Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph | T.E. Lawrence | The greatest book I have ever read.

Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph | T.E. Lawrence | Most remakable first person history ever

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	Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph T.E. Lawrence Anchor, 1991 - 784 pages average customer review:based on 61 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Seven Pillars of Wisdom is the monumental work that assured T.E. Lawrence's place in history as "Lawrence of Arabia." Not only a consummate military history, but also a colorful epic and a lyrical exploration of the mind of a great man, this is one of the indisputable classics of 20th century English literature. Line drawings throughout.

The greatest book I have ever read.

Reading this book will take you many places, though for the most part it all takes place in the desert. In just a few sentences Lawrence describes the migrations of tribes from the desert to the cities and back to the deserts until they are once again strong enough to conquer the cities and send their rivals back into the desert. This cycle has been going on for thousands of years. Lawrence's insights into the life and traditions of the Bedouin makes this the book to read if you want to understand the Arab. It will also teach you a lot about the mind and traditions of the West, which for the most part Lawrence found ridiculous. The immense attention to details in this book makes it easier to keep track of what's going on, but a lot is going on, almost too much. It is a detailed account of a war and a lot of it reads like an intelligence report. At one point Lawrence leads a raiding party carrying unstable plastic explosives on camels and their expert has a bad heart. They manage to blow up the train full of enemy troops, but Lawrence writes the victory as more a personal failure because he was afraid. He was probably one of the greatest heroes of our times, but he was not great in his own eyes. The height of his personal standards were unreachable by himself, and probably any other living human. That a man could dare so much, and still it was not enough is a big part of what this book was all about.

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Most remakable first person history ever

Lawrence's Seven Pillars is a triumph in many ways. For the British Army, the Arab tribes, and a personal triumph unequaled in modern history. Even the writing is a triumph in its poetry and accomplishment. The story goes that post WWI Lawrence wrote (by hand) the manuscript for Seven Pillars of Wisdom then LOST it! He had to re-write this entire volume. Perhaps that added to the final masterpiece.

I have read Seven Pillars in three different editions. If you want to be caught up in the turmoil of the events that formed modern the day Middle East as told by the man who was at the center of it read the story of Lawrence of Arabia.

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Amazing History amzingly written

The core of this book is very straightforward. Lawrence inveigls the Arabian tribes to rise against the Turks, he helps them to unite and helps them to become capable military units, leading them to ultimate victory.
Th book casts an unsparing eye on the beauty of the desert and the ugliness but necessity of war, even delving into deepest traumata like the homosexual rape. It also impresses by not being condescending, by giving each and everyone his proper dues.
The writing is excellent, the story gripping yet the text so dense that one should read it twice, once as a good yarn and a second time as a book on Arabian history, which also helps to understand todays Arabian countries better than many newspaper articles.
Read this book!

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Every detail

If you sit down with a map and note pad to keep track of names and locations it is like being with him on the sand dunes. Just like going through the desert this is a book to take slowly. But you have to have a stong interst in the Arab situation of WWI.

On the Seven Pillars

The Seven Pillars is an excellent source for those grappling to understand middle eastern mindsets and customs (especially chapter 2). It also provides some excellent tidbits for thoe wishing to understand leadership although they must be dug for. The narrative drags in places with more geography and typology than one might choose. The language too is dated to the point of quaintness in places. All in all, worth reading, especially for those seeking knowledge of the fundamentals of insurgency.

R.D. Sylvia

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