Hero_ The Life And Legend Of Lawrence Of Arabia Part 16

Though n.o.body said so at the inquest, his death was yet another proof that a motorcycle accident at any any speed is dangerous. The helmets of the day were not scientifically designed to prevent head injury, and in any case Lawrence never wore a proper helmet-in extremely bad weather he sometimes wore a leather flying helmet, which would have offered no protection from impact. If he had landed on his side he might have suffered nothing worse than a few broken bones, but he was thrown forward and instead landed on his head, fracturing the skull. speed is dangerous. The helmets of the day were not scientifically designed to prevent head injury, and in any case Lawrence never wore a proper helmet-in extremely bad weather he sometimes wore a leather flying helmet, which would have offered no protection from impact. If he had landed on his side he might have suffered nothing worse than a few broken bones, but he was thrown forward and instead landed on his head, fracturing the skull.

The subsequent inquest and many further investigations by private individuals do not provide much more than this in the way of fact. A soldier, Corporal Catchpole, who heard the crash and ran to the site of the accident claimed to have seen a black car speeding away from the scene; the boys denied that they were riding side by side, no doubt warned by their parents not to admit that they had been breaking the law, though they were notorious for larking about on the road; and some people have speculated that the front brake cable in Lawrence's Brough may have snapped, although this seems unlikely: Lawrence was always conscientious to the point of fussiness about maintaining his bikes.

Catchpole flagged down a pa.s.sing army lorry, and ordered the driver to take Lawrence and one of the boys, who had sustained minor injuries, to the Bovington camp hospital, the nearest medical facility, where Lawrence was quickly identified. After that the army took control, although Lawrence was a civilian and the accident had taken place on a civilian road. All ranks were warned that they were not to talk to newspapermen, and reminded that they were subject to the Official Secrets Act; newspaper editors were informed that bulletins about Lawrence's health would be issued by the War Office. As anyone could have predicted, this had the effect of increasing interest in Lawrence's crash, adding a note of mystery to what was simply a tragic road accident. Even without that, however, it was a major news story throughout the world. Arnold Lawrence was informed of the accident by the Cambridge police, and arrived the next day at Clouds Hill with his wife.

Lawrence lay unconscious in the hospital at the army camp he had disliked so much when he was exiled from his beloved RAF. Distinguished specialists in brain injuries were sent for; the king dispatched two of his own physicians, including the future Lord Dawson of Penn, and telephoned himself, asking to be kept informed. The Home Office, not wanting affairs left entirely in the hands of the military, sent two plainclothes officers from Scotland Yard, one to sit in Lawrence's room, while his relief slept on a cot outside in the corridor. To be fair, this was probably less from any fear of foreign agents or security issues than to prevent an enterprising newspaper photographer from finding a way in to take a picture of Lawrence on his deathbed.

Everything that could be done was done, given the limited facilities of the Bovington camp hospital; but as the doctors had concluded after examining Lawrence, the case was hopeless.

Lawrence lingered six days, never regaining consciousness, with his lungs becoming increasingly congested, and died just after eight in the morning on Sunday, May 19.

He was forty-six years old.

Postmortem examination revealed that Lawrence would have lost his memory and would have been paralyzed had he survived.

He was buried in the nearby churchyard of Moreton. His old friend Ronald Storrs (now Sir Ronald, and governor of Cyprus) was the chief pallbearer. The others were the artist Eric Kennington; Colonel Stewart Newcombe, who had known Lawrence since the Sinai survey before the war; a neighbor; and two service friends of Lawrence's, one from the army and the other from the RAF.

The small ceremony was quiet, despite a mob of photographers and reporters, and many of Lawrence's friends were present: Winston Churchill and his wife, Lady Astor, Mrs. Thomas Hardy, Allenby, Siegfried Sa.s.soon, Lionel Curtis, Augustus John, Wavell, Alan Dawnay. As the coffin was lowered into the ground the soldier and the airman, on opposite sides of the grave, shook hands over it; and at the last moment a neighbor's little girl ran forward and threw a bunch of violets on the top of it.

Nancy Astor, in tears, ran to put her arms around Churchill, who was also in tears, and cried, "Oh, Winnie, Winnie, we've lost him."

The king's message to Arnold Lawrence would appear the next day in the Times: Times: The King has heard with sincere regret of the death of your brother, and deeply sympathizes with you and your family in this sad loss.Your brother's name will live in history, and the King gratefully recognizes his distinguished services to his country and feels that it is tragic that the end should have come in this manner to a life still so full of promise.

Perhaps fortunately, because of his gifts of description, Ronald Storrs-who had taken the young Lawrence with him on his journey to Jidda in 1916, and had watched him wave good-bye from the sh.o.r.e at Rabegh, the day before his ride up-country to the meeting with Feisal and, in Storrs's words, to "write his page, brilliant as a Persian miniature, in the History of England"-was the last to see him before his burial.

I stood beside him lying swathed in fleecy wool; stayed until the plain oak coffin was screwed down. There was nothing else in the mortuary chamber but a little altar behind his head with some lilies of the valley and red roses. I had come prepared to be greatly shocked by what I saw, but his injuries had been at the back of his head, and beyond some scarring and discolouration over the left eye, his countenance was not marred. His nose was sharper and delicately curved, and his chin less square. Seen thus, his face was the face of Dante with perhaps the more relentless mouth of Savonarola; incredibly calm, with the faintest flicker of disdain.... Nothing of his hair, nor of his hands was showing; only a powerful cowled mask, dark-stained ivory against the dead chemical sterility of the wrappings. It was somehow unreal to be watching beside him in these cerements, so strangely resembling the aba, aba, the the kuffiya kuffiya and the and the agal agal of an Arab Chief, as he lay in his last littlest room, very grave and strong and n.o.ble. of an Arab Chief, as he lay in his last littlest room, very grave and strong and n.o.ble.

His plain, modest headstone merely describes him as "T. E. Lawrence, Fellow of All Souls College," as if even in death he was still resisting the rank of colonel and all his decorations. Below are inscribed the words: The hour is coming & now isWhen the dead shall hearThe Voice of theSON OF G.o.dAnd they that hear shall live.

They were placed there, we may be sure, to please his mother, rather than from any wish of Lawrence's, who was at best a nominal Christian. At the foot of the grave is a smaller stone, in the shape of an open book, bearing the words "dominus illuminatio mea," which may be translated "The Lord is my light," but which can also mean "May G.o.d enlighten me."

The open book and the Latin phrase form part of the heraldic coat of arms of Oxford University, and it is perhaps the most fitting memorial to Lawrence, who grew up among the ancient walls and towers of Oxford, and whose character was formed by it more than by any other single element, perhaps the most extreme example of the scholar turned hero in the eleven centuries of its existence.

