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Revolt in the Desert
T.E. Lawrence, also known as *Lawrence of Arabia,* wrote Seven Pillars of A Triumph from his memories of serving as a liaison officer with rebel forces during the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Turks (1916-1918). Possessed of a brilliant military mind and an unmatched knowledge of the region and the Arab people, Lawrence led the revolt alongside the charismatic Faisal I, sounding the death knell for the Ottoman Empire and paving the way for a new colonial power in the the British. Writing from memory after his original manuscript and detailed notes were lost, Lawrence was able to privately publish a polished version of his autobiograhpical account in 1922. It is from this edition that he created the abridged version in 1927 which would become a best-seller, titling it Revolt in the Desert. This important historic work vividly portrays one of the most turbulent periods in the history of the Middle East while offering rich insight into one of Britain's esteemed national heroes.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1919
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About the author
T.E. Lawrence
307 books382 followersThomas Edward Lawrence, British soldier, adventurer, and writer, who, known as "Lawrence of Arabia," from 1916 led the revolt against the Turks to 1918 and later wrote
The Seven Pillars of Wisdom
, an account of his adventures, in 1926.
The professional world came for Thomas Edward Lawrence. In 1922, he used John Hume Ross, the name, to enlist in the royal air force, which discovered and forced him. Afterward, he took T.E. Shaw to join the tank corps in 1923. The royal air force in 1925 eventually let him back.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._E._L...
The professional world came for Thomas Edward Lawrence. In 1922, he used John Hume Ross, the name, to enlist in the royal air force, which discovered and forced him. Afterward, he took T.E. Shaw to join the tank corps in 1923. The royal air force in 1925 eventually let him back.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._E._L...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
December 22, 2012
T. E. Lawrences classic history/biography of his involvment in the middle east during the War To End All wars.
The basis for the great movie, Lawrence of Arabia, it stands very well upon its own legs.
Irreverent and honest, he speaks casually of his great impact on the area and the nature of the rich cultures he encounters, the terrible privations he and his compatriots underwent, the black cruelty as well as the acts of spontanious nobility encountered with a voice that lays each to stand for themselves, bare and uncolored by the need to justify or package.
This was the second draft of this experiance, the first, with a word count at least twice this ones size (by an easy couple of hundred thousand words) was lost, the sole copy of which he left sitting on a English train station bench, never to be seen again.
Copies of this version are scarce but not immpossible to find, and well worth the search.
I find its views poignant and relevent to our world as it is much more than a great history.
It surprises with every read.
A favorite.
JFB
The basis for the great movie, Lawrence of Arabia, it stands very well upon its own legs.
Irreverent and honest, he speaks casually of his great impact on the area and the nature of the rich cultures he encounters, the terrible privations he and his compatriots underwent, the black cruelty as well as the acts of spontanious nobility encountered with a voice that lays each to stand for themselves, bare and uncolored by the need to justify or package.
This was the second draft of this experiance, the first, with a word count at least twice this ones size (by an easy couple of hundred thousand words) was lost, the sole copy of which he left sitting on a English train station bench, never to be seen again.
Copies of this version are scarce but not immpossible to find, and well worth the search.
I find its views poignant and relevent to our world as it is much more than a great history.
It surprises with every read.
A favorite.
JFB
January 29, 2011
كتاب يحكي تفاصيل الثوره العربيه على الأتراك وأحداث الحرب العالميه الأولى ومابعدها من تحريك وتحريض للعرب على الأتراك بإدارة المخابرات البريطانيه
!ووصولا إلى إتمام الوعد وتسليم فلسطين
بعيداً عن الضيافة والعادات العربيه , مع لورنس تحديداً أحسست أن العرب أغبى شعوب الأرض, فالمطامع أوضح من شمسهم الحارقه
كتاب يحمل من العار مايجعلك تكمله بعينٍ واحده:)
!ووصولا إلى إتمام الوعد وتسليم فلسطين
بعيداً عن الضيافة والعادات العربيه , مع لورنس تحديداً أحسست أن العرب أغبى شعوب الأرض, فالمطامع أوضح من شمسهم الحارقه
كتاب يحمل من العار مايجعلك تكمله بعينٍ واحده:)
February 27, 2015
This version of events is more accessible than Seven Pillars and most of the more outre episodes ( which people who knew him say were total fantasy) are not included.
I re-read the book because one of my colleagues asked how Islamic State had been so successful in Syria and North Iraq.
Before I recommended this book to him I gave it a read just in case my old memory was playing tricks.
But my memory was true. In this book Lawrence writes down the very basics of guerrilla warfare which all insurgency is based upon.
