Lawrence in Arabia
This book is a thrilling and revelatory narrative of one of the most epic and consequential episodes in twentieth-century history -- the Arab Revolt and the secret "great game" to control the Middle East. The Arab Revolt against the Turks in World War I 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 a fallen scion of the American aristocracy, who traveled the Ottoman Empire on behalf of Standard Oil, dissembling to the Turks in order to 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 I, battling both the enemy and his own government to bring about the vision he had for the Arab people.
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- Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East Book by Scott Anderson
One of my favourite books on the topic
- For Middle East, Lawrence In Arabia by Scott Anderson.
For computing history, Art of Unix Programming by Eric S. Raymond.
For inspirational American stories, David McCullough (1933-2022) is peerless. The Wright Brothers nearly brought me to tears.
- I highly recommend the book Lawrence in Arabia, by Scott Anderson, which puts that story in context. It follows four people active in the area at the time: TE Lawrence (who first went to the Middle East as an archaeologist), an American employee of Standard Oil, the leader of a Jewish spy ring working with the British, and a Turkish official. Very interesting.
https://www.powells.com/book/lawrence-in-arabia-978030747641...
- I found what I can confidently say is my favorite non-fiction book I've read in a while from randomly walking into a book store. I was meandering through the history section and found a book that went in great detail about Lawrence of Arabia titled (Lawrence in Arabia).
Looking forward to the day that can happen again.
- Lawrence in Arabia by Scott Anderson A mathematician's apology by G.H Hardy My Struggle by Karl Ove Knausgaard Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford Churchill: Walking with Destiny by Andrew Roberts Lenin: The Man, the Dictator, and the Master of Terror by Victor Sebestyen Hamilton by Ron Chernow
- Additionally the book Lawrence in Arabia is a fascinating historical account of the events that led to this empire dividing.
http://www.amazon.com/Lawrence-Arabia-Deceit-Imperial-Making...
