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

by James Barr

Overview

"Barr turns history into a drama, with bright writing and a fascinating cast of characters.” —Mary Foster, Associated Press

T. E. Lawrence’s classic Seven Pillars of Wisdom made the Arab revolt a legend and helped turn him into the mythical “Lawrence of Arabia.” Setting the Desert on Fire is both a masterly account of the intrigue behind the revolt and its startling consequences for the present-day Middle East and a portrait of Lawrence that brings fresh insight to the true nature of the master mythmaker.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393335279
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	07/06/2009
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	402
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.10(d)

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.

Table of Contents

Key Figures in This Book     vii
Maps     xi
A Note on the Text     xv
Prologue     1
A Clear-Thinking Hatchet Man     9
Will This Do?     21
The Uprising Starts and Stutters     34
The Blame Game Begins     43
The French Arrive     55
This Was the Man     62
Crisis over Rabigh     74
Turning Point     86
Wajh     97
The First Railway Raids     107
Differences over Tactics     124
Fighting for Us on a Lie     135
Stalemate in the Hijaz     146
Triumph at Aqaba     153
The Impact of Aqaba     160
Impolitic Truths     168
Difficult Times     180
Gaza and Yarmuk: Victory and Failure     189
Dara or Azrak: Where Was Lawrence? (15-21 November 1917)     201
The Balfour Declaration and Its Aftermath     207
Fighting De Luxe     219
New Conditions     229
A Complete Muck-Up     241
Preparing for the Push     252
Holding Operations     262
The Dara Raid     273
TheRoad to Damascus     287
A House with No Door     298
Epilogue     314
Notes     324
Bibliography     355
Acknowledgments     363
Permissions     365
Photograph Credits     367
Index     369

Editorial Reviews

"A tightly-focused, fast-paced account…Mr. Barr’s achievement is to tell Lawrence’s story more clearly and objectively, helping to make sense of a complex war fought in an unfamiliar land and language."

New York Sun - Adam Kirsch

"[James] Barr has written a compact, scrupulously accurate chronicle of the revolt and Lawrence’s role in it, utilizing previously unavailable archival material…An excellent general history of a widely misunderstood struggle that largely defined the shape of the modern Middle East."

Booklist

[James] Barr has written a compact, scrupulously accurate chronicle of the revolt and Lawrence's role in it, utilizing previously unavailable archival material...An excellent general history of a widely misunderstood struggle that largely defined the shape of the modern Middle East.-- "Booklist"

A tightly-focused, fast-paced account...Mr. Barr's achievement is to tell Lawrence's story more clearly and objectively, helping to make sense of a complex war fought in an unfamiliar land and language.--Adam Kirsch "New York Sun"

Barr expertly navigates an intriguing landscape of shifting alliances and labyrinthine politics peopled with eccentric characters to demystify a fascinating legend.-- "Publishers Weekly"

From the Publisher