It's a kind of Sun Tsu for the 20th Century - The Art of Insurgency.
For anyone who wants to understand how a few thousand men can tie down an army of millions this is a must read.
The text can be rather tedious with endless descriptions on types of sand and terrain (because it was lifted from a diary that logged such matters) but when he writes on insurgency strategy I sat up and paid attention. The politics are of interest and his opinions of the British Army are scathing.
A book from the past that informs the present and the future
I re-read the book because one of my colleagues asked how Islamic State had been so successful in Syria and North Iraq.
Before I recommended this book to him I gave it a read just in case my old memory was playing tricks.
But my memory was true. In this book Lawrence writes down the very basics of guerrilla warfare which all insurgency is based upon.
It's a kind of Sun Tsu for the 20th Century - The Art of Insurgency.
For anyone who wants to understand how a few thousand men can tie down an army of millions this is a must read.
The text can be rather tedious with endless descriptions on types of sand and terrain (because it was lifted from a diary that logged such matters) but when he writes on insurgency strategy I sat up and paid attention. The politics are of interest and his opinions of the British Army are scathing.
A book from the past that informs the present and the future
April 26, 2025
Lawrence'in anlatımını çok dağınık buldum. Kitabı tarihsel bilgilerle donatmak yerine daha edebi şekle büründürmeye çalışmış gibi geldi bana ama onu da pek başardığını söyleyemem. Tabii yine de kendisinin o zor çöl koşullarındaki güçlü mücadelesini okurken hemen fark ediyorsunuz.
October 14, 2012
Revolt in the Desert, is another account of Lawrence as a liaison Officer between Britain and Arab revolts, In fact what makes me write this review is that I got in touch with the poetic style that Lawrence used to express some psychological feelings. In reality this book should be picked in the best shelf of the British literature.
May 11, 2022
Il caldo dell’Arabia ci raggiunse come una spada sguainata e ci colpì improvvisamente. Era un mezzogiorno dell’ottobre 1916.
Questo libro mi è stato regalato, per arricchire lo scaffale di storia militare. In effetti, in libreria avevo vari tomi relativi a armi e battaglie antiche o medievali, mentre mi mancava un testo su questo particolare periodo. Peraltro, avevo visto il (celeberrimo) film dedicato a Lawrence d'Arabia, il Leone del Deserto, ma non avevo mai letto questa sorta di autobiografia-saggio sulle proprie imprese, conosciuto anche come "I sette pilastri della saggezza".
In realtà, ho scoperto un uomo carismatico, brillante, pieno di interessi e con un senso dell'onore pazzesco.
Oltre alla base classica (tradusse l'Odissea, ad esempio), Lawrence nutriva una grande passione per l'archeologia e, grazie e alla sua tesi sui castelli crociati, ebbe modo di visitare i territori arabi, assorbendone lingua e costumi.
Nel 1916 era ufficiale dei servizi segreti inglesi, stanziato al Cairo, e fu scelto dai suoi superiori come personaggio ideale per convincere le tribù della penisola araba a sollevarsi e unirsi con uno scopo nazionalistico, per cacciare i dominatori ottomani (comunque turchi) liberando il territorio sino alla Transgiordania.
Combatté al fianco delle tribù per due anni, mentre in Europa infuriava la prima guerra mondiale, dormendo in tende o all'addiaccio, muovendosi a dorso di cammello o in moto, o attraversando le dune insieme a lunghissime carovane, tra giorni infiniti di caldo e sete, violente battaglie, crudeltà e morte.
Il suo è un racconto concreto, che descrive i personaggi con nome e osservazioni personali, che vede la poesia delle notti stellate e del vento e delle tempeste di sabbia, ma anche la meschinità di tribù che non riescono a collaborare, o di alleanze che si sfaldano per invidia e avidità, e l'ipocrisia e il razzismo tra inglesi e arabi o tra arabi e turchi.
Eppure, ci ha creduto sino in fondo: nelle pagine si avverte il suo entusiasmo per le piccole vittorie e l'avanzata, la riconoscenza per uomini che sono stranieri ma compagni d'armi, il rispetto per usanze tribali ma che stima.
E ho trovato notevole che, in quel periodo, trattasse con tenerezza e piena comprensione la presenza di relazioni omosessuali tra i combattenti (di certo, senza esprimere alcun dubbio sul fatto che questo sminuisse il valore all'interno della truppa).
Alla fine l'insurrezione cacciò i turchi ma non a favore degli arabi: Inghilterra e Francia si spartirono la terra, non riconoscendo l'indipendenza e creando quel protettorato in Palestina che fu foriero di tanto sangue successivo.
