British Armed Forces - Biography, World War I - General & Miscellaneous, African & Middle Eastern Campaigns - World War I, Great Britain - Army, Britain - Historical Biography - 20th Century, Individual Campaigns - World War I, Middle Eastern History - Mo
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Overview
The life of Thomas Edward Lawrence (1888-1935), or "Lawrence of Arabia," has assumed mythic proportions. A popular hero for his role in the 1916 Arab rebellion against Turkish rule, he has been hailed as a sensitive genius drawn into the mayhem of war and denounced as a fraud and imperialist agent who—on behalf of the British government—used his position as a British Army officer to double-cross his Arab allies. This revealing biography, illustrated with over seventy rare photos, recounts Lawrence's extraordinary life and probes his complex personality, detailing his celebrity and his relentless attempts to elude it, maneuverings that ended with his fatal motorcycle crash.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly -
``T. E. Lawrence lies buried in a pyramid of half-truths,'' observes Yardley at the start of a crisp and interesting, albeit somewhat tentative, biography whose principal aim is to separate the media-created legend (initiated by Lowell Thomas) from the real man. With the aid of considerable new source material, Yardley, a British journalist, is able to confirm the opinion now generally received that Lawrence was not simply desert hero, neurotic show-off or cynical spy more interested in furthering British imperialism than the Arab cause, but a complex mix of all three. He illumines but does little to analyze Lawrence's tortuous psychological terrainhis obsession with his illegitimacy, death and his sexual defilement at the hands of the Turks; his lust for self-punishment (analysis of which was brilliantly undertaken by John Mack in A Prince of Our Disorderyet he guides us toward a clearer perception of how Lawrence's legend arose and how he sought, unsuccessfully, to escape it by changing his name and plunging into the ranks of the RAF. Photos. (March)Library Journal
Yardley looks at Lawrence both as a man and as a media creation. He portrays Lawrence as solitary youth, Oxford student, archaeologist, and fearless military leader and advocate of Arab interests in World War I. Exhausted by the war and disillusioned by Great Power intrigue, Lawrence turned his back on public life, created a new persona in the military ranks, and produced several much praised literary works that preserve his reputation. Yardley writes smoothly and crisply, validating Lawrence as a brave and dedicated soldier pursuing a futile cause, and a manipulative and neurotic misfit until his death in 1935. Yardley adds little to other recent, thorough studies (particulary John E. Mack's A Prince of Our Disorder , 1976), but he brings a balanced perspective to his subject. Recommended. Elizabeth R. Hayford, President, Associated Colls. of the Midwest, ChicagoNew Statesman
What was Lawrence like and why did he behave in the way he did? Yardley has given us the materials to frame an answer in a book that is neither romanticized twaddle nor gratuitous debunking.Book Details
Published
May 2, 2000
Publisher
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Pages
304
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780641733512