Seven Pillars of Wisdom

The Famous “Lawrence of Arabia” has written his first hand account of his exploits in Syria and Arabia against the Ottoman Turkish Army in WWI—three times. This highly educated British Maverick, did something that no one thought possible when he lived with, and united, the many disparate Bedouin tribes in a common cause against the Ottoman Turks. Operating on General Sir Edmund Allenby’s right flank, Lawrence moved like a desert wind and smashed the railways the Turks relied upon to feed the garrisons in vital outposts like Aquaba, Medina and eventually Damascus. Here is a book that Lawrence completed, then… show more.

When I was young and ambitious and dreamed about politics, when I had studied Greek philosophy and ancient history in graduate school, the life of T.E.Lawrence–Lawrence of Arabia as he became known–a young Englishman who had never been in a battle before led the Arab Revolt which helped bring an end to the First World War, made everything seem possible.

Lawrence had his secrets, but some of them he shared. Two of them seemed to my young imagination everything that was needed. Speaking like Odysseus was one of them, which meant tailoring what you say to the audience you have.… show more.

The mystery of the first paragraph drew me in, what he called "the evil of his tale," leading a guerrilla war in the Arabian desert in World War I.

I knew about the burning heat and the wind, of letting a camel find the water and the bitter cold at night, and I am in awe of his strength in fighting the Ottoman Turks. I love his descriptive writing of the wind, and the silence of a Crusader castle. He wrote at Shepherds Hotel in Cairo, left his manuscript on a train in a London station, and had to start… show more.

Yes, that T.E. Lawrence, of “Lawrence of Arabia” fame.

Turns out that not only was he an exquisite writer, but his account of his years as a British officer who self-embedded with Arab tribesmen during the First World War provides deep lessons for business success.

For starters, just because you’re highly intelligent and educated (Oxford, in his case), don’t assume you must agree with your superiors or yourself about the true motivations and interest of your customers, until you get to know them intimately.

Walk a mile in their shoes – or perhaps thousands of miles in their sandals –… show more.

This is a brilliant autobiographical account of the astonishing experiences of British Army Colonel T.E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia") as he served as a military advisor to Bedouin forces during the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Turks, 1916-1918. With the support of Emir Faisal and his tribesmen in Wadi Rum, he helped carry out attacks on the Ottoman forces from Aqaba in the south to Damascus in the north. Many sites inside the Wadi Rum area have been named after Lawrence, including the rock formations near the entrance now known as "The Seven Pillars."

Not hard to explain why I’m recommending Lawrence of Arabia’s classic – perhaps harder to explain why I’ve waited until the 5th slot to do so. The answer is that I have listed my five choices in order of appearance. After the war, Lawrence returned to Oxford where he was hosted by All Souls College and encouraged to write up his experiences of the Arab Revolt. He completed the first draft in 1921. Many drafts followed, some destined for print and others for obscurity (one draft allegedly went missing at a railway station, fittingly enough, given the damage Lawrence did… show more.

T.E. Lawrence, better known as ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, was an archaeologist, explorer, soldier and spy who played a key role in the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire in the First World War. Seven Pillars of Wisdom is a war memoir but also an account of an obsession, as Lawrence, deeply immersed in Arab and Bedouin culture, becomes consumed by the desert which scorches his English identity away. His love for the Arabs is tinged by guilt, as he knows that – despite British and French promises of independence – his friends will inevitably be betrayed once the dust has… show more.