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Sir Basil Henry Liddell Hart
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Lawrence Of Arabia (Da Capo Paperback) Kindle Edition

by B. H. Liddell Hart (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 39 ratings
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T. E. Shaw, better known as Lawrence of Arabia, was one of the most romantic, heroic, and enigmatic figures of his day. The subject of myth and hagiography, he was equally accomplished in several fields -- as archaeologist, diplomat, writer, and soldier -- and he worked throughout World War I and after in the Middle East in efforts to promote independent Arab states. His autobiography Seven Pillars of Wisdom is one of the greatest works of its kind. The esteemed military historian B. H. Liddell Hart wrote this study of Lawrence in order to pierce the clouds of legend. He discussed Lawrence's Oxford days, his experiences as an intelligence officer in Egypt, and in particular the tactics of guerrilla warfare he practiced so effectively against the large Turkish armies during World War I. Liddell Hart was one of the few to give Lawrence his full justice as both a man and a brilliant soldier. Long out-of-print, this book unravels the many puzzling features of Lawrence's story and restores him to his proper place as one of the twentieth century's heroic, but very human, figures.
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    560 pages
  2. Language
    English
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    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Da Capo Press
  5. Publication date
    June 16, 2009
  6. File size
    7931 KB
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Captain Basil Henry Liddell Hart (1895-1970) was one of the foremost military theorists of our time. His many books include Scipio Africanus, Lawrence of Arabia, The Rommel Papers, and Sherman (all available from Da Capo Press).

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B009W7A5ZM
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Da Capo Press (June 16, 2009)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 16, 2009
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 7931 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 560 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 39 ratings

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Sir Basil Henry Liddell Hart

Sir Basil Henry Liddell Hart

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
39 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Ryan Steenson
5.0 out of 5 stars The Devil of the Desert
Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2024
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I have always believed that T.E. Lawrence was a great warrior and a brilliant military mind. It pleases me that B. H. Liddell Hart also believes this to be true. Combining this work with the other works of B. H. Liddell Hart, or even with the autobiography of T. E. Lawrence, paints a dynamic portrait that far exceeds the motion picture adaptation of the life of Lawrence of Arabia, which still deserves its place as a staple of cinema. Highly recommend.
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DDC
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book on TEL's combat career
Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2011
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This is a great analysis of the Lawrence's career in battle. It explains the military significance of Lawrence's actions, places those actions in historical context, and gives the reader a bigger picture of the campaign by detailing the other forces' actions. Of course, Liddell Hart is an excellent writer and the prose is great. Further, Liddell Hart's background as a strategist is very prominent in his analysis of Lawrence. If you are a Liddell Hart fan, you should read (or reread)  Strategy: Second Revised Edition (Meridian)  - it's very interesting to see how Liddell Hart's views of irregular warfare changed as he had the perspective of time to analyze the effects of Lawrence's actions in the Middle East.

With due respect to the other reviewers (and I mean that, since obviously we have some common interests!), I think the comparison to  A Prince of Our Disorder: The Life of T. E. Lawrence  is misplaced. Prince is, at it's heart, a psychological analysis of Lawrence, which Arabia does not try to be or claim to be. True, there are 50 pages in the beginning giving the reader background on Lawrence, but when this was written there wasn't a great biography. And, while there are 50-60 pages at the end on Liddell Hart's personal interactions with Lawrence, I viewed this more as a great first hand account of what it was like to know him, rather than an attempt at a comprehensive biography.

If you've read  Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph: The Complete 1922 Text  and thought, "Lawrence is an interesting fellow and I'd like to know more about the man" then I suggest you read Prince first, then this book. If, on the other hand, you were more interested in the military action, I'd read this and then Prince. Either way, however, no study of Lawrence would be complete without this book for his military career and Prince for his personal life.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in military matters or T.E. Lawrence.
12 people found this helpful
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Keith C.
5.0 out of 5 stars Favorite Biography of Lawrence
Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2020
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I was surprised and impressed by the easy style of BL Hart, which I had expected to be very formal. This book is interesting even for someone who has read several other biographies and gives a very good account of the events leading Turkey into WWI
One person found this helpful
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Hobbes' Mother
5.0 out of 5 stars Saddle up your armchair camel and you're off to the desert!!
Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2014
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Excellent! Loved every page, but then again I'm a fan. Hart's treatment of the enigmatic Lawrence was a pleasure to follow. I much preferred it to the "Lawrence IN Arabia." Currently reading Michael Korda's,"HERO: The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia" and it, too, is very pleasurable reading. The best of all the Lawrence books is the "Authorized Biography of T E Lawrence" by Jeremy Wilson. B H Lidell Hart's is a close second.
4 people found this helpful
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B. Zogby
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read
Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2020
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A great read and gives you good insight into TE Lawrence’s genius for irregular warfare. He rightly deserved his fame.
2 people found this helpful
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Hancock the Superb
3.0 out of 5 stars The Direct Approach to Lawrence
Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2013
Written by England's foremost military theorist, Basil Liddel Hart's biography provides the first "serious" biography of TE Lawrence. Despite his sober bearings and reputation, Liddell Hart proves no less susceptible to hero worship than his predecessors.

