Lawrence in Arabia

May 20, 2013
Justifying this addition to the mountain of works on T.E. Lawrence, fabled war correspondent Anderson (The Man Who Tried to Save the World) reasons that “Lawrence was both eyewitness to and participant in some of the most pivotal events leading to the creation of the modern Middle East... a corner of the earth where even the simplest assertion is dissected and parsed and argued over.” Too many biographers of Lawrence, he suggests, have let political biases and academic hobbyhorses overshadow their work. Anderson’s own experience in some of the world’s most chaotic places allows him to speak with authority in his portrayal, at once critical and appreciative, of Lawrence and other larger-than-life individuals who left their mark on the region. A flair for the dramatic makes even the dullest historical moments redolent of palace intrigue and imperialist hubris. Readers seeking to understand why turmoil has been so omnipresent in the Middle East will benefit from Anderson’s easy prose, which makes liberal use of primary sources and research, but reads like a political thriller. The central message seems as relevant today as it was a century ago: revolutions whose success is dependent on the patronage of external powers come at a high price—a “loss of autonomy” and an influx of foreign carpetbaggers who show little concern for the inhabitants of the newly “free” land. Agent: Sloan Harris, ICM.

June 1, 2013
A well-fleshed portrait of T.E. Lawrence (1888-1935) brought in burnished relief against other scoundrels in the Arabian narrative. American novelist and journalist Anderson (Moonlight Hotel, 2007, etc.) is evidently taken with the story of the brash, contradictory, ultimately unknowable personality who managed to galvanize the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire "because no one was paying much attention." The "Great Loot" brought out mostly the worst in those characters, portrayed with verve by Anderson, who were attracted to the lawless gain in the exotic Middle East. These included New England aristocrat William Yale, who embarked on a top-secret prospecting mission for Standard Oil in the Holy Land, and the German spy and Turkish adviser Curt Prufer, among others. In contrast, Lawrence was profoundly moved by the Arab plight and what was increasingly viewed as Western manipulation and duplicity, revealed in the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916. Steeped in the tales of King Arthur's court as a child, the product of secretive parents in hiding from his father's divorce scandal, Lawrence was small, shy and exceptionally bright, with ferocious self-endurance and self-sufficiency, an ideal candidate as an Oxford student to latch on to David Hogarth's archaeological dig at Carchemish in 1911. As mapper and "Syria hand" for British intelligence in Cairo with the outbreak of war, Lawrence learned the lay of the Ottoman Empire and its diverse peoples. Once he offered himself as the man on the ground to render logistical aid to the leader of the Arab Revolt, Emir Hussein, and his sons, Lawrence was in a unique position; he added to his elusiveness by adopting Arab dress. Anderson thoroughly explores the making of the Lawrence legend, from the effortless taking of Aqaba to "the fantasy of the 'clean war' of Arab warriors." A lively, contrasting study of hubris and humility.

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Starred review from August 1, 2013
To historians, the real T. E. Lawrence is as fascinating as the cinematic version in Lawrence of Arabia is to movie fans. The many reasons interlock and tighten author Anderson's narrative, yielding a work that can absorb scholarly and popular interest like. Start with Lawrence's WWI memoir, Seven Pillars of Wisdom (1922). A rare-book collectible, it inspired many of the scenes in David Lean's film and is also subject to cross-referencing interpretations of Lawrence's veracity. For lyrical though Lawrence could be about Arab leaders and desert landscapes, he could also be enigmatically opaque about the truth of his role in events. Accordingly, Anderson embeds Lawrence and Seven Pillars in the wider context of the Arab revolt against Turkey, and that context is the British, French, German, and American diplomacy and espionage intended to influence the postwar disposition of the territories of the Ottoman Empire. Lawrence was Britain's agent in this game, and the other powers' agents, although none enjoy his historical celebrity, assume prominence in Anderson's presentation. Its thorough research clothed in smoothly written prose, Anderson's history strikes a perfect balance between scope and detail about a remarkable and mysterious character.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

March 15, 2013

T.E. Lawrence called the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire during World War I "a sideshow to a sideshow," but it remapped the world. The non-Arabs involved stood outside standard political and military circles; Lawrence himself started the war as an archaeologist in Syria and ended it by leading an Arab charge against British imperialism. Veteran war correspondent Anderson wants us to understand the colonialist machinations at the root of the modern Middle East.

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Starred review from June 15, 2013

Many readers are familiar with the heroic tale of T.E. Lawrence's desert campaigns with Arab tribes. Anderson (The Man Who Tried To Save the World), a journalist and author of both fiction and nonfiction, embeds Lawrence deeply in the complex environment of World War I diplomacy and policy throughout the Middle East. He skillfully describes British policy confusion reflected in the contradictory negotiations with French allies, the Arab forces, and representatives of the nascent Zionist movement, highlighting poor leadership and the huge losses of life and resources. Lawrence is shown as courageous and committed, one among several other young diplomatic adventurers--including the German archaeologist Curt Prufer, the American oil agent William Yale, and the Zionist agronomist and spy, Aaron Aaronsohn--pursuing conflicting national goals. The book makes clear the arrogance and self-serving actions of the British and French as they sought to replace Ottoman rule over the Arabs with their own imperial domination, generating decades of Arab resistance, political disorder, and economic stagnation in the region. VERDICT With strong and insightful writing, using T.E. Lawrence as a window onto the tragic history of World War I and its settlement in the Middle East, Anderson makes this complicated history both vivid and engaging. Highly recommended.--Elizabeth Hayford, formerly with Associated Coll. of the Midwest, Chicago

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Starred review from November 1, 2013

Follows four men, including Aaron Aaronsohn and T.E. Lawrence, in the World War I Middle East as imperialism, revolution, intrigue, and ambition defined the Western role there. Their legacy is still with us. (LJ 6/15/13)

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May 1, 2014

This multilayered account of the Middle East from the beginning of the 20th century through World War I depicts the overthrow of the Ottoman Empire. (LJ 6/15/13)

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.