Lawrence ne fu così deluso che rifiutò di far carriera e respinse titoli e onori, compresa la Victoria Cross che il re gli stava porgendo durante una cerimonia solenne.
Ma è facile capirlo dopo aver letto questo libro: il racconto di un grande sogno o, meglio, di una grande illusione.
L’essenza del deserto è l’individuo che si muove solitario, il figlio della strada, separato dal mondo come in una tomba. Le truppe che si muovevano in gregge come lenti montoni, non sembravano degne del privilegio dello spazio.
Questo libro mi è stato regalato, per arricchire lo scaffale di storia militare. In effetti, in libreria avevo vari tomi relativi a armi e battaglie antiche o medievali, mentre mi mancava un testo su questo particolare periodo. Peraltro, avevo visto il (celeberrimo) film dedicato a Lawrence d'Arabia, il Leone del Deserto, ma non avevo mai letto questa sorta di autobiografia-saggio sulle proprie imprese, conosciuto anche come "I sette pilastri della saggezza".
In realtà, ho scoperto un uomo carismatico, brillante, pieno di interessi e con un senso dell'onore pazzesco.
Oltre alla base classica (tradusse l'Odissea, ad esempio), Lawrence nutriva una grande passione per l'archeologia e, grazie e alla sua tesi sui castelli crociati, ebbe modo di visitare i territori arabi, assorbendone lingua e costumi.
Nel 1916 era ufficiale dei servizi segreti inglesi, stanziato al Cairo, e fu scelto dai suoi superiori come personaggio ideale per convincere le tribù della penisola araba a sollevarsi e unirsi con uno scopo nazionalistico, per cacciare i dominatori ottomani (comunque turchi) liberando il territorio sino alla Transgiordania.
Combatté al fianco delle tribù per due anni, mentre in Europa infuriava la prima guerra mondiale, dormendo in tende o all'addiaccio, muovendosi a dorso di cammello o in moto, o attraversando le dune insieme a lunghissime carovane, tra giorni infiniti di caldo e sete, violente battaglie, crudeltà e morte.
Il suo è un racconto concreto, che descrive i personaggi con nome e osservazioni personali, che vede la poesia delle notti stellate e del vento e delle tempeste di sabbia, ma anche la meschinità di tribù che non riescono a collaborare, o di alleanze che si sfaldano per invidia e avidità, e l'ipocrisia e il razzismo tra inglesi e arabi o tra arabi e turchi.
Eppure, ci ha creduto sino in fondo: nelle pagine si avverte il suo entusiasmo per le piccole vittorie e l'avanzata, la riconoscenza per uomini che sono stranieri ma compagni d'armi, il rispetto per usanze tribali ma che stima.
E ho trovato notevole che, in quel periodo, trattasse con tenerezza e piena comprensione la presenza di relazioni omosessuali tra i combattenti (di certo, senza esprimere alcun dubbio sul fatto che questo sminuisse il valore all'interno della truppa).
Alla fine l'insurrezione cacciò i turchi ma non a favore degli arabi: Inghilterra e Francia si spartirono la terra, non riconoscendo l'indipendenza e creando quel protettorato in Palestina che fu foriero di tanto sangue successivo.
Lawrence ne fu così deluso che rifiutò di far carriera e respinse titoli e onori, compresa la Victoria Cross che il re gli stava porgendo durante una cerimonia solenne.
Ma è facile capirlo dopo aver letto questo libro: il racconto di un grande sogno o, meglio, di una grande illusione.
L’essenza del deserto è l’individuo che si muove solitario, il figlio della strada, separato dal mondo come in una tomba. Le truppe che si muovevano in gregge come lenti montoni, non sembravano degne del privilegio dello spazio.
December 29, 2010
WM4: Salvate il soldato Lawrence. Dopo settant'anni di dibattito sulla sua figura, davvero non meritava di essere buttato sul mercato editoriale senza nemmeno due parole di accompagnamento. Spedito fuori dalla trincea senza nessuno a coprirlo. Fior di carriere critico-letterarie si sono costruite o infrante davanti al mito di Lawrence d'Arabia, e forse quando un editore sceglie di pubblicare un testo come Rivolta nel deserto, datato 1927, una prefazione sarebbe cosa buona e giusta. Non l'ha pensata così Il Saggiatore, limitandosi a poche e imprecise righe nel risvolto di copertina e a una striminzita nota biografica (dove, tra l'altro, la fatale uscita di strada con la moto diventa un incidente «automobilistico»). Un corollario che ignora completamente decenni di dispute, in cui sono stati coinvolti nomi come George Bernard Shaw, Richard Aldington, Robert Graves e molti altri. Anzi, Il Saggiatore ci ripropone l'immagine edulcorata del corsaro del deserto, come uscì dagli uffici della propaganda bellica inglese negli anni Dieci-Venti. Tant'è che le tre righe di commento in quarta di copertina sono affidate a Winston Churchill.
