Seven Pillars of Wisdom (Wordsworth Classics of World Literature)

Most interesting story; actual history; detailed life of the Arabs at war, the manner of their living in the desert & in the oases & a look at how the British officers looked at the war scene & played a part in it. A look into how war was fought 100 years ago. The inclusion of the maps of the various regions where the battles were being fought is very interesting & most important. The story or review is told in a beautiful, easy to read prose & is really, a delight to read.

BOOK REVIEW: “Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph” By T. E. Lawrence
Review by Susan Marie Molloy

Thomas Edward Lawrence is better known as T. E. Lawrence, and is best known as Lawrence of Arabia. He was an officer in the British Army and is renowned for his role as a liaison during the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Turks and the Sinai-Palestine Campaign in the early twentieth century.

Proverbs 9:1 is the source of Lawrence’s title of his masterpiece work (“Wisdom hath built herself a house, she hath hewn her out seven pillars"), and this book is a tour de force of not only military history, but is a deep insight into Arab social customs and breathtaking descriptions of the landscapes in which Lawrence travelled.

While this is a lengthy book, it reads in the typically beautifully written literary style of the period, with spectacular descriptions and comprehensive analyses. For examples:

“The moral freshness of the world-to-be intoxicated us. We were wrought up in ideas inexpressible and vaporous, but to be fought for. . . . You could win, but had not learned to keep; and was pitiably weak against age. We stammered that we had worked for a new heaven and a new earth, and they thank us kindly and made their peace.”
:
“. . . the heat of Arabia came out like a drawn sword and struck us speechless. It was midday; and the noon sun in the East, like moonlight, put to sleep the colors.”

“The dead men looked wonderfully beautiful. The night was shining gently down, softening them into new ivory. . . . round them lapped the dark wormwood, now heavy with dew, in which the ends of the moonbeams sparkled like sea-spray.”

What struck me as most impressive is Lawrence’s masterful use of the English language. As the reader undulates between the pages from descriptions of meals to treks through stifling heat to the blood of battle, one can definitely feel and experience all that Lawrence did.

It’s a rare treat to read a book that immerses you so deeply in another’s life that you feel you are with him on all adventures.

I highly recommend “Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph.”

© Susan Marie Molloy and all works within.

Started out as a good fictional novel, but after 50 to 75 pages it became way too graphic for me. I can follow along with profanity, but when the author adds extremely graphic sexual information it becomes too much. Although I am an adult, I am not looking for a soft-pornography novel. If you enjoy these types of novel then you may enjoy the blend of history, fiction, and pornography, but was not suited for me.

An easy read!! A starting point for explanations of the current situation in the middle east and how they came to be.
A must for those who cares enough about the world to not bury their head in the sand because of popular opinion..

I read this book about sixty years ago but lacked the background knowledge to appreciate it fully. Now, with some experience behind me I found it much easier to read and much more enlightening about Lawrence's story and the environment as well as the times in which the events took place.

A rare book, this, being full of of action (blown-up trains, air raids, battles) yet also containing much food for thought (strategy, history, insecurity). Also one of those rare books whose length, though daunting at first, quickly becomes a pleasure because you get to enjoy the story longer. Again a rare book because it devotes much time and detail to his desert journeys, with a lot said about a character not well-known: the camel. Ultimately though, it's a fairly commonplace book, one among many proving that true stories will always top fiction. :-)

Note: If you don't enjoy stories that take time to develop, run away screaming from this book!

A word about typos, which probably were scanning errors. The word "life" is invariably shown as "Me," and the name "Ali" is usually "Ah'."

He wrote of his experiences as though it was just your average situation. He dealt with his life and ups and downs sometimes as though he was a bit removed from them. I felt I was on this fantastic journey learning so much of other cultures, mostly unjudgemental in nature and very accepting of their ways without adopting them for himself or anyone else. It was beautifully written and the descriptions of the desert and the people were unforgettable. I would give this book ten thousand stars.

I bought this book as a connoisseur of First Word War history. It is very interesting. But it is so prodigiously long and dry that it took me several months to get half-way through it. I thought I was a pretty quick reader because I read the Lord of the Rings trilogy in a week and a half, but I was just outmatched by this book.

I have this in an early hardbound edition that weighs about 8 pounds. Carrying this one in my Kindle is so much more convenient. And it came bundled with a couple of his related works. T.E. Lawrence is a fascinating read; this is a much more complete picture than the movie "Lawrence of Arabia", which in itself is pretty amazing...