* A full set of equipment consisted of large pack, small pack, webbing belt, ammunition pouches, canteen and bayonet holders, rifle sling, and all the straps that held everything together; it had to be a.s.sembled in an exact pattern, bra.s.s buckles gleaming. A full set of equipment consisted of large pack, small pack, webbing belt, ammunition pouches, canteen and bayonet holders, rifle sling, and all the straps that held everything together; it had to be a.s.sembled in an exact pattern, bra.s.s buckles gleaming.

*Clare Sydney Smith would eventually write a touching book about her friends.h.i.+p with Lawrence, The Golden Reign. The Golden Reign. Nancy Astor (Viscountess Astor), the first woman member of Parliament, had a relations.h.i.+p with Lawrence that was certainly flirtatious-she was the only woman who rode pillion behind him on his motorcycle-but she was rather too formidable a personality to be described as a flirt. Nancy Astor (Viscountess Astor), the first woman member of Parliament, had a relations.h.i.+p with Lawrence that was certainly flirtatious-she was the only woman who rode pillion behind him on his motorcycle-but she was rather too formidable a personality to be described as a flirt.

* "Bus," like "kite," is RAF slang for an aircraft, particularly a multiengine bomber or transport, and by extension also a motor vehicle of any kind. "Bus," like "kite," is RAF slang for an aircraft, particularly a multiengine bomber or transport, and by extension also a motor vehicle of any kind.

* Lawrence printed 128 "complete" copies (with all the ill.u.s.trations) for the subscribers, as well as thirty-six complete copies and twenty-six incomplete copies (the latter lacking some of the ill.u.s.trations) to give away to friends, plus twenty-two copies without plates and certain textual omissions to go to the George h. Doran Company in New York, some to secure U.S. copyright, others to be offered for sale at the prohibitively high price of $200,000 a copy (about $3.2 million in today's money). of these copies, Lawrence kept six. ( Lawrence printed 128 "complete" copies (with all the ill.u.s.trations) for the subscribers, as well as thirty-six complete copies and twenty-six incomplete copies (the latter lacking some of the ill.u.s.trations) to give away to friends, plus twenty-two copies without plates and certain textual omissions to go to the George h. Doran Company in New York, some to secure U.S. copyright, others to be offered for sale at the prohibitively high price of $200,000 a copy (about $3.2 million in today's money). of these copies, Lawrence kept six. (Letters, 295, 466, quoted in hyde, Solitary in the Ranks.) * Perhaps more than any other single t.i.tle, Perhaps more than any other single t.i.tle, Revolt in the Desert Revolt in the Desert ensured the survival and profitability of its U.K. publisher, Jonathan Cape. ensured the survival and profitability of its U.K. publisher, Jonathan Cape.

* Lawrence had met robert Graves when Graves came up to Jesus College, oxford, as an undergraduate after the war (in which he had served with distinction as an infantry officer, and which he would later describe in Lawrence had met robert Graves when Graves came up to Jesus College, oxford, as an undergraduate after the war (in which he had served with distinction as an infantry officer, and which he would later describe in Goodbye to All That Goodbye to All That). Graves had by then already achieved some fame as one of the British war poets, and he would go on to write more than 140 books before his death in 1985 at the age of ninety.

* By this time Lawrence had changed his name by deed poll to Shaw. Legally and officially he had abandoned the name which his father had chosen on leaving ireland, and which Lawrence himself had made famous. it made little difference, of course-to most of the world he remained and would always remain "Lawrence"-but it at least removed the objection of some officers to the fact that he was serving in the ranks under a false name. By this time Lawrence had changed his name by deed poll to Shaw. Legally and officially he had abandoned the name which his father had chosen on leaving ireland, and which Lawrence himself had made famous. it made little difference, of course-to most of the world he remained and would always remain "Lawrence"-but it at least removed the objection of some officers to the fact that he was serving in the ranks under a false name.

* The figure of 5100,000 in 1927 would be about $1.6 million today; 5,000 would be about 5375,000. The figure of 5100,000 in 1927 would be about $1.6 million today; 5,000 would be about 5375,000.

* All this may sound familiar to the reader eighty-two years later. All this may sound familiar to the reader eighty-two years later.

*Those who favor this policy today (in much the same area where Lawrence was in 1928) should bear those doubts in mind. Whether by biplane or by drone, bombing people's villages and killing their wives and children will inflame, not put down, an insurgency.

* The luxurious liners of the Peninsula & orient Steams.h.i.+p Company were the preferred way of traveling to and from Britain to the British colonies in the east; they played much the same role as the French Messageries Maritimes. The luxurious liners of the Peninsula & orient Steams.h.i.+p Company were the preferred way of traveling to and from Britain to the British colonies in the east; they played much the same role as the French Messageries Maritimes.

* Lawrence was embarra.s.sed by the excessive generosity of this gift, even though it turned out that some of his wealthy friends, like Buxton and Curtis, had also contributed toward it, and in the end decided to pay for it himself. Buxton, ever the astute banker, had managed to get Brough to agree to a discount (Lawrence was his most famous customer), so the final price was 144 four s.h.i.+llings and sixpence (144/4s/6d),or about $7,500 in today's money. Lawrence was embarra.s.sed by the excessive generosity of this gift, even though it turned out that some of his wealthy friends, like Buxton and Curtis, had also contributed toward it, and in the end decided to pay for it himself. Buxton, ever the astute banker, had managed to get Brough to agree to a discount (Lawrence was his most famous customer), so the final price was 144 four s.h.i.+llings and sixpence (144/4s/6d),or about $7,500 in today's money.

*The author was stationed for a time in the early 1950s at the Joint Services School for Linguists in Bodmin, Cornwall, about thirty miles northwest of Plymouth, and frequently quently rode his motorcycle up to London for the weekend in under six hours; he can vouch for the fact that on the roads in existence before the motorways were built, Lawrence was pus.h.i.+ng it.

* At that time (and up until 1940) any large formation of aircraft was known in every air force in the world as a "Balbo," after the spectacular long-distance, large-formation flights Balbo had led to publicize italy's aviation strength. At that time (and up until 1940) any large formation of aircraft was known in every air force in the world as a "Balbo," after the spectacular long-distance, large-formation flights Balbo had led to publicize italy's aviation strength.

* The The Schwerpunkt Schwerpunkt was the central aim of German strategy, the focal point against which must be directed the maximum concentration of force to effect a breakthrough. The concept was characterized in World War ii by General Guderian's was the central aim of German strategy, the focal point against which must be directed the maximum concentration of force to effect a breakthrough. The concept was characterized in World War ii by General Guderian's comment,kleckern, klotzen! comment,kleckern, klotzen! ("Don't fiddle around, smas.h.!.+"). ("Don't fiddle around, smas.h.!.+").

London: Ca.s.sell, 1938. London: Ca.s.sell, 1938.

*Alexander Korda (1893-1956) was the author's uncle. Zoltan Korda (1895-1961) was the middle brother; and the author's father, Vincent Korda (1897-1979), the youngest brother.

*Photographs of Clare Smith generally show her wearing a smart beret with a diamond brooch, not at all the kind of hat expected of a group captain's wife in Singapore.

