Tim's review
Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph
by T. E. Lawrence
Tim's review
Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph by T. E. Lawrence
Tim's review
rating:
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history
Considered a classic of military history, Seven Pillars of Wisdom is the story of World War I's Turkish Theater from the Arab/English perspective. It's not a traditional history, and indeed Lawrence disavows any intent on writing history. What is the book then? Well, it's a memoir littered with bits of military history, philosophy, and pseudo-religious musings. Don't take this as anything but a somewhat romanticized, openly biased account of one man's journey through a war. And, ultimately, this is a story of people, not a grand, sweeping history in the traditional sense. It is a long book, and it can at times be a bit dry, making chunks hard to wade through. There are good points, however, chiefly in Lawrence's vivid description of nomadic desert life and the insight into his rather troubled mind. As a military history it has some meat among all the fat, especially in its insights for carrying out an effective guerrilla war (asymmetrical conflict, in today's military parlance)...more