Although the book is highly informative and historically interesting, to me it was very boring. The action is extremelly slow, the descriptions too long and it is easy to lose sight of where the author is or what battle are they fighting

This should be prescribed reading for the West's politicians, diplomats and military. Only then will they realize the complexity of Arab culture and the quagmire of history, religion, "tribalism " feuds, distrust and downright hate that pervades the Levant and Arabian peninsula.

Not sure who edited or published this version of the book but it is filled to the gills with messed up sentences and typos. So much so that I had to quit reading it.. and I was actually really interested in finishing.

One hundred years after the battle between the Arabs and the Turks I am in Saudi Arabia training the military so this book has a lot of meaning and helps me understand the culture. Auda who is one of the Arab military leaders his great grandson is one of my colleagues. The book is so descriptive that as I travel through the desert I an imagine the soldiers on their camels planning operations.

Wonderfully written, this book is an important contribution toward an understanding of those times, when alliances were formed that led to the division of land and the uneasiness of today's Middle East. T.E. Lawrence, known as "Lawrence of Arabia," is its author and the central figure in this gripping, sometimes poetic account of his leadership among Arab tribes in fighting with the Allies against Germany and the Ottomans during World War I.

I read this Seven Pillars of Wisdom on my iPad, and frequently found myself highlighting passages that I will want to read again, because of their beautifully expressed observations of the land, of the people, and of Life, itself.

I have enjoyed Lawrence of Arabia many times and it is very enjoyable to read about his experiences in the desert with the Arabs and Bedouin peoples. This book makes the movie more enjoyable when you know a lot more about what was going on politically at that time.

Lawrence's opus of the Arabian peninsula during WWI is written in such a detailed manner that you can almost see, hear and smell the forces move. It gave some early 1900's insight into the difficulties we are having today and lowered my expectations of a resolution to the issues in the Middle East for the foreseeable future.

I bought this book because I'm really interested in Lawrence's story.
As soon as I received it, I opened it and found an 8 size Arial letter, impossible to read. I've never seen a book with this font size.
Ridiculous.

The story from the horse's mouth. Lots of interesting information about the war in arabia, but the map sucks. Either get or print out a map so you can see where the action moves. It moves constantly.

Good read for firsthand account from T. E. Lawrence concerning the Turkish front of WWI. There were a few grammatical and spelling errors in the Kindle version, but not so much you couldn't figure out what was being said.

This book, along with Gertrude Bell's "The Desert and the Sown," should be required reading for all troops and leaders involved with any Arab countries. But for the rest of us, just the curious, the book exposes us to Arab tribal differences and cultural practices, tactical warfare during the early 20th century, wonderful geographic descriptions, general social observations, WWI history, lessons about being flexible when things are not like they are at home, wherever that may be, and so much more.
My only disappointment with the book has nothing to do with Lawrence's contributions: the book size is a bit cumbersome, and I find frequent typos - sentences missing periods, misspellings, and such - all a bit distracting. Overall, though, I'm fascinated and excited to read about Lawrence's experiences and I appreciate his blunt, honest writing approach, making him so very human and accessible. This is a great read!

if you read about Lawrence you will understand what a mess England and France made out of Arabia when the greed of empire set in and they took the Arab lands and divided the countries between them. We are paying for that greed today in wars.

This book, along with Gertrude Bell's "The Desert and the Sown," should be required reading for all troops and leaders involved with any Arab countries. But for the rest of us, just the curious, the book exposes us to Arab tribal differences and cultural practices, tactical warfare during the early 20th century, wonderful geographic descriptions, general social observations, WWI history, lessons about being flexible when things are not like they are at home, wherever that may be, and so much more.
My only disappointment with the book has nothing to do with Lawrence's contributions: the book size is a bit cumbersome, and I find frequent typos - sentences missing periods, misspellings, and such - all a bit distracting. Overall, though, I'm fascinated and excited to read about Lawrence's experiences and I appreciate his blunt, honest writing approach, making him so very human and accessible. This is a great read!

if you read about Lawrence you will understand what a mess England and France made out of Arabia when the greed of empire set in and they took the Arab lands and divided the countries between them. We are paying for that greed today in wars.