*To his credit, Baldwin did authorize expenditure on what would come to be called radar and on the eight-gun monoplane fighter (the Spitfire and the hurricane), but that was because they were presented to him in the most un.o.btrusive way by professionals he trusted. The task of "reorganizing" Britain's defenses was not put into the hands of one person until April 1940, when Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, Baldwin's successor, most reluctantly made Winston Churchill chairman of the Committee of Service Ministers and Chiefs of Staff, in addition to his post as first lord of the admiralty.

EPILOGUE.

Life after Death Lawrence is in the select group of heroes who become even more famous after death than they were while alive. The Library of Congress lists more than 100 books about him, of which fifty-six are biographical, and that number does not include several children's books, two very successful plays, a major motion picture, and a television docudrama, as well as numerous Web sites devoted to his life and work. As Lawrence had feared, "the Colonel," as he sometimes called his former self in a spirit of derision, just keeps marching on, despite every effort on Lawrence's part to kill him off. Doubtless, if he had had his way, Lawrence would have been buried with the name T. E. Shaw inscribed on his headstone, but his brother Arnold stood firm in opposing that, and so it is as T. E. Lawrence that he lies in Moreton churchyard, and is commemorated by sculptures of various sizes in the crypt of St. Paul's Cathedral; at Jesus College, Oxford; at the City of Oxford High School; and in the tiny church of St. Martin's, near Clouds Hill, where Eric Kennington carved a life-size rec.u.mbent effigy of Lawrence in his Arab robes and headdress, his hands crossed over his Meccan dagger as if in prayer, very similar to the medieval effigies of knights, crusaders, and their wives that Lawrence had photographed in his childhood.

The limelight that Bernard Shaw had warned him about has never dimmed, and he remains as famous now as he was seventy-five years ago, and perhaps even more controversial. In part this is because there exists a flouris.h.i.+ng Lawrence cult, fueled by the Lawrence legend, that has kept an apparently endless number of controversies going on the subject of Lawrence, many of them created, not always inadvertently, by Lawrence himself. As early as 1929 he had predicted, in a letter to a friend, "I am trying to accustom myself to the truth that I'll probably be talked over for the rest of my life: and after my life too."

After Lawrence's death his brother Arnold was bombarded by letters from admirers who saw Lawrence as the central figure of a new religion, in which they hoped Arnold might play the role of Saint Paul. Even before his death Lawrence was painted by "an Austrian-born religious artist named Herbert Gurschner" as a gently smiling, beatific religious figure in RAF uniform with a beggar's cloak like that of Saint Francis thrown over his shoulders, against a lush background of Egyptian religious symbols. His left hand is raised in a kind of casual blessing, and through the long, graceful fingers of his right hand run grains of golden desert sand.

Arnold sensibly resisted attempts to make his brother a religious symbol or a martyr, but the impulse was already there to turn Lawrence into many things he had never been. He has been celebrated as an antiwar figure, although Lawrence's feelings about war were ambivalent, to say the least. He has been made the hero of a novel portraying him as a thwarted h.o.m.os.e.xual who welcomes his own death, though n.o.body could have fought harder to be as.e.xual than Lawrence, and there is no evidence that he wanted to die. He has been attacked as a total fraud and liar by one biographer, though the release of hitherto secret government files had by 1975 proved that Lawrence did everything he claimed to have done (and kept meticulous records), and that, if anything, he underplayed the importance of his role in the war and as Churchill's adviser on Middle Eastern affairs after the peace. He has been blamed by the Arabs for the existence of Israel, and criticized by the Israelis as pro-Arab. Insurgents such as Mao, Ho Chi Minh, and Che Guevara have claimed to follow his methods of guerrilla warfare; but anti-insurgency fighters, such as the United States Army today, also claim to use his tactics. He sometimes gets a bad press as a s.a.d.i.s.t because of the killing of Turkish and German prisoners after the Arabs discovered the ma.s.sacre of Arab civilians in Tafas, in 1918, and as a m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.t because of the whippings meted out to him by John Bruce. He is criticized as an imperialist who wanted the new Arab states to be within the British Empire, and as an anti-imperialist who disliked Britain's rule over India.

Lawrence as a religious cultfigure, with a pilgrim's cape and sand running through his fingers. In the background, various mystical symbols. Painting by through his fingers. In the background, various mystical symbols. Painting by Herbert Gurschner, an Austrian-born religious artist, 1934. Herbert Gurschner, an Austrian-born religious artist, 1934.

Given the secrecy in which much of his life was pa.s.sed, it is hardly surprising that some people refused to believe he was dead at all, and that according to persistent rumors he was recovering from his injuries in Tangiers, and would return whenever England was in danger. There were numerous "sightings" of him, usually in Arab dress, in the Middle East.

As the years pa.s.sed, and the heroes of the Great War slipped from the public memory, Lawrence became one of the few people who could could be remembered from that terrible war-a stand-in, as it were, for all the others. He had not been one of the young officers who had gone to their death unflinchingly, leading their platoons over the top into German machine gun fire; nor had he been one of the legion of faceless men, the PBI or "poor b.l.o.o.d.y infantry," slogging through the mud and barbed wire. He was, in a curious way, cla.s.sless; he had belonged to no regiment; he had fought according to his own rules; he was free from the cant and the naive patriotic enthusiasm that began to ring false to people in the 1930s; and he became, like Nelson, a pillar on which British patriotism rested, eccentric, perhaps, but undeniably a hero. be remembered from that terrible war-a stand-in, as it were, for all the others. He had not been one of the young officers who had gone to their death unflinchingly, leading their platoons over the top into German machine gun fire; nor had he been one of the legion of faceless men, the PBI or "poor b.l.o.o.d.y infantry," slogging through the mud and barbed wire. He was, in a curious way, cla.s.sless; he had belonged to no regiment; he had fought according to his own rules; he was free from the cant and the naive patriotic enthusiasm that began to ring false to people in the 1930s; and he became, like Nelson, a pillar on which British patriotism rested, eccentric, perhaps, but undeniably a hero.

