T.E. Lawrence – författare

With an Introduction by Angus Calder.As Angus Calder states in his introduction to this edition, 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom is one of the major statements about the fighting experience of the First World War'. Lawrence's younger brothers, Frank and Will, had been killed on the Western Front in 1915. Seven Pillars of Wisdom, written between 1919 and 1926, tells of the vastly different campaign against the Turks in the Middle East - one which encompasses gross acts of cruelty and revenge and ends in a welter of stink and corpses in the disgusting 'hospital' in Damascus.Seven Pillars of Wisdom is no Boys Own Paper tale of Imperial triumph, but a complex work of high literary aspiration which stands in the tradition of Melville and Dostoevsky, and alongside the writings of Yeats, Eliot and Joyce.

'It ranks with the greatest books ever written in the English language.' So said Winston Churchill after reading T.E. Lawrence's 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom'.The book, a mixture of autobiography and military history, tells the story of the almost 'Boy's Own Adventures' of Lawrence as he helped the Arab leaders in their revolt against the Ottoman Empire from 1916. The escapades were given global attention in 1962, when the movie 'Lawrence of Arabia' was released. Very little Hollywood spin was needed. For the truth was extraordinary enough. Find out about sun-baked negotiations in the desert, near misses, friendship, tragedy and fierce desert battles.It is an autobiography that reads like fast-moving military fiction.Thomas Edward (T.E.) Lawrence (1888-1935) was a British archaeologist, writer, diplomat and army officer who became known as 'Lawrence of Arabia' through his role in the Arab Revolt (1916-1918). He was working in the British Army's intelligence unit in Egypt and - during missions in Mesopotamia and Arabia - liaised with the Arab forces that were fighting the Ottoman Empire.Lawrence worked closely with Emir Faisal, leader of the revolt, even taking charge of some military actions. Back in Britain after 1918, Lawrence joined the Foreign Office, then the Royal Air Force. In 1926 he wrote the autobiographical 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom', about his participation in the Arab Revolt. He also wrote 'The Mint', about his time in the RAF.Lawrence died in a motorcycle accident in Dorset in 1935. His public image was later to receive a huge boost when David Lean directed the 1962 movie 'Lawrence of Arabia', starring Peter O'Toole and Alec Guinness.EPUB3: Reflowable

Entraîné dans le désert brûlant d''Afrique du Nord en tant qu''agent au Service des renseignements militaires britannique, Lawrence est plongé au plein cœur des Révoltes Arabes. Parlant la langue des émirs bédouins, réalisant embuscades sur combats sanglants, traversant les étendues de sable à dos de chameaux, il aide ses nouveaux alliés à s''organiser à repousser les forces armées ottomanes. Bientôt, on le surnommera Lawrence d''Arabie…Best-seller mondial, autobiographie d''un officier, véritable révolution dans la façon de penser l''histoire et la guerre, « La Révolte dans le Désert » balaie les conceptions coloniales de la vieille Europe. Lawrence devient ainsi l''un des premiers occidentaux à défendre l''indépendance arabe, et offre une clef de lecture pour mieux comprendre le Moyen-Orient de notre temps.