Description

The authoritative and illuminating biography of T. E. Lawrence – the man who inspired the iconic film Lawrence of Arabia – from “The World’s Greatest Living Explorer” Ranulph Fiennes.

Thomas Edward Lawrence first set foot on the hot sands of Arabia in 1909.
By 1918 there was a GBP20,000 price on his head.

His journey to this point has long been legend. From his first postings as archaeologist, liaison and map officer, to fighting alongside guerrilla forces during the Arab Revolt. Journeying more than 300 miles through blistering heat to capture Aqaba, to his involvement in peace conferences that decided the future of the Middle East. Lawrence gave over his life the Middle East and its people.

A legend in his own lifetime, Lawrence’s epic story has always been ripe for the retelling – but Ranulph Fiennes is no ordinary biographer . . . Having led Arab troops into battle on the Arabian peninsula in a war fought only fifty years later. Fiennes too discovered the wonders of these far-flung lands and the people who live there, and is one of very few who can claim a true insight into the kind of life that Lawrence lived – bold and adventurous to the end.

With detailed access to records and an in-depth knowledge, Lawrence of Arabia is at long last a true and full account of this mysterious adventurer who captivated the world.

‘Corking, rip-roaring, crisply written, full of extraordinary characters. We follow Lawrence’s band of camel-borne warriors as they gallop through 600 miles of blistering heat to capture Aqaba on the Red Sea, along the way blowing up railway lines and enemy troop trains. An immaculate retelling of this cracking story’ Daily Mail

Publisher Review

Praise for Ranulph Fiennes * - * Fiennes' own experiences certainly allow him to write vividly and with empathy of the hell that the men went through. * The Sunday Times * A valuable corrective to the trend of Scott debunking...One by one, and with the commendable attention to detail, Fiennes explodes the accumulated myths. * Sunday Telegraph * THE definitive book on my hero Shackleton and no one could have done it better. "The Boss" would have heartily approved of such an authentic account by one of the few men who truly knows what it's like to challenge Antarctica. * Lorraine Kelly * Sir Ranulph Fiennes has done Captain Scott's memory some service...he has certainly written a more dispassionate and balanced account than Huntford ever set out to do. -- Simon Courtauld * Spectator * Full of awe-inspiring details of hardship, resolve and weather that defies belief, told by someone of unique authority. No one is more tailor-made to tell [this] story than Sir Ranulph Fiennes * Newsday *