Even World War II did nothing to shake Lawrence's reputation. On the contrary, his tactics were followed to the letter very successfully by the British Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) in Libya in 1941 and 1942: Seven Pillars of Wisdom Seven Pillars of Wisdom was their Bible, and Lawrence their patron saint. No less an authority than Field Marshal Rommel said, "The LRDG caused us more damage than any other unit of their size," praise from the enemy that would not have surprised Lawrence. His influence remained strong: his old friend and admirer A. P. Wavell was in command of the Middle East; and Lawrence inspired a number of bold imitators, chief among them Major-General Orde Wingate, DSO and two bars-the son of General Sir Reginald Wingate, the was their Bible, and Lawrence their patron saint. No less an authority than Field Marshal Rommel said, "The LRDG caused us more damage than any other unit of their size," praise from the enemy that would not have surprised Lawrence. His influence remained strong: his old friend and admirer A. P. Wavell was in command of the Middle East; and Lawrence inspired a number of bold imitators, chief among them Major-General Orde Wingate, DSO and two bars-the son of General Sir Reginald Wingate, the sirdar sirdar of the Egyptian army who had recommended Lawrence for the "immediate award" of the Victoria Cross in 1917. Unorthodox, courageous, and a born leader, Orde Wingate applied Lawrence's techniques, both in the Middle East and in Burma, with great success, becoming, like Lawrence, a great favorite of Churchill's. Most military figures from World War I seemed irrelevant during World War II, but Lawrence's reputation remained unscathed. of the Egyptian army who had recommended Lawrence for the "immediate award" of the Victoria Cross in 1917. Unorthodox, courageous, and a born leader, Orde Wingate applied Lawrence's techniques, both in the Middle East and in Burma, with great success, becoming, like Lawrence, a great favorite of Churchill's. Most military figures from World War I seemed irrelevant during World War II, but Lawrence's reputation remained unscathed.

Lawrence's literary reputation grew steadily. After his death Seven Pillars of Wisdom Seven Pillars of Wisdom was at last published in normal book form, using the text from the subscribers' edition rather than preferred "Oxford version" of 1922; it sold more than 60,000 copies in the first year and went on to become a steady seller in English on both sides of the Atlantic, and in many other languages. was at last published in normal book form, using the text from the subscribers' edition rather than preferred "Oxford version" of 1922; it sold more than 60,000 copies in the first year and went on to become a steady seller in English on both sides of the Atlantic, and in many other languages. (The Mint (The Mint was not published until 1955, and then it appeared in two versions: one expurgated and the other in a limited edition, with the barracks language intact.) The immense task of publis.h.i.+ng Lawrence's letters proceeded, and these won him perhaps even more praise than his books, for the sheer quant.i.ty and the quality of his correspondence was extraordinary. He was the subject, as well, of much careful scholars.h.i.+p. With both his flanks-military and literary-secure, Lawrence might have continued as a respected English hero, except that it would not have been in character for him to do that, dead or alive. was not published until 1955, and then it appeared in two versions: one expurgated and the other in a limited edition, with the barracks language intact.) The immense task of publis.h.i.+ng Lawrence's letters proceeded, and these won him perhaps even more praise than his books, for the sheer quant.i.ty and the quality of his correspondence was extraordinary. He was the subject, as well, of much careful scholars.h.i.+p. With both his flanks-military and literary-secure, Lawrence might have continued as a respected English hero, except that it would not have been in character for him to do that, dead or alive.

The great crisis in Lawrence's reputation was caused by the publication in 1955 of Richard Aldington's controversial Lawrence of Arabia: A Biographical Enquiry. Lawrence of Arabia: A Biographical Enquiry. Aldington had set out to write a conventional, admiring biography of Lawrence, at the suggestion of his publisher, but as he researched the book he discovered that he neither liked nor trusted Lawrence, and came to the conclusion that Lawrence had systematically twisted the facts to create his own legend. Aldington had set out to write a conventional, admiring biography of Lawrence, at the suggestion of his publisher, but as he researched the book he discovered that he neither liked nor trusted Lawrence, and came to the conclusion that Lawrence had systematically twisted the facts to create his own legend.

Aldington's book virtually destroyed his own health and his career as a writer. He was an odd choice for the thankless task of debunking Lawrence. He was not an investigative journalist, and he was far from being a mere crank; he was a respected, if minor, war poet, a novelist, a translator, a fairly successful biographer (of Voltaire, the duke of Wellington, and D. H. Lawrence), and a friend of such literary figures as D. H. Lawrence and Ezra Pound. A whole book has been written about Aldington's attempt to deconstruct Lawrence's legend-an attempt that began as a perfectly conventional exercise in biography rather than a deliberate attack on one of Britain's greatest heroes. Aldington, a p.r.i.c.kly, quarrelsome, difficult character, may not even have realized that when he set out to write about Lawrence he had a chip on his shoulder-not just because Lawrence had achieved, it seemed almost effortlessly, the fame that eluded Aldington himself, but also because Aldington had served through some of the worst fighting on the western front, rising from the ranks to become a commissioned officer in the Royal Suss.e.x Regiment. Aldington had been ga.s.sed and sh.e.l.l-shocked, and his experience of war made him contemptuous of Lawrence's role in what Lawrence himself described as "a sideshow of a sideshow"; he remarked disparagingly to a friend, "These potty little skirmishes and sabotage raids which Hart and Lawrence call battles are somewhat belly-aching to one who did the Somme, Vimy, Loos, etc." Not only did it seem to Aldington that Lawrence had had an easy war of it compared with those who fought in the trenches, but Lawrence had been rewarded with fame beyond even his own imagination, with decorations and honors that he had treated contemptuously and with the friends.h.i.+p of great and powerful figures. In short, whether Aldington realized it or not, his book about Lawrence was spoiled by his own envy of his subject from the very beginning; and the more deeply Aldington delved into Lawrence's life, the more bitter he became.

Aldington was one of those people who take everything literally-even his admirers do not credit him with a sense of proportion (or a sense of humor)-and the tone of his book about Lawrence was, from page 1, that of a man in a rage; it was a sustained 448-page rant, in which he at tacked everything about Lawrence, apparently determined to blow up the legend once and for all. Much of it is minor stuff; partly, this is the fault of Lowell Thomas and Lawrence's other early biographers-his friends Robert Graves, the poet and novelist; and B. H. Liddell Hart, the military historian and theorist-who had written panegyrics to Lawrence without any serious effort at independent research or objectivity. Sooner or later, somebody was bound to come along and correct the balance.

It was Aldington's misfortune, however, to have unearthed proof that Lawrence and his four brothers were illegitimate, and to reveal it while Lawrence's mother was still alive. This struck most people, even those who were not admirers of Lawrence, as tactless and cruel.

Aldington was also the victim of an idee fixe: he believed that his whole case rested on whether or not Lawrence had told the truth in saying that he had been offered the post of British high commissioner in Egypt in 1922, when Field Marshal Lord Allenby seemed about to give it up in disgust. This dispute, into which Winston Churchill, then in his last year as prime minister, was drawn most reluctantly, sputtered on for ages, though it is obvious to anybody reading about the episode today that Churchill, then colonial secretary, in fact did did suggest this appointment to Lawrence, though perhaps not altogether seriously, and that Lawrence, who never wanted the post, which was not in any case for Churchill to offer, later came to the conclusion that it had been offered to him genuinely. This was a reasonable belief, since Churchill was given to just that kind of impulsive gesture; and Lloyd George, then the prime minister, and himself notoriously impulsive about offering people high government positions without informing his colleagues in the cabinet, seems to have brought the subject up with Lawrence as well. suggest this appointment to Lawrence, though perhaps not altogether seriously, and that Lawrence, who never wanted the post, which was not in any case for Churchill to offer, later came to the conclusion that it had been offered to him genuinely. This was a reasonable belief, since Churchill was given to just that kind of impulsive gesture; and Lloyd George, then the prime minister, and himself notoriously impulsive about offering people high government positions without informing his colleagues in the cabinet, seems to have brought the subject up with Lawrence as well.

