Setting the Desert on Fire: T. E. Lawrence and Britain's Secret War in Arabia, 1916-1918 - Hardcover

9780393060409: Setting the Desert on Fire: T. E. Lawrence and Britain's Secret War in Arabia, 1916-1918
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Greed and intrigue combine explosively in this gripping tale of how the mercurial Lawrence of Arabia changed the Middle East forever.

It was T. E. Lawrence’s classic Seven Pillars of Wisdom that made the Arab Revolt a legend and helped turn the British intelligence officer into the mythical “Lawrence of Arabia.” But the intrigue behind the revolt and its startling consequences for the present-day Middle East have remained a mystery for nearly one hundred years. James Barr spent four years trawling declassified archives in Europe and crossing the hostile deserts of the Middle East to re-create the revolt as the international drama it really was. A colorful cast of Arab sheiks, British and French soldiers, spies, and diplomats come together in this gripping narrative of political maneuvering, guerrilla warfare, and imperial greed. Setting the Desert on Fire is a masterly account of a key moment in the history of the Middle East, and a portrait of Lawrence himself that is bright, nuanced, and full of fresh insights into the true nature of the master mythmaker.

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About the Author:
James Barr is the author of Setting the Desert on Fire. During the research for A Line in the Sand he was a Visiting Fellow at St Antony’s College, Oxford. He lives in London.
From Publishers Weekly:
British historian Barr re-examines World War I's  'Great Arab Revolt'  led by the legendary Lawrence of Arabia in this exhaustively researched and vividly narrated history. Thomas Edward Lawrence was a young British intelligence officer when he undertook to organize Arab resistance to the Ottoman Empire, a German ally. The Turkish (Ottoman) sultan was also the caliph—spiritual leader of Muslims worldwide—and the British feared that his call for jihad threatened their eastern empire. To secure Arab support against the Turks, the British offered them a hazy declaration of future independence. Led by Lawrence, an eccentric amateur who adopted the flowing robes of his desert allies, the Arabs began a guerrilla campaign against the Hijaz Railway, the Turks' supply line between Damascus and Medina. Lawrence's driving obsession was to capture Damascus and foil French ambitions in Syria. As the war in Europe was ending, the Arabs occupied Damascus and Lawrence installed an Arab government. Upon the war's conclusion, Middle Eastern matters were peripheral. Britain then yielded Syria to France, denying Arab independence and initiating a new legacy, of increasingly bitter relations. Barr expertly navigates an intriguing landscape of shifting alliances and labyrinthine politics peopled with eccentric characters to demystify a fascinating legend. illus. (Feb.)
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  • PublisherW. W. Norton & Company
  • Publication date2008
  • ISBN 10 0393060403
  • ISBN 13 9780393060409
  • BindingHardcover
  • Number of pages400
  • Rating

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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: New. 1st Edition. THERE IS A BLACK "CLOSEOUT/REMAINDER" MARK ON THE TOP PAGE EDGES. During World War I, the region now known as the Middle East was a turbulent, violent zone, as warring Western powers scrabbled for resources and influence while the local -- the Arabs and the Turks of the Ottoman Empire -- fought their own battles and found their own allies. The hot, shifting sands from Anatolia to Aden in the west to Kabul and the edge of India in the east were the scene of infighting, backstabbing, and ferocious political and military intrigue as these key players sketched out the bloody lines that in many instances continue to divide the region today. Setting the Desert on Fire shines new light on the crucial period of 1916 - 1918, meticulously detailing the political tensions and military strategy that underpinned Western efforts to manipulate tribes and exploit religious schisms in pursuit of power and the control of increasingly essential resources. Looming large in the history of the Middle East is the near-mythic figure of T.E. Lawrence -- "Lawrence of Arabia" -- a feisty young British intelligence officer in the Arab Bureau who knew the region and its fractious tribal leaders well. Lawrence played a key role in the British efforts to set off an Arab revolt, a rebellion against the Ottoman Turks from within that would deliver control to the British while undermining French influence. James Barr spent four years unearthing details from declassified archives in Europe and crossing the hostile deserts of the Middle East to re-create the revolt as the international drama it really was. A colorful cast of Arab sheiks, British and French soldiers, spies, and diplomats come together in this gripping narrative of political maneuvering, guerrilla warfare, and imperial greed. Setting the Desert on Fire is a masterly account of a key moment in the history of the Middle East and a portrait of Lawrence himself that is bright, nuanced, and full of fresh insights into the true nature of the master mythmaker. THERE IS A BLACK "CLOSEOUT/REMAINDER" MARK ON THE TOP PAGE EDGES. Seller Inventory # 001532

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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Greed and intrigue combine explosively in this gripping tale of how the mercurial Lawrence of Arabia changed the Middle East forever. It was T. E. Lawrences classic Seven Pillars of Wisdom that made the Arab Revolt a legend and helped turn the British intelligence officer into the mythical Lawrence of Arabia. But the intrigue behind the revolt and its startling consequences for the present-day Middle East have remained a mystery for nearly one hundred years. James Barr spent four years trawling declassified archives in Europe and crossing the hostile deserts of the Middle East to re-create the revolt as the international drama it really was. A colorful cast of Arab sheiks, British and French soldiers, spies, and diplomats come together in this gripping narrative of political maneuvering, guerrilla warfare, and imperial greed. Setting the Desert on Fire is a masterly account of a key moment in the history of the Middle East, and a portrait of Lawrence himself that is bright, nuanced, and full of fresh insights into the true nature of the master mythmaker. Seller Inventory # DADAX0393060403

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