Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph
by T.E. Lawrence
$15.00, 672 pp. Anchor Books
During the First World War, members of the British Government felt that by spurring on and supporting a rebellion of the subject people of Arabia, they could strike a painful blow against the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire was a member of the Central
Powers and allied with Germany during the war, and fighting against the Allied Powers in Europe. T.E. Lawrence (a.k.a. "Lawrence of Arabia"; 1888-1935) was a soldier in the British Army who after serving in Arabia, chronicled what he described as the "Ara
b Revolt" during World War One. But he was not merely a chronicler; he was an integral part of the rebellion, acting as a coordinator, strategist, and representative of Britain among the Arabs rebelling against the oppressive Ottoman Empire. Lawrence was
even on the Staff and a leader of the rebelling army. For those interested in history, the book serves as an important and interesting narrative of the goings-on of the war in this area of the world and leads towards a broader sense of World War One that
is removed from the more studied European theater. And this is merely another reason why the book is so interesting.
One of the difficulties in reading the Seven Pillars is Lawrence, mostly in the first book of his writing (that acts as a introduction to the region and the revolt) and to a lesser extent afterwards, makes comparisons of peoples and races that to many mod
ern readers would seem to be very insensitive and demeaning. Another difficulty is that his writing is that of a narrative and not a pure history; Lawrence considers his opinions on policy and warfare to be correct most of the time, lambasting those who d
isagree with him as slow-witted dullards.
However, if one can get past these arguably minor problems with the book, they will find it to be a extremely informative narrative of the Revolt that is truly first-rate. One can see through Lawrence's writing not only a military history of his involveme
nt in the Revolt, but Lawrence writes so that one can feel they are truly on the front. Especially valuable information can be gleaned from the descriptions of people that Lawrence has to deal with, whether they are British or Arab, and it adds another di
mension to his work that one cannot gain from mere military history. Lawrence discusses supply problems, problems with the men in the army, and also diplomatic problems that stem from the people he works with and the professional opinions of those officer
s he disagrees with. These writings show in a very clear way how armies do not run smoothly and without dissent; his narrative does a first-rate job in explaining conflicts between the Arab leaders and tribes and between the soldiers in the Allied Army an
d at the British headquarters. However, we can see where Lawrence considers himself to be correct once again as he (gleefully, it seems) denigrates his fellow officers and their conflicting opinions while writing.
Another problem is that Lawrence faces an inner conflict. He personally has to deal with being a British soldier who knows that if things go wrong, he and Britain would have to abandon the Revolt and the culture that he has come to assimilate himself in.
Without British arms and explosives, and overall Allied support, the Rebellion would probably not have survived when faced with such a withdrawal of support.
The Anchor edition is a surprisingly good edition for a paperback, and contains many black and white illustrations of the author and of the Allies and Arabs that Lawrence had contact with in Arabia. Most of the drawings are extremely life-like in their re
presentations of their subject. Occasionally, we can see how Lawrence also looked at different times and in different dress, and this is a added dose of realism.
Overall, the Seven Pillars of Wisdom does a first rate, admirable job of relating a history and narrative of this theater of operations, but it most certainly does not conform to modern politically correct thought. Lawrence writes as a man who has not jus
t experienced the Arab culture but in fact assimilated himself into it, and with his unique view on the Revolt and the War he presents a narrative that is not very different from that of a military history but leaves one with a view that is fuller and dee
per about the First World War. MR