In any event, Aldington's book, when it was eventually published in 1955 after years of bitter quarrels with his own publisher, his long-suffering editor, and innumerable lawyers, brought down on him a landslide of abuse and criticism on both sides of the Atlantic. He succeeded in tarnis.h.i.+ng Lawrence's image for a time, but at the cost of his own reputation and career-a sad object lesson in the perils of obsessive self-righteousness.

Aldington might have known better had he written a biography of Nelson instead of Wellington, for Nelson, despite character flaws that in some ways mirrored those of Lawrence, won a permanent place in the hearts of the British, while the victor of Waterloo, a cold and haughty aristocrat, never did. Nelson, like Lawrence, was a man who desperately craved attention and sought fame, who artfully cloaked vanity and ambition with humility, whose private life was something between a muddle and a disgrace, and who constantly appeared in the limelight without ever appearing to seek it. Like Lawrence he was small, physically brave to an extraordinary degree, able to endure great pain and hards.h.i.+p without complaint, and indifferent to food, drink, and comfort. Unlike Lawrence, he not only avidly sought honors, medals, t.i.tles, and decorations, but insisted on wearing them all even when doing so put his life at risk. However, both of them were cast from the same mold, heroes whose human weaknesses and flaws merely made them loved all the more, both by those who knew them and by those who admired them from afar. From time to time, in the more than two centuries since Nelson's death, people have written books attempting to put his myth in perspective, but to no avail-he remains as popular as ever, and hardly a decade goes by without the launching of a biography, a film, or a novel* (for example, there was a novel by Susan Sontag), adding yet another layer to his fame. So it is with Lawrence. (for example, there was a novel by Susan Sontag), adding yet another layer to his fame. So it is with Lawrence.

The release in 1962 of David Lean's monumental epic film Lawrence of Arabia Lawrence of Arabia as good as washed away Aldington's attempt to tarnish Lawrence's legend. One of the longest, most beautiful, most ambitious, and most honored films ever made, as good as washed away Aldington's attempt to tarnish Lawrence's legend. One of the longest, most beautiful, most ambitious, and most honored films ever made, Lawrence of Arabia Lawrence of Arabia introduced a new generation to Lawrence the man and Lawrence the legend, and returned Lawrence to the kind of celebrity he had enjoyed (or endured) when Lowell Thomas first brought him to the screen in 1921. introduced a new generation to Lawrence the man and Lawrence the legend, and returned Lawrence to the kind of celebrity he had enjoyed (or endured) when Lowell Thomas first brought him to the screen in 1921.

The real hero of Lawrence of Arabia Lawrence of Arabia is neither Lawrence nor its director, David Lean, but its producer, Sam Spiegel, who not only persuaded Columbia Pictures to finance one of the most expensive films ever made, but who put it in the hands of a director notoriously resistant to the wishes of a studio, and quite as determined as Lawrence had been to have his own way. is neither Lawrence nor its director, David Lean, but its producer, Sam Spiegel, who not only persuaded Columbia Pictures to finance one of the most expensive films ever made, but who put it in the hands of a director notoriously resistant to the wishes of a studio, and quite as determined as Lawrence had been to have his own way.

The genesis of Lawrence of Arabia Lawrence of Arabia went back a long way, with many false starts and disappointments-enough to discourage anyone less resilient than Spiegel. When Lawrence died in 1935, Alexander Korda still owned the rights to went back a long way, with many false starts and disappointments-enough to discourage anyone less resilient than Spiegel. When Lawrence died in 1935, Alexander Korda still owned the rights to Revolt in the Desert. Revolt in the Desert. He had agreed not to make a film so long as Lawrence was alive, but with Lawrence's death he was free to proceed. He had a star in mind to play Lawrence, the English actor Leslie Howard, He had agreed not to make a film so long as Lawrence was alive, but with Lawrence's death he was free to proceed. He had a star in mind to play Lawrence, the English actor Leslie Howard,* who had been a big success in Korda's who had been a big success in Korda's The Scarlet Pimpernel The Scarlet Pimpernel; and he spent a good deal of time and money developing a script, written by Miles Malleson, who would go on to become a beloved English character actor, and edited by none other than Winston Churchill, then still in the political wilderness.

Korda's film was never made. Financing was difficult; more important, Korda, who was always sensitive to the opinions of those in government and in "the City," soon discovered that n.o.body wanted it made. A big film about Lawrence was bound to offend the Turks, who did not want to be reminded of their defeat; it would also anger the Arabs, who would not be pleased by the portrayal of the Arab Revolt as being led by a young English officer. Since it was hoped that the Turks might fight on the Allied side if there was another war, or at least stay neutral, and that the Arabs would stay quiet, it was discreetly suggested to Korda that it might be better to put the film aside for the moment. n.o.body wanted to see angry Arab mobs burning down cinemas in Cairo, Damascus, Jerusalem, and Baghdad, or burning Lawrence in effigy again. Korda took the setback philosophically, and stepped neatly from one desert film to another, sending his brother Zoltan off to make The Four Feathers, The Four Feathers, a film that could offend n.o.body but the Sudanese, about whose feelings few people cared in those days, and that turned out to be a huge hit. a film that could offend n.o.body but the Sudanese, about whose feelings few people cared in those days, and that turned out to be a huge hit.

