Lawrence in Arabia

War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East

By: Scott Anderson

Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY
New York Times • Christian Science Monitor • NPR • Seattle Times • St. Louis Dispatch

National Book Critics Circle Finalist -- American Library Association Notable Book

A thrilling and revelatory narrative of one of the most epic and consequential periods in 20th century history – the Arab Revolt and the secret “great game” to control the Middle East

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.

Curt Prüfer was an effete academic attached to the German embassy in Cairo, whose clandestine role was to foment Islamic jihad against British rule. Aaron Aaronsohn was a renowned agronomist and committed Zionist who gained the trust of the Ottoman governor of Syria. William Yale was the fallen scion of the American aristocracy, who traveled the Ottoman Empire on behalf of Standard Oil, dissembling to the Turks in order gain valuable oil concessions. At the center of it all was Lawrence. In early 1914 he was an archaeologist excavating ruins in the sands of Syria; by 1917 he was the most romantic figure of World War One, battling both the enemy and his own government to bring about the vision he had for the Arab people.

The intertwined paths of these four 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. Prüfer became Germany’s grand spymaster in the Middle East. Aaronsohn constructed an elaborate Jewish spy-ring in Palestine, only to have the anti-Semitic and bureaucratically-inept British first ignore and then misuse his organization, at tragic personal cost. Yale would become the only American intelligence agent in the entire Middle East – while still secretly on the payroll of Standard Oil. And the enigmatic Lawrence rode into legend at the head of an Arab army, even as he waged secret war against his own nation’s imperial ambitions.

Based on years of intensive primary document research, LAWRENCE IN ARABIA definitively overturns received wisdom on how the modern Middle East was formed. Sweeping in its action, keen in its portraiture, acid in its condemnation of the destruction wrought by European colonial plots, this is a book that brilliantly captures the way in which the folly of the past creates the anguish of the present.

OK

Started well, minute detail along the way and a little disjointed presentation I felt. I couldn't get into it after about 12 hours of listening.
It is a great biography of TE Lawrence.

Great book

A real page turner could not put it down. A great read on why the Middle East is still a mess 100 years later.

great foundation to understand the middle east

Pulling no punches Lawrence in Arabia uncovers the myths and the political forces that have shaped the middle east. Lawrence is one of the most fascinating and disturbing personalities in history. The author's research is 2nd to none. His ability to compile complex events into a cohesive narrative is nothing short of brilliant. The prose and word choice is first rate. I am richer for reading this epic novel.

Insightful, illuminating, prodigious

With the story of T. E. Lawrence fighting while a British officer with Arab tribesmen, etc, during the First World War in the Middle East theatre, this book Includes three important supporting characters: a Zionist spy-ring leader, a German foreign ministry minion and spy, and an American Standard Oil man who also spies for his country. The time and place, from Cairo to Constantinople, from Damascus to Bagdagh is a area of military, diplomatic, and intrigue between the Entente powers of the British and French against the central powers of Germany and Turkey, fighting to divvy up the oil rich land. Very insightful and illuminating, the reader will see that this is a prodigious book touching on many subjects fostering interesting other specific reading.

Great background to the Mideast of today

Excellent history of this most difficult part of the world, and how so many of its troubles were generated back in the early 20th century.