[La recensione prosegue qui: http://www.wumingfoundation.com/italiano/outtakes/lawre… ]
[La recensione prosegue qui: http://www.wumingfoundation.com/italiano/outtakes/lawre… ]
May 16, 2007
One of my favorite adventure books that i have read since childhood. For anyone interested in the Arab world it is a MUST. No way around it. Incredible writing, unbelievable action, made all the more intense by the fact that it DID happen. Great introduction to Arab culture, habits, and viewpoints. All around a phenomenal book.
March 22, 2012
A vivid, first hand, account of a key period in modern history. A must read for anyone trying to understand and appreciate some of the background to the complex problems of the Middle East today.
October 4, 2018
لم يعجبني الكتاب ، فيه الكثير من السرد و التكرار للاحداث
December 19, 2023
للخيانة تاريخ وماض بعيد وليس بقريب
خيانة نرى اليوم تداعياتها بجلاء وتبعاتها بوضوح.
خيانة نرى اليوم تداعياتها بجلاء وتبعاتها بوضوح.
July 7, 2024
Lawrence of Arabia has been my favorite movie since I first saw it some 35 years ago. I have lost count of how many times I've seen it over the years — both on the biggest screens possible, in 70mm and 35mm, and on television, VHS and DVD. Only now have I decided dive into the source material as a measure of screenwriter Robert Bolt's adaptation; I plan to follow Revolt with a reading, at some point, of With Lawrence in Arabia by Lowell Thomas, the journalist fictionalized as Jackson Bentley in the film.
Revolt in the Desert is a bit of a detail-heavy slog that took me longer to read than I had anticipated, but Lawrence writes beautifully, vividly, and is every bit the soldier-poet immortalized in legend. Of the figures best known from the movie, Prince Feisal and Auda abu Tayi are revealed to have been as magnificent in life as they are portrayed onscreen.
Revolt in the Desert is a bit of a detail-heavy slog that took me longer to read than I had anticipated, but Lawrence writes beautifully, vividly, and is every bit the soldier-poet immortalized in legend. Of the figures best known from the movie, Prince Feisal and Auda abu Tayi are revealed to have been as magnificent in life as they are portrayed onscreen.
December 15, 2014
Lawrence wrote his memoirs of the WW1 war against the Ottoman Empire as a 780 page long book "The seven pillars of wisdom" but heavily in debt was forced by his publishers to rush out an abridged version. He hated it and refused to allow even the most basic editing. Consequently it has many different variants on place names, often fails to clarify the vast array of characters in the Arab army or the overall development of the war. On the other hand it conveys brilliantly the characters, countryside, conditions and the day to day action.
The British under General Allenby based in Eqypt were fighting a conventional WW1 battle of artillery and massed infantry attacks against the Turks in Palestine. Lawrence, a British Army major, medically unfit for active duty was an Oxford scholar and linguist who excelled at military intelligence. He was sent to work with the Arab uprising in what is now Saudi Arabia and immediately struck up a rapport with the leaders. He was not alone but his leadership, diplomatic and organisational skills saw him continually switching between leading patrols to blow up the Turkish railways, smoothing disputes between Arab leaders, persuading Allanby and his staff to send money, weapons and trained soldiers and providing strategic direction to the Arab leaders. He earned the respect of the latter by in effect becoming one of them, pushing himself to ride great lengths in the most arduous conditions and to be in the thick of the fighting and not least by learning the language and customs so he could mix easily with them. At the same time he worked diligently with Allenby to ensure that the the two groups were fully coordinated and the Turks eventually pushed out of the Middle East. The final chapter on the capture (bloodlessly) of Damascus is particularly fascinating. Whilst everyone else is celebrating, Lawrence is quietly operating behind the scenes to insert the most competent Arab leaders into a new government, ruthlessly eliminating a couple of thugs who try to take over, then reforming a police force, getting the electricity and water supply back on, setting up hospitals, arranging food supplies and cleaning the streets! And the writing is of the highest quality.