The balance of Liddell Hart's book analyzes Lawrence's military campaigns. Liddell Hart views Lawrence as a brilliant leader, worthy of comparison to "great captains" like Clausewitz, Napoleon and Marlborough. Using minimal resources against a numerically and technologically superior foe, Lawrence "turn(ed) the weakness of the Arabs into an asset, and the strength of the Turks into a debit" (383).

Liddell Hart draws uncritically on Lawrence's writings, often to the point of paraphrase. But his strategic and tactical analysis frequently proves unassailable. Consider his analysis of Lawrence's most famous military achievement: (pp. 166-167)

"Tactically, the Aqaba operation had inflicted a permanent loss of some 1,200 men... on the Turks - at a cost of two men killed in the conquering force... By the strictest canons of orthodox strategy... it was an unrivaled achievement. The British forces in trying unsuccessfully to capture Gaza [under Murray]... had only succeeded in killing or capturing 1,700 Turks at a permanent cost to themselves of 3,000 men... They had sacrificed roughly two men to kill one Turk, the same number that the Arabs sacrificed to kill 1,200 Turks!"

Liddell Hart broods on Lawrence's interlude at Wadi Ais, one of Seven Pillars' more dubious passages. Liddell Hart takes it at face value, marveling at Lawrence formulating "a new theory of irregular warfare" (138) while racked with fever. He emphasizes Lawrence's campaign against the Hejaz Railway, but downplays the Royal Navy's decisive role in capturing Wejh. He views Lawrence's ephemeral victory at Tafileh as a "gem" (215), while skimming over his failed 1918 Dead Sea Campaign. The Arabs become a feverish mass, indecisive until Lawrence prods them into action.

While Liddell Hart's personal views shape his portrait (both his friendship with Lawrence and advocacy of indirect strategy), his analysis is shrewd. It's possible to overstate Lawrence's tactical achievements, but he undeniably influenced military theory: guerrilla leaders from Orde Wingate to Vo Nguyen Giap drew inspiration from Seven Pillars, while American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq study Lawrence's 27 Articles. Those scoffing at the small number of Arabs joining King Hussein's revolt miss the point of asymmetrical warfare, so beautifully elucidated by Liddell Hart. For minimal casualties and lucre, the Arab Revolt provided the British an extremely useful sideshow.

Liddell Hart proves less shrewd otherwise analyzing his subject. He seems just as credulous to Lawrence's tall tales and evasions as Thomas or Graves. He sketches Lawrence's early years thinly, omitting Lawrence's illegitimacy or tense relationship with his mother. Even this early in Lawrence literature, inconsistencies emerge. For one, Lawrence's pre-war ambush by a Syrian bandit (9) differs significantly from Graves: in this telling, Lawrence thwarts the bandit by dissembling his pistol. More notably, Liddell Hart downplays Lawrence's complicity in the Tafas Massacre (287-288), when Lawrence himself is shockingly forthright.

Liddell Hart notes Lawrence's artistic interests, highlighting his "process of swift mental appreciation" (12), "extraordinary charm" (13) and "ha[ving] an instinctive shyness born of a sense of difference" (258). He relates amusing anecdotes like Lawrence's confronting an imposter: "Had he stuck to his statement I should have begun to question myself," says his subject (369). There's also his passage on Lawrence's postwar military service, finding "a sense of fulfillment, reinforced by a sense of futility" in being a gentleman ranker (330), and proving rare in 'adjusting his opinions to his knowledge" (375). These passages provide valuable insight into Lawrence's personality.

But Liddell Hart's views of Lawrence often prove simplistic or worse. The author's "reasoned belief in the benefits of British administration" (309) distorts Lawrence's efforts at Paris and Cairo to reconcile British, French and Arab war aims. Nor can we credit his view of Lawrence as a "Crusader" (374), a melodramatic flash out of Lowell Thomas. When all else fails, Liddell Hart falls back on starry-eyed hagiography. He melodramatically ends by announcing that "in [Lawrence] the Spirit of Freedom came incarnate to a world in fetters" (390), a messiah cut down in his prime.

This passage points up T.E. Lawrence in Arabia and After's primary shortcoming. Liddell Hart the historian can scrutinize Lawrence's campaigns with clarity and insight. But Liddell Hart the man can't see Lawrence as anything but a friend, seemingly lacking guile or fault. The resulting tome merely cocoons the Lawrence myth in a scholarly patina, begging for skeptics to bust it open.
6 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Michael Peter Landon
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 26, 2014
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I have already reviewed this book which was also shown under my wife's account. Nevertheless a fascinating analysis of one of the leading players in the Middle Eastern war against the Turks. Highly recommended.
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