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This book was good in the beginning, got slow in the middle, and the end was lacking in detail and not very helpful for understanding how and what TE Lawrence did. I learned a lot about TE Lawrence‘s early life, but I don‘t really understand the details of and impact of his work during WWI with Arab fighters. I wish the author had focused on that and not on introducing so many other people who Lawrence had so little interaction with.
2/5 stars

I loved how Anderson contextualized T.E. Lawrence‘s story and included Aaron Aaronsohn(brilliant agronomist, Zionist and spy)and his sister Sarah Aaronsohn, Curt Prüfer(German diplomat, who ran a spy ring and operations to sabotage the British, Minna Weizmann‘s lover) and William Yale(oilman and spy)in this detailed biography. Anderson shows Lawrence‘s genius and faults, is an excellent storyteller and makes historic characters come alive.

Great book gives very good insight on a very complicated legacy of T.E. Lawrence. One great thing about this book is that even though it covers a lot of heady topics it doesn‘t read like a text book and over inundate you with dates and names.

Current status of 2019#LitsyAtoZ

This work focuses on the stories of a handful of Western men whose careers shaped the Middle East before, during, and after WWI with T. E. Lawrence at the centre of it all. The exploits of these men are placed alongside the maneuvers of the great powers to provide a robust view of the region during a critical period of modern history.

Diving into this today after it has spent over three years on my shelves.

So I'm down to two kindle books (one of which is Game of Thrones) so I'm diving into this book for my hardcopy for this week. Seems interesting, I've had this on my TBR for awhile. 🐪🌵🐫☀️

It's a pick for historical information but a so-so for the reading experience. It took me nearly a year to get halfway through the book. It is heavy going and there are a lot of people to keep track of.

😑

Really?!

Indeed, if the examples of Kut and Gallipoli and a score of battlefields on the Western Front were any guide, the very impracticality of an Aqaba landing would draw British war planners to it like moths to the flame.

Heh heh.

Managed to finish off Chapter 7 and read all of Chapter 8. Chapter 9 is long, so I'll stop here for now, and possibly for the night. Ain't no way I'm getting to 24 hours. Oh well!
#24in48

Sykes also invented an early version of the overhead projector, so it is perhaps not surprising that he would be good at writing in presentation-speak.

For the next ninety years, the vast and profligate Saudi royal family would survive by essentially buying off the doctrinaire Wahhabists who had brought them to power, financially subsidizing their activities so long as their disciples directed their jihadist efforts abroad. The most famous product of this arrangement was to be a man named Osama bin Laden.

Insightful.

More time travelling in history books! 😆

For the next six months I expect to be "currently reading" this book, which I borrowed from my BF's dad. Because there are no due dates my reading keeps being interrupted by library books. Haven't seen the movie but it is one of my BF's faves.
#augustofpages

Another addition to the strange Europeans in dangerous places shelf. A history of Lawrence and three other intelligence officers operating in the Middle East in the First World War. I have read Seven Pillars of Wisdom, but this provided some interesting insights into what Lawrence's activities prior to the Arab revolt (was unaware that he had been dragged into try and negotiate an end to the Mesopotamian fiasco) and also a nice concise