The Mint: Lawrence after Arabia

In 1922, his dreams of an independent Arabia shattered, T.E. Lawrence enlisted in the RAF under the assumed name John Hume Ross. Though methodical and restrictive, life there seemed to suit Lawrence: 'The Air Force is not a man-crushing humiliating slavery, all its days. There is sun & decent treatment, and a very real measure of happiness, to those who do not look forward or back.'

With poetic clarity, Lawrence brings to life the harsh realities of barracks life and illuminates the strange ...