After reading Lawrence's biography, I decided to read 7PW as a follow up. I guess Churchhill's comment as one of the great literary masterpieces in the English language is accurate, if Lawrence didn't use each and every word in the English language. I am a slow reader, am still plowing thru the last 100 or so pages, with the exasperating level of detail in the book begging me to skim to the end. Never the less, this book by a knowledgable and literary author with a flair for elaborately describing his experiences provides a vivid account of a time and part of the world few could visit.

This book is worth reading and re-reading in light of the contemporary Middle East challenges. Coupled with the books, "Lawrence in Arabia", and "A Peace to End All Peace", one begins to truly comprehend the issues that started over a century ago, and that Lawrence documented and alerted people to.

What a great book about a great warrior that unfolded in a fascinating way the life of this outstanding warrior who pioneered special forces type warfare. One of the most interesting and well written books that I have ever read. You won't want to put it down.

This is such a badly produced edition of this marvelous text that I am sending it back. It appears that the publisher scanned a previous edition and didn't bother to proofread the results. So within the first few pages, you get, for instance, "modem" for "modern," and "sown" instead of "town" twice. In addition to this, whoever prepared the pages did not know how to compose pages properly. The text is set with no hyphenation leading to very irregular lines which are difficult to follow. I found myself having to keep a finger under the line in order not to lose my place. Coupled with the proofreading issues, this makes this edition all but unreadable unless you like playing word guessing games... I am sending this back and have ordered the Penguin edition from England.

I've long admired Lawrence, and this is the extraordinary product of a singular and self-made adventurer. For historians, it's the record of the other side of the Great War, for the literate, a beautiful and poetic work, and for everyone, a proof that a man can be many things, rather than just one.

The book arrived on time and in excellent condition. The only drawback this edition has is the small size of fonts that makes the book difficult to read without strong glasses, a fault that is further amplified by the relative faint ink-paper combination.

The book is excellent, written in turn of the century British English, meaning there are many words that cannot be found in an Americcan dictionary. This actually adds to the charm. I was quite impressed with the author's knowledge of geology and its applicaation to the area.
My only real criticism is the use of very local place names, but with no maps. I read it on my Kindle, with a National Geographic atlas open on my lap, There is the distinct possibility that the original book version included maps.

Surprised by its literary quality. Started this book primarily for its history. The inside story of the Arab revolt does not disappoint. It's an amazing backdrop to today's Middle East. Lawrence's prose and description were fantastic. Especially enjoyed the open reflections of his own thinking.

This particular printing is very disappointing because it's so full of misprints that it becomes difficult to read. What's more disappointing is that you soon realize that this entire book was scanned from some other copy, and then printed without anyone taking the time to look at it, much less proof read it. Do not order this edition by BN Publishing!

Don't be fooled by the nice cover. Get yourself a copy from another publisher!

Inorder to understand current events this book should be be read in conjunction with Scott Anderson's "Lawrence in Arabia". One hundred years ago Lawrence foretold, or anticipated many of the current difficulties in the middle east. In the first few chapters of "Seven Pillars..." Lawrence lays out in a clear and concise way he history of the region and the internal struggles of its inhabitants that were unleashed when the Ottoman Empire began to disintegrate.

Plus side, this came very quickly but it looks nothing like the picture. It's not at all like in the picture, had i not known better i would've thought i had gotten a different book. The condition of the book is quite poor. I felt misled by the photo and now understand the price.

Wow! This book is a glimpse into history that we never read in any text book. While the Lawrence notes were lost, he had an amazing ability to recall the battles through the Middle East in the early 1900's. The language is a more formal English (think Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes), which makes it necessary to really pay attention. His distinction between different cultures of Arabic descent was fascinating, as he recognized each culture by many nuances where they were all lumped into the same category or Arabs by most of the Western world. His military strategy was based on the idea that losing even one soldier was one too many and war came at a high cost. I believe this made him a brilliant strategist. In a sense, it is also a book about doing what you feel is right in the moment, but questioning if you could have done something better later. This is a book you have to put the time in to appreciate, but you will thank yourself later. A must read!

T.E. Lawrence writes of these turbulent times with aplomb. He confides the duplicitous role he filled, uniting tribal Arabs to beat the Turks,yet knowing the spoils of this war (oil rich land) would go to France and England. The price for which we all continue to pay in today's war on terror. Great historical review of perhaps the only man to make unity in tribal Islam.

to have their land divided too benefit Colonial powers