The Young T. E. Lawrence

Although less than perfect I simply loved reading this book. I have enjoyed collecting and reading T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) biographies and his writings (especially his letters) for years. It has been great to see a renewed interest in Lawrence and his legacy as we enter the 100th anniversary of World War I. For those not familiar with Lawrence (or perhaps only introduced by the great but inaccurate David Lean film with Peter O'Toole) I suggest beginning with a full biography of his life that details his exceptional military and political accomplishments in the Arab Revolt against Ottoman Turkey in support of Arab nationalism. And how that support was undermined by the French and British after the war insistent on implementation of more colonialism nation building with "the folly of the imperialists...repeated". All leading to the disaster that is today's Middle East. (My suggestions would include, A Prince of our Disorder, the Life of T.E. Lawrence by John E Mack, The Authorized Biography of T. E. Lawrence by Jeremy Wilson, or the recent Michael Korda book Hero, The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia. Or the new interesting book by Scott Anderson, Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East which contains several biographies in addition to that of Lawrence.) All of these include some information on Lawrence as a young man, his family and attraction to the Middle East. So why then a book focusing on just the young Lawrence? This is a question Sattin even asked himself. His answer is compelling... he wanted to understand why Lawrence burned his first book entitled SEVEN PILLARS of WISDOM a month after England entered World War One. (Lawrence only saved the title for his masterpiece written just after the war which focused only as his memoir of the Arab Revolt.) And he wanted to learn what had prepared and motivated Lawrence for his unique role in the Arab Revolt. The exploits that earned Lawrence his immortality thanks in part to the media machine of Lowell Thomas. Sattin does wander about in his narrative and from time to time inserts his analysis and opinions, yet he does a remarkable job of telling an adventure story, a coming of age story, and brilliantly along the way humanizes Lawrence. I felt I got to know and understand Lawrence better than ever before and that I think is the books true accomplishment. There are many stories included of his education and school friendships, his brothers, and relationship with mentors and the fear of and concern with his Mother's approval. His relationship with the camel boy he befriends, Dahoum is fully explored and powerfully personalized without being sexual. Much of the book covers his years exploring Crusader Castles and as an archaeologist outside modern day Aleppo, Syria... Carchemish (an area that today being torn by a vicious religious civil war Lawrence predicted). Lawrence will always remain an enigma to most biographers. My view is that he was born to live between two worlds... of two dreams of Crusaders and Knights and English imperialism and the world of dreams for nationalism and freedom. He became that true specialist problem solver studying because of a unique personal interest and passion which developed a usefulness in a War he had hoped would come and free the Arabs. Sattin adds to this the dreams of the personal and private. Lawrence burned his first book because he thought he might be killed in the war. And something most personal was in his manuscript he wished to remain private especially from his Mother for whom he felt she would not have understood. The book is all that he burned. He did not burn his diaries, nor his thesis on Crusader Castles, nor his extensive letters. He did not learn until two years later in 1918 that Dahoum had died most likely in Lawrence's house at the Carchemish, Syria of typhoid fever in 1916. Lawrence always said that he had a personal reason beyond the military or political reason to lead the Arabs to independent freedom. The answer may be in the first lines of his poem written in the opening of SEVEN PILLARS of WISDOM for Dohoum. The gift of freedom was for Dahoum. "I loved you. So I drew these tides of men into my hands and wrote my will across the sky in stars. To earn you freedom, the seven pillared worthy house that your eyes might be shinning for me...When we came."

A fabulous book: beautifully written and very full of details. I've read lots of Lawrence bios, and this is among the best. It gives off some of the freshness of a young man setting out into a new world. It is the first I have read that really talks about the Crusader thesis in a cogent way (having said that, I would have liked a couple more diagram/illustrations of the points being made about castles, and a map of the later trip through the Sinai, etc., would have been helpful). It covers Lawrence's youth up until the outbreak of war in 1914 (actually it goes on to later in the year, as Lawrence, Newcombe, et al head for Cairo). The biographies generally deal with this period, but this is the first biography I've read that puts in place the uncanny way in which all Lawrence's pre-war travels and work fitted him ideally for the next phase of his life. For example, I'd totally forgotten that he'd seen and been part of the mapping of the areas around Aqaba in detail before the war. No wonder he felt confident in proposing the famous raid when the time came.

Anthony Sattin sets to demystify the life that T.E. Lawrence led before becoming the legend for which he has been known to this day. Mr. Sattin makes use of a wide range of sources to reveal Lawrence’s British-Irish family background, his uneven relationship with his mother, his complex rapport with Dahoum, his assistant and protégé, and his gradual transformation of student / archeologist into a British spy / liaison officer. To his credit, the author clearly demonstrates that rarely was a man so well prepared for his time of greatness. Lawrence brought to the British war effort in the Middle East an unusual physical and mental strength, a deep knowledge of the region, a fluency in Arabic, and an extraordinary ease with the Arab people. Mr. Sattin also makes it possible to better understand the unusual behavior that Lawrence displayed in the aftermath of WWI until his premature death in 1935. Whoever ambitions to bring peace one day to the Middle East can find inspiration in the words and deeds of a man who could see farther than the horizon. In summary, Mr. Sattin goes beyond the “what” to reveal the “why” and “how” Lawrence did what he did.

A very well researched and written biography that explores in fascinating detail, his life before he became the legend, Lawrence of Arabia. Highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the early part of Lawrence's life, a part that has never before been written about. Explores his relationship with members of the Archaeological dig at Carchemish including his Arab friend, Dahoum and implies that Lawrence may have been a spy for MI6. A great read for Lawrence fans.

I loved this book! It is a beautifully told story of one of recent history's extraordinary human beings. Not only do we see the quiet brilliance of young Lawrence, but his playfulness, love of beauty, and unflagging courage. It is a book for orientalists, archeologists, and encyclopedic museum buffs, but also for students of WWI and those desiring a better understanding of the present Middle East---of Syria, Iraq, Turkey, muslims, arabs, and kurds--and how West European meddling gave us what we have today, all brought to life vividly in captivating narrative. It is an account of a gifted gay youth in a world that hardly acknowledged such things, who found his brief happiness in escaping from the West. In the last analysis this is simply a love story.

Well written

Having had an interest in the life of Lawrence of Arabia and reading many, many books, this is the first that actually brings him into clarity. So many books about his life gloss over the period of which Mr. Sattin writes about clearly and in detail. He shows how the 'boy' becomes the 'man' and eventually the legend.

I am somewhat of a T. E. Lawrence "buff," since I did my graduate work in English Literature on his book "Seven Pillars of Wisdom". Because of that my impression of the book may not be the same as a more casual reader's will be. I found the book interesting as I always do when reading books or articles on Lawrence, but for me there was really nothing new in the material. However, that would not be true of the more casual reader. I would recommend the book to anyone with an interest in this charismatic hero whose legacy in the Middle East is a mixed one nowadays. So much has been written about Lawrence over the years that I congratulate Mr. Sattin for concentrating on a period of his life not so often remembered.