At the outbreak of the First World War, T.E. Lawrence was a British officer assigned to Branch intelligence in Cairo. In this routine job the young lieutenant demonstrated an unfortunate talent for irritating his superior officers- as well as a remarkable knowledge of Arabia and its people. But there was nothing to indicate that he would become a legend in his own lifetime.
Lawrence of Arabia is an absorbing account of how this dramatic change came about, beginning with Lawrence's transfer to the Arab Bureau where he was to coordinate British and Arab troop movements. Boldly he plunged into the bitter conflict raging between the Arabs and the Turkish conquerors. A tireless organizer and devoted student of military strategy, he worked out for his Arab allies a brilliant series of campaign tactics. On mission after mission he led guerrilla troops on raids across burning desert sands to blow up railroads and bridges and rout the Turkish enemy by swift, violent surprise attacks.
Against a background of desert warfare, Alistair MacLean presents an unforgettable portrait of the genius who gave his mind, heart, and perseverance to a dream of Arab independence- and in so doing, became the immortal "Lawrence of Arabia".
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