Once World War II began, the film about Lawrence went to the bottom of Korda's large pile of optioned and purchased books; and after the war, events in the Middle East-anti-British rioting, a.s.sa.s.sinations, and the Arab-Isreali war-made the project seem even less appealing. Occasionally Korda floated rumors that he was planning to make it, now with Laurence Olivier as Lawrence, but that was only in the hope of interesting somebody who would take it off his hands. That person eventually turned up in the larger-than-life form of Sam Spiegel, a producer whose taste for the grand film was equal to Korda's, and who bought the screen rights to Revolt in the Desert Revolt in the Desert over luncheon at Anabelle's, the chic club next door to Korda's offices at 144-146 Piccadilly. Spiegel bought the whole package: the book, the existing screenplay, all the preliminary sketches. (Over coffee, brandy, and cigars, he also bought the film rights to over luncheon at Anabelle's, the chic club next door to Korda's offices at 144-146 Piccadilly. Spiegel bought the whole package: the book, the existing screenplay, all the preliminary sketches. (Over coffee, brandy, and cigars, he also bought the film rights to The African Queen, The African Queen, which prompted Korda, in a rare burst of poor judgment, to say, "My dear Sam, an old man and an old woman go down an African river in an old boat-you will go bankrupt.") which prompted Korda, in a rare burst of poor judgment, to say, "My dear Sam, an old man and an old woman go down an African river in an old boat-you will go bankrupt.") Perhaps the only person who could have brought Lawrence of Arabia Lawrence of Arabia to the screen was the indefatigable Spiegel, who made the impossible happen by sheer willpower and chutzpah on an epic scale. To begin with, because of the numerous Arab wars against Israel, the cause of Arab freedom and independence was not a popular one in Hollywood. Then too, Spiegel began by hiring Michael Wilson, an experienced screenwriter who had been blacklisted during the McCarthy era, to rewrite the original script-Spiegel hired blacklisted talent because it was cheaper, not out of political sympathy. Then, when Wilson's screenplay turned out to have an antiwar tone inappropriate to Lawrence, he hired Robert Bolt, an Englishman, to make it more triumphant. His first choice for Lawrence was Marlon Brando, whom he had hired for the lead in to the screen was the indefatigable Spiegel, who made the impossible happen by sheer willpower and chutzpah on an epic scale. To begin with, because of the numerous Arab wars against Israel, the cause of Arab freedom and independence was not a popular one in Hollywood. Then too, Spiegel began by hiring Michael Wilson, an experienced screenwriter who had been blacklisted during the McCarthy era, to rewrite the original script-Spiegel hired blacklisted talent because it was cheaper, not out of political sympathy. Then, when Wilson's screenplay turned out to have an antiwar tone inappropriate to Lawrence, he hired Robert Bolt, an Englishman, to make it more triumphant. His first choice for Lawrence was Marlon Brando, whom he had hired for the lead in On the Waterfront; On the Waterfront; and on this a.s.sumption he was able to persuade Columbia Pictures to finance the film, which, from the beginning, was planned as an epic that would appeal to both an American and an international audience. Spiegel managed to keep Columbia on the hook even after Brando turned down the role, as did Albert Finney, a British actor who was in any case hardly the big international star Columbia had been counting on. Finally, Spiegel got Columbia to accept Peter O'Toole, a comparative unknown, in the t.i.tle role, as well as a British director, David Lean, known for his grandiose (and expensive) ideas and his determination not to be bullied by studio executives. Spiegel also hired a supporting cast of predominantly British actors, including Alec Guinness to play Feisal, and an Egyptian unknown, Omar Sharif. n.o.body but Spiegel could have persuaded Columbia to finance this package, or to sit still through the interminable problems of filming on three continents, let alone to accept a film that was 227 minutes long, with a musical prelude and an intermission. and on this a.s.sumption he was able to persuade Columbia Pictures to finance the film, which, from the beginning, was planned as an epic that would appeal to both an American and an international audience. Spiegel managed to keep Columbia on the hook even after Brando turned down the role, as did Albert Finney, a British actor who was in any case hardly the big international star Columbia had been counting on. Finally, Spiegel got Columbia to accept Peter O'Toole, a comparative unknown, in the t.i.tle role, as well as a British director, David Lean, known for his grandiose (and expensive) ideas and his determination not to be bullied by studio executives. Spiegel also hired a supporting cast of predominantly British actors, including Alec Guinness to play Feisal, and an Egyptian unknown, Omar Sharif. n.o.body but Spiegel could have persuaded Columbia to finance this package, or to sit still through the interminable problems of filming on three continents, let alone to accept a film that was 227 minutes long, with a musical prelude and an intermission.

The result was a masterpiece. Nominated for ten Academy Awards, it won seven, including Best Picture and Best Director; it made (and continues to make) a fortune; and it appears constantly on lists drawn up by various bodies of the best movies of all time, and as number one on lists of the best epic pictures of all time. The director Steven Spielberg called it "a miracle," and so it is.

It is not, not, however, either the full story of Lawrence's life or a completely accurate account of the two years he spent fighting with the Arabs. Arnold Lawrence remarked, "I should not have recognized my own brother," when he saw the picture, and most people who had known Lawrence were horrified by it, even Lowell Thomas, which in his case was a bit like the pot calling the kettle black. Lawrence scholars feel even more strongly about it, and there exists a Web site on which each key scene of the film is compared with the reality of what happened. Still, even if this is a worthy endeavor, it misses the point. What Spiegel and Lean set out to do, after all, was to produce however, either the full story of Lawrence's life or a completely accurate account of the two years he spent fighting with the Arabs. Arnold Lawrence remarked, "I should not have recognized my own brother," when he saw the picture, and most people who had known Lawrence were horrified by it, even Lowell Thomas, which in his case was a bit like the pot calling the kettle black. Lawrence scholars feel even more strongly about it, and there exists a Web site on which each key scene of the film is compared with the reality of what happened. Still, even if this is a worthy endeavor, it misses the point. What Spiegel and Lean set out to do, after all, was to produce entertainment, entertainment, as well as a film that would make money worldwide for Columbia-hence Spiegel's original choice of Brando for the role of Lawrence. As with George C. Scott's portrayal of General George Patton, the object was to produce, not a faithful docudrama that would educate the audience, but a hit picture. O'Toole, like Charles Laughton as Henry VIII or Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II, was an actor playing a role, not any more like the real Lawrence than Shakespeare's Henry V necessarily resembles the historical soldier-king. as well as a film that would make money worldwide for Columbia-hence Spiegel's original choice of Brando for the role of Lawrence. As with George C. Scott's portrayal of General George Patton, the object was to produce, not a faithful docudrama that would educate the audience, but a hit picture. O'Toole, like Charles Laughton as Henry VIII or Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II, was an actor playing a role, not any more like the real Lawrence than Shakespeare's Henry V necessarily resembles the historical soldier-king. Lawrence of Arabia Lawrence of Arabia can be enjoyed for itself-criticizing it for its inaccuracy is like arguing that can be enjoyed for itself-criticizing it for its inaccuracy is like arguing that Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind does not provide the depth of information and historical objectivity of Ken Burns's television doc.u.mentary on the Civil War: each has its merits, but the one is not a subst.i.tute for the other. does not provide the depth of information and historical objectivity of Ken Burns's television doc.u.mentary on the Civil War: each has its merits, but the one is not a subst.i.tute for the other.

Other portrayals of Lawrence on the stage or screen have not added much. The respected British playwright Terence Rattigan wrote Ross, Ross, for which John Mills was cast in the t.i.tle role, but it tended to explore Lawrence's alleged h.o.m.os.e.xuality, to such a degree that Sam Spiegel attempted to have it suppressed. (Knowing Spiegel, though, one could guess that he was probably trying to appease Columbia Pictures and get publicity for his own film, rather than expressing outrage.) A made-for-television film about Lawrence at the Paris Peace Conference starred Ralph Fiennes, but was a rather wooden docudrama about how the Arabs were treated by the Allies-just the kind of issue Spiegel and Lean were determined to avoid-though it has to be said that Fiennes at least for which John Mills was cast in the t.i.tle role, but it tended to explore Lawrence's alleged h.o.m.os.e.xuality, to such a degree that Sam Spiegel attempted to have it suppressed. (Knowing Spiegel, though, one could guess that he was probably trying to appease Columbia Pictures and get publicity for his own film, rather than expressing outrage.) A made-for-television film about Lawrence at the Paris Peace Conference starred Ralph Fiennes, but was a rather wooden docudrama about how the Arabs were treated by the Allies-just the kind of issue Spiegel and Lean were determined to avoid-though it has to be said that Fiennes at least looked looked more like Lawrence than Peter O'Toole did. more like Lawrence than Peter O'Toole did.

