mind-set to be maddening, though he was a student of the Middle East and spoke the language long before the war started. He comments once (somewhat obliquely) that British troops on maneuvers for extended periods by themselves could come into an Arab town, take a look at the available Arab women, and promptly turn to homosexuality. PC he is not.
Having sat through the movie version years ago with no real idea what it was about, it was nice to finally see what made Lawrence famous. Basically, during the First World War, he was tasked with trying to incite Arab nationalism against the Turks, who then controlled much of Arabia. He lived among them, trained them, and led raids. Typically, this involved attacks on Turkish trains and lightning raids on outposts and towns. Trying to keep the clannish Arabs focused on the bigger task proved a monumental undertaking, requiring among other things Lawrence's assurances that British promises of independence would be kept after the war's end. He expressed in the pages some curious guilt, believing that he was lying. Strictly speaking, he was, since the post-war peace did not work out exactly as planned (when do they ever?). Though outside the context of Seven Pillars of Wisdom, the interested reader can find plenty of evidence that the Arab leaders were far from innocent babes in the post-war partitioning (see Karsh, Empires of the Sand for an example with complicated writing worthy of Lawrence). Lawrence gives them too little credit.
What still eludes me is the source of Lawrence's great fame. Not that his exploits are unimpressive. But how did anyone in the public find out about them at the time? This, however, is also a side issue. Lawrence tried, I think, to downplay his own actions. He was never happy with his own fame, later changing his name to Shaw just to avoid publicity (Shaw of Arabia just doesn't work, does it?). But overall, despite the clipped and remote style, the confusing movements and spellings (place names get different spellings on the same page), and his own efforts at obscuration, Seven Pillars of Wisdom still contains a truly heroic and inspiring bit of storytelling. |
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1 Total 1 pages 6 items |
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