Lawrence in Arabia by Scott Anderson

Lawrence of Arabia is one of Britain’s most iconic historical figures and his story is central to this book. An enthralling narrative history that shows how colonialist plots during WWI were behind the formation of the modern Middle East and ultimately led to the troubles that still afflict the region today, Lawrence of Arabia will soon be in the spotlight: Robert Pattinson will play Lawrence in Werner Herzog’s new film, Queen of the Desertand Roland Emmerich is working on a mini-series based on the life of Lawrence. The Arab Revolt against the Turks in World War One was, in the words of T.E. Lawrence, ‘a sideshow of a sideshow’. Amidst the slaughter in European trenches, the Western combatants paid scant attention to the Middle Eastern theater. As a result, the conflict was shaped to a remarkable degree by a small handful of adventurers and low-level officers far removed from the corridors of power. At the centre of it all was Lawrence. In early 1914 he was an archaeologist excavating ruins in the sands of Syria, by 1917 he was battling both the enemy and his own government to bring about the vision he had for the Arab people. Operating in the Middle East at the same time, but to wildly different ends, were three other important players, a German attaché, an American oilman and a committed Zionist. The intertwined paths of these four young men – The schemes they put in place, the battles they fought, the betrayals they endured and committed mirror the grandeur, intrigue and tragedy of the war in the desert.