Hero the Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia

[Philip Wilson]

Hero The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia by Michael Korda, 2010. First published in Great Britain in 2011 by JR Books, London, 762 pages, well illustrated with a good selection of supporting maps, excellent index. Hard copy ISBN 978-1-907532-29-0

Extensive bibliography (4 pages) with 24 pages of notes linked to 684 entries within the text.

The style of writing is very readable indeed demonstrating that the author has given considerable thought to the range of subjects covered, drawing extensively on many differing sources. This is an exceptionally good book revealing the real man - T.E.Lawrence - as he truly was.

I agree with The New York Times assessment for 'The Strength of Hero lies in its ability to analyse Lawrence's accomplishments and to add something meaningful to the larger body of Lawrence lore,,,'

Lawrence vanished into the desert in 1917 and re-emerged as one of the most remarkable and controversial figures of World War 1 – whose capacity to astonish remains undimmed.

[Len Trim]

Gets a good review in today's Sunday Times.

Len

[Martin Bennitt]

Another review here

cheers Martin B

[ackimzey]

I just finished this book and found it very "readable". I read it on my KindleDX and sadly the illustrations and maps lacked good resolution but the content was no problem.

Ann

[Philip Wilson]

I just finished this book and found it very "readable". I read it on my KindleDX and sadly the illustrations and maps lacked good resolution but the content was no problem.

Ann

Ann - each to their own - personally I prefer a book which I can read alongside other published books. Glad you enjoyed reading it. Another useful book I found recently in a second hand book shop is Daughter of the Desert - The Remarkable Life of Gertrude Bell by Georgina Howell published in 2006. The more one reads the more the fragments from the past begin to form a gigantic jigsaw puzzle.

[ackimzey]

Phillip, I do agree, I still prefer books, but the Kindle was a gift from my lovely daughter and son-in-law and I "bought" the book with an Amazon gift card which covered the cost of the Kindle edition but not the "hard back". Being a child of depression era parents (waste not, want not philosophy) and not wanting to hurt my "children's" feelings, I do use the Kindle--just not all the time. And now to top it off, they've given me an IPad. I'm still struggling with that but how can I complain with their thoughtfulness ... They have such faith in my ability to master all this new technology.

Ann

[Honora]

'The more one reads, the more the fragments from the past begin to form a gigantic jigsaw puzzle.,

Picked up Korda's book in our local library - finding it fascinating, not just for the story of Lawrence's life but for the whole situation in the Middle East one hundred years ago.

Honora

[Philip Wilson]

'The more one reads, the more the fragments from the past begin to form a gigantic jigsaw puzzle.,

Honora - the more one studies the contribution of individuals within one or more conflicts, then the more one realises that history at this level is often fragmentary. Years later when least expected another part of the gigantic jigsaw puzzle reveals itself ,opening up further avenues to explore.