With Lawrence in Arabia

It’s settled.  Deserts are not haunting me; I am chasing them.

After having read the colossal and magnificent Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence, his version of his war in the Near East during World War I, I moved with interest to the narrative With Lawrence in Arabia by the American journalist Lowell Thomas.  Thomas’s book and presentations about the war in Arabia served to make Lawrence a popular and romantic figure, propelling him out of the obscurity that he preferred into posterity; it is also the original source material for my favorite movie, Lawrence of Arabia, and this book certainly has a cinematic feel, or at least an eye for drama.

I ought to have begun my fandom for Lawrence with this book; for while Lawrence’s own story is more beautiful, Thomas’s version is more accessible, less lofty.  Stippled through with cultural and historical information about Arabia and Arabs, Thomas’s book also highlights the daring feats of other British officers – though none could be as brave, courageous, and creative as “the young archaeologist” or “the slight Oxford graduate.”  It also covers time periods before and after the revolt in the desert, whereas Lawrence talks about the desert, only the desert.

Lowell Thomas paints a biased view toward the war, where fighting Turks is equivalent to fighting Germans.  In his desire to glorify Lawrence, he has managed to make a minor theater a major one, claiming that Lawrence personally broke the Ottoman (and therefore the Austro-Hungarian) Empire.  Too, his portrayal of the Arabs is one with mixed motives.  On one page he salutes their bravery and courage, and on another page he says that they could never have been brave without the British to push them to it.  He applauds Emir Feisal for being modern, but modernity to Thomas means accepting British monies and British advice.  Unfortunately like most Westerners, he finds them people, but primitive, which is not the perspective that Lawrence himself seems to hold.

Otherwise, it’s a romping good read.  If you are able to recognize characters from the movie, so much the better; if not, you’ll be clamoring to rent (buy) it, so amused and entertained will you be by Thomas’s anecdotes and Lawrence’s speech and behavior.  Lowell Thomas was wearing his rose-tinted glasses when he called Auda Abu Tayi a Robin Hood, General Allenby a Richard the Lionhearted, and Colonel T.E. Lawrence a prophet, a lord, a modern Arabian Knight.

8.5 / 10.0.

[Compared to Pillars, 7.0 / 10.0.]