The British under General Allenby based in Eqypt were fighting a conventional WW1 battle of artillery and massed infantry attacks against the Turks in Palestine. Lawrence, a British Army major, medically unfit for active duty was an Oxford scholar and linguist who excelled at military intelligence. He was sent to work with the Arab uprising in what is now Saudi Arabia and immediately struck up a rapport with the leaders. He was not alone but his leadership, diplomatic and organisational skills saw him continually switching between leading patrols to blow up the Turkish railways, smoothing disputes between Arab leaders, persuading Allanby and his staff to send money, weapons and trained soldiers and providing strategic direction to the Arab leaders. He earned the respect of the latter by in effect becoming one of them, pushing himself to ride great lengths in the most arduous conditions and to be in the thick of the fighting and not least by learning the language and customs so he could mix easily with them. At the same time he worked diligently with Allenby to ensure that the the two groups were fully coordinated and the Turks eventually pushed out of the Middle East. The final chapter on the capture (bloodlessly) of Damascus is particularly fascinating. Whilst everyone else is celebrating, Lawrence is quietly operating behind the scenes to insert the most competent Arab leaders into a new government, ruthlessly eliminating a couple of thugs who try to take over, then reforming a police force, getting the electricity and water supply back on, setting up hospitals, arranging food supplies and cleaning the streets! And the writing is of the highest quality.
August 4, 2016
"Revolt In The Desert", T.E. Lawrence, 1927. Distinctive, rare and expensive, the powerful, fire breathing 1933 Brough Superior motorcycle was a classic in it's own time. Lawrence of Arabia suffered a fatal brain injury while riding his Superior. Highly intellectual, literary, and courageous in battle, T.S. Lawrence was not only a talented military officer, but also an accomplished archeologist. Having survived a life magnetically drawn to adventure and risk, and well known for indulging in severe forms of masochism, I would think that Lawrence would have appreciated the aesthetics and the irony of being killed while touring the verdant English countryside on his Superior motorcycle. "Revolt in the Desert" is great literature, but if given a choice I would opt for the 1962 film "Lawrence of Arabia" -widely regarded as one of the greatest motion pictures of all time. - and by most accounts, probably more historically accurate than Lawrence's autobiographical "Revolt in The Desert".
February 2, 2022
Couldn't finish it. The pages begin to feel very similar after the first chapter. Name from a different culture are often difficult to remember, so that place and people in this book become indistinguishable. The myth goes that Mister Lawrence wrote this in one sitting after the original was lost. One can speculate the original was too good for the general public and now exists as a single copy in the secret archives of the Pope or the Ministry of Intelligence. The point is moot, the book is homogeneous and tiresome even though this is the abridged version.
December 28, 2009
This is a memoir written by T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia") about his involvement with the Arab revolt during WW I.
Well, I only made it about a third of the way through this book. It was well written, with colorful language. However, I lost interest. I guess there was just one too many long desert crossings without much happening.
In the future, I may go back and try to finish it.
Well, I only made it about a third of the way through this book. It was well written, with colorful language. However, I lost interest. I guess there was just one too many long desert crossings without much happening.
In the future, I may go back and try to finish it.
Read
February 8, 2011This was the less detailed version of T E Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom , edited down from the original. Lawrence didn't want the general public to see any book by or about him, but he needed money after Arabia, to live on. He finally agreed to let this book appear but every time there was any publicity about him, even to promote one of his own books, he suffered desperately from the public exposure.
March 3, 2012
One of the best books ever written.
“All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake up in the day to find it was vanity, but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.”
Lawrence has the ability to project full HD into your brain.
“All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake up in the day to find it was vanity, but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.”
Lawrence has the ability to project full HD into your brain.
January 28, 2020
Had a hard time rating this book. On one hand it's a pretty good account of what happened in the Middle East during WWI, but on the other hand it's really slow and he spends way to much time talking about camels. Probably should have been edited down to about half the length.
August 24, 2007
This is the one I read, I've heard the full version is better. Worth it for Auda alone. Warning, much different than the film.
Want to read
September 26, 2007I absolutely love the movie Lawrence of Arabia (not just cause there are no women in it), and I'm quite intruiged by his writings, so I have to get to them.
Read
January 2, 2009Middle East,history,Arabs,Turks,orientalism
October 10, 2010
For those who find "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" heavy slogging
January 3, 2011
Very interesting and exciting. Defiantly one of the greatest books of all time!
July 22, 2011
Le témoignage d'un agent secret anglais pendant la première guerre mondiale, dont l'action va redessiner le visage de la région.
December 1, 2011
T E Lawrence is a fascinating character
February 27, 2013
Good book!
July 29, 2016
In his telling of his efforts to help the Arabs rise up against the Ottomans, Lawrence vividly describes the dangers, but also the moral and intellectual challenges, he faced.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews