Lawrence Of Arabia: The Man And The Motive

THOMAS EDWARD LAWRENCE was the illegitimate child of an Irish baronet, and the stigma of bastardy lay heavily on this man who was to become one of the most outstanding figures in recent history. What compulsion drove Lawrence, a student of archaeology, to grasp his historic role? Why did he ride across Arabia's endless sands, huddle in nomad tents, the self-appointed English emissary conferring secretly with the Arabs? Why did he storm the citadels of the English to plead the Arab cause to Gen­eral Allenby? How did he endure capture and torture in Deraa? What untold strength led him to escape and ultimate victory? This biography tells his story - the story of a man who achieved the impossible, and who turned away from the rewards of his labor when recognition was at hand, retiring into the obscurity from which he came • • . a mysterious figure to the last.