Perhaps the one thing that Richard Aldington's book and David Lean's film have in common is that they have raised the level of scholars.h.i.+p on the subject of Lawrence, as Lawrence's admirers pored over his letters and ma.n.u.scripts in search of ways to refute Aldington's unflattering portrait and Peter O'Toole's heroic portrayal. The release of British government doc.u.ments in the 1960s and 1970s has, in the skillful and determined hands of Jeremy Wilson, the authorized biographer of Lawrence and certainly the leading scholar of the subject, provided a much clearer view of just how great Lawrence's accomplishments were in the war, and how meticulous he was in describing all of it. The publication by Jeremy Wilson of four expertly edited volumes of Lawrence's correspondence with Bernard and Charlotte Shaw has also dramatically enriched our knowledge of what Lawrence was thinking and doing from 1922 to 1935, and also arouses, in any objective reader, considerable sympathy for him. Lawrence's account to Charlotte of what happened to him at Deraa, for example, makes it hard to accept the view that he invented the episode.

There are probably more people who know of of Lawrence today than ever. At least two major biographies have appeared: one by Jeremy Wilson (1989), which is authoritative and formidably doc.u.mented; and a psychological study by John E. Mack, MD Lawrence today than ever. At least two major biographies have appeared: one by Jeremy Wilson (1989), which is authoritative and formidably doc.u.mented; and a psychological study by John E. Mack, MD* (1976), who was a professor at Harvard Medical School and a psychoa.n.a.lyst. But people seldom know all that much (1976), who was a professor at Harvard Medical School and a psychoa.n.a.lyst. But people seldom know all that much about about Lawrence, and many still see him, in their mind's eye, as Peter O'Toole, much the way people still think of Captain Bligh as Charles Laughton. Mack's book, whatever its merits, demonstrates the dangers of psychoa.n.a.lyzing the dead, who after all cannot speak for themselves, and also the fact that Lawrence has, since his death, been taken over by numerous groups and turned into a gay hero, an anti-imperialist hero, or, even more improbably, a hero who betrayed the Arabs and encouraged increased Jewish immigration in Palestine. The fact is that Lawrence defies simplification and refuses to be pigeonholed, in death as he did in life. It is his complexity-his curious mixture of shyness and vainglory, of heroism on the grand scale and self-doubt about his own feats, of political sophistication and occasional naivete-that makes him special. He was a hero, a scholar, a diplomat, a brilliant writer, endowed with enormous courage and capable of reckless self-sacrifice, and behind the facade that Lowell Thomas and the newspapers built up around him, also the kindest, gentlest, and most loyal of friends, and that rare Englishman with no cla.s.s prejudices of any kind, as at ease in a barracks as he was in Buckingham Palace, in the desert, or at Versailles. Lawrence, and many still see him, in their mind's eye, as Peter O'Toole, much the way people still think of Captain Bligh as Charles Laughton. Mack's book, whatever its merits, demonstrates the dangers of psychoa.n.a.lyzing the dead, who after all cannot speak for themselves, and also the fact that Lawrence has, since his death, been taken over by numerous groups and turned into a gay hero, an anti-imperialist hero, or, even more improbably, a hero who betrayed the Arabs and encouraged increased Jewish immigration in Palestine. The fact is that Lawrence defies simplification and refuses to be pigeonholed, in death as he did in life. It is his complexity-his curious mixture of shyness and vainglory, of heroism on the grand scale and self-doubt about his own feats, of political sophistication and occasional naivete-that makes him special. He was a hero, a scholar, a diplomat, a brilliant writer, endowed with enormous courage and capable of reckless self-sacrifice, and behind the facade that Lowell Thomas and the newspapers built up around him, also the kindest, gentlest, and most loyal of friends, and that rare Englishman with no cla.s.s prejudices of any kind, as at ease in a barracks as he was in Buckingham Palace, in the desert, or at Versailles.

The difficulty with books about Lawrence is that most of them start with a definite thesis or fixed idea, or are aimed, whether consciously or unconsciously, either at correcting the wilder misstatements in Lowell Thomas's book (in the case of the earlier biographies like those of Graves and Liddell Hart), or at expunging the misleading portraits of Lawrence produced by David Lean and Aldington. The result is that while every fact, however minor, has now been examined, and psychoa.n.a.lytical explanations have been provided for every facet of his character, the real Lawrence-and those qualities which made him a hero, a military genius, a gifted diplomat, the friend of so many people, and the author of one of the best and most ambitious great books ever written about war-has tended to disappear under the weighty acc.u.mulation of facts and the biographical disputes. Clearly, Lawrence had, throughout his life, an amazing capacity to inspire devotion, pa.s.sionate friends.h.i.+p, fierce loyalty, and intense admiration, even from those who saw his faults as clearly as he himself did; and this is the Lawrence that needs to be re-created if we are to understand him and his remarkable hold on the imagination of people even three-quarters of a century after his death.

Then too, history has brought Lawrence back into the minds of those who are concerned with events in the Middle East. Not only did Lawrence introduce the Arabs to a new kind of warfare; his determination to "give them," as he saw it, an Arab state and his definition (and vision) of what that state should be are still at the center of every diplomatic dispute, war, insurrection, and political revolution throughout this vast area. Lawrence cannot be held responsible for the mess in the Middle East, any more than he was solely responsible for the Arab Revolt, which had already broken out before he arrived in Jidda, but everybody from Allenby down seems to agree that the revolt would never have succeeded to the extent it did without his vision and energy, and certainly he did his best throughout 1917-1918 and from 1919 to 1922 to give the Arabs the state they wanted. This, after all (despite lengthy Freudian explanations for his behavior), rather than his illegitimacy or the incident at Deraa,was the great moral crisis of his lifetime, which drove him to give up his name, his rank, and his decorations and join the RAF as a recruit under an a.s.sumed name.

Lawrence was at least partly responsible for the creation of present-day Iraq (with all its ethnic and religious contradictions) and Jordan, and he played a substantial role in the creation of Palestine as a separate ent.i.ty. The British and French division of the immense Turkish empire that extended north and south from Syria to Yemen and east and west from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf-an area from which Lawrence had played a major, and admittedly flamboyant, role in driving out the Turks-was the primary guilt that Lawrence bore, and that explains much of his life from 1922 to his death in 1935.

