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Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A
Triumph
T.E. Lawrence
$16.95 |
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0385418957
Anchor Books Doubleday
Middle Eastern
Studies/Literature
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"There
are no lessons for the world, no disclosures to shock peoples. It is filled
with trivial things, partly that no one mistake for history the bones from which
some day a man may make history.
More than seventy years
ago, T.E. Lawrence - universally known as Lawrence of Arabia - wrote these
self-effacing words in the introductory chapter to his monumental epic, Seven
Pillars of Wisdom. Not even a man as hopeful for immortality as he could
have predicted how enduring a place in twentieth-century English literature his
extraordinary memoir would claim.
Lawrence tells the story of
his role in the Arab revolt against the Turks, a minor, diversionary theatre of
war for the British immersed in World War I, but a profoundly meaningful
struggle for the Arabs. He draws amazingly evocative portraits of the principal
players, and it is doubtful if anyone else writing in English has ever described
the vast and beautiful Arabian terrain with such power of detail and such subtle
shading. Not only a consummate military history, but also a colorful saga and a
lyrical exploration of the mind of a great man, Seven Pillars of Wisdom
has become an indisputable classic.
What has lent the books its
lasting fascination is Lawrence's passionate account of the Arab people and of
the Arab nation struggling to be born. The parallels to be drawn with the
ongoing conflict in the Middle East> are
undeniable. Whether this masterpiece is read as thrilling military history, a
timeless adventure story, or prescient narrative, Seven Pillars of Wisdom
is destined to enthrall generations to come.
