Description

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"Barr turns history into a drama, with bright writing and a fascinating cast of characters.” —Mary Foster, Associated Press

T. E. Lawrence’s classic Seven Pillars of Wisdom made the Arab revolt a legend and helped turn him into the mythical “Lawrence of Arabia.” Setting the Desert on Fire is both a masterly account of the intrigue behind the revolt and its startling consequences for the present-day Middle East and a portrait of Lawrence that brings fresh insight to the true nature of the master mythmaker.

About the Author

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James Barr is the author of Setting the Desert on Fire. During the research for A Line in the Sand he was a Visiting Fellow at St Antony’s College, Oxford. He lives in London.

Praise For…

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A tightly-focused, fast-paced account…Mr. Barr’s achievement is to tell Lawrence’s story more clearly and objectively, helping to make sense of a complex war fought in an unfamiliar land and language.
— Adam Kirsch - New York Sun

[James] Barr has written a compact, scrupulously accurate chronicle of the revolt and Lawrence’s role in it, utilizing previously unavailable archival material…An excellent general history of a widely misunderstood struggle that largely defined the shape of the modern Middle East.
— Booklist

Barr expertly navigates an intriguing landscape of shifting alliances and labyrinthine politics peopled with eccentric characters to demystify a fascinating legend.
— Publishers Weekly