He was partly instrumental in the creation of not one but three three Middle Eastern kingdoms. Only one of these, Jordan, survives today in its original form; but much of the map of the Middle East was drawn by Lawrence, quite literally, as we have seen; and if he could not give the Arabs what they most wanted-a "greater Syria"-he at any rate helped to give them the states that now exist there, and, for better or worse, the dream of a larger, united Arab nation, which for a brief time led to the union of Egypt and Syria as the United Arab Republic, and which is still the motivating force behind much of the unrest and violence of Arab nationalism. Lawrence himself foresaw only too clearly what the price would be if the Allies failed to give the Arabs what they wanted-and had been promised-and the long-term consequences of letting the French take Lebanon and Syria as mandates-in effect, colonies-and letting the British take Palestine, Jordan, and Iraq. He did his best to persuade a reluctant Feisal to accept the Balfour Declaration, which promised the Jews a homeland in Palestine, but he understood that this acceptance was dependent on the Arabs' getting a meaningful state, and was unlikely to be achieved in the long run if the Middle East was carved up into small and mutually hostile units, under French or British colonial administration. Middle Eastern kingdoms. Only one of these, Jordan, survives today in its original form; but much of the map of the Middle East was drawn by Lawrence, quite literally, as we have seen; and if he could not give the Arabs what they most wanted-a "greater Syria"-he at any rate helped to give them the states that now exist there, and, for better or worse, the dream of a larger, united Arab nation, which for a brief time led to the union of Egypt and Syria as the United Arab Republic, and which is still the motivating force behind much of the unrest and violence of Arab nationalism. Lawrence himself foresaw only too clearly what the price would be if the Allies failed to give the Arabs what they wanted-and had been promised-and the long-term consequences of letting the French take Lebanon and Syria as mandates-in effect, colonies-and letting the British take Palestine, Jordan, and Iraq. He did his best to persuade a reluctant Feisal to accept the Balfour Declaration, which promised the Jews a homeland in Palestine, but he understood that this acceptance was dependent on the Arabs' getting a meaningful state, and was unlikely to be achieved in the long run if the Middle East was carved up into small and mutually hostile units, under French or British colonial administration.

As it turned out, the brutal carving up of the Turkish empire was complicated by the fact that the great oil reserves were in the most backward areas, on the eastern fringe of the Middle East. These would have the effect of transforming remote desert "kingdoms" and "princ.i.p.alities" into oil-rich powers, while leaving the more highly developed, better educated, and more populous parts of the area-Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon-impoverished. British and French policy (as strongly as each differed from the other) ensured that there would be no unitary Arab state as a major power in which oil revenues might be used to improve the lives of ordinary Arabs, and thwarted just those ambitions which Lawrence had been at such pains to arouse, and which led Lowell Thomas, with his usual touch of hyperbole, to describe Lawrence as "the George Was.h.i.+ngton of a United States of Arabia." Alas, after the Peace Conference, and the creation of Jordan and Iraq, Lawrence-knowing that he had done his best for the Arabs and that it was not good enough, and broken by shame and guilt at his own failure-resigned from public life and signed up as an airman, and the United States of Arabia was never born, with consequences that we are still facing today.

There is, therefore, every reason to examine objectively and clearly what Lawrence attempted to do, and to treat him not as an interesting neurotic with profound oedipal problems (though this may be true), but as both a visionary and a warrior; as a man who not only wrote an epic but lived one; and as a politician and diplomat, indeed a maker of nations, whose failure to get the Arabs what they had been promised had profound consequences for the world today, consequences that have not been played out yet, and whose outcome n.o.body can predict.

Few people have risen so high so quickly, or have voluntarily given up not only honors but power, and done so without regret or bitterness. Fewer still have been so famous and tried so hard to live obscurely. Lawrence found in the end peace of a kind in friends.h.i.+ps, in literature, and in an unexpected gift for marine craftsmans.h.i.+p and engineering which has seldom been fully acknowledged, but to which many airmen in World War II would owe their lives.

However many books there have been about Lawrence, his is still a story worth telling, a life that needs to be described without prejudice and without a fixed agenda: a military "triumph," as he himself called it with a combination of pride, bitterness, and irony; an extraordinary and heroic epic; and a political failure whose importance we can only begin to reckon today as we pick among the ruins of Lawrence's hopes for the Middle East in search of a way forward.

Not surprisingly, Lawrence himself described his own genius best.

All men dream: but not equally.Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of theirMinds wake in the day to find that it wasvanity; but the dreamers of the day aredangerous men, for they may act their dreamwith open eyes, to make it possible. This I did.

* Perhaps the most popular film the author's Uncle Alex and his father ever made was Perhaps the most popular film the author's Uncle Alex and his father ever made was That Hamilton Woman, That Hamilton Woman, starring Laurence olivier as Nelson and Vivien Leigh as Lady hamilton. Winston Churchill screened it innumerable times (it never failed to move him to tears), and took a print to Moscow as a gift to Stalin. As a result it was the only British film seen during World War ii by Soviet audiences, and extended Nelson's heroic reputation to russia. starring Laurence olivier as Nelson and Vivien Leigh as Lady hamilton. Winston Churchill screened it innumerable times (it never failed to move him to tears), and took a print to Moscow as a gift to Stalin. As a result it was the only British film seen during World War ii by Soviet audiences, and extended Nelson's heroic reputation to russia.

* Leslie howard, whose original name was Leslie howard Steiner, was the son of an english-Jewish mother, Lillian Blumberg, and a hungarian-Jewish father, Ferdinand Steiner. Leslie howard, whose original name was Leslie howard Steiner, was the son of an english-Jewish mother, Lillian Blumberg, and a hungarian-Jewish father, Ferdinand Steiner.

* Although Mack's book on Lawrence is in many respects fascinating-he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Biography for it in 1977-it suffered retroactively from his subsequent notoriety as a believer in and proselytizer for the personal stories of people who claimed to have been abducted by aliens and to have returned to tell the tale. Although Mack's book on Lawrence is in many respects fascinating-he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Biography for it in 1977-it suffered retroactively from his subsequent notoriety as a believer in and proselytizer for the personal stories of people who claimed to have been abducted by aliens and to have returned to tell the tale.

Notes.

CHAPTER ONE.

"Who Is This Extraordinary Pip-Squeak?" "Who Is This Extraordinary Pip-Squeak?"

5 "a most excellent dinner": "a most excellent dinner": Lawrence, Letters, Garnett (ed.), 206. Lawrence, Letters, Garnett (ed.), 206.

6 "an odd gnome": "an odd gnome": Wilson, Wilson, Lawrence of Arabia, Lawrence of Arabia, 174. 174.

6 "Who is this extraordinary pip-squeak?" "Who is this extraordinary pip-squeak?": Aldington, Lawrence of Arabia, 127. Lawrence of Arabia, 127.

8 "Into friends.h.i.+p with T. E. Lawrence": "Into friends.h.i.+p with T. E. Lawrence": Storrs, Storrs, Orientations, 218. Orientations, 218.

8 "The first of us was Ronald Storrs": "The