SEVEN PILLARS OF WISDOM

by T. E. Lawrence
 

This is the book that Lawrence of Arabia was based on, and I picked it up as part of a reading challenge, and because I felt I ought to have read it…I won't make that mistake for a while.  Seven Pillars of Wisdom is essentially 700 pages of army maneuvers and descriptions of sand.  Although it is well written, I found it impossible to keep track of the people, the geography or the war.
 
Its most redeeming feature was the introduction which pointed out the similarities between the war the British were waging in the Middle East in the early 1900s, and the one the United States continues to be embroiled in.  But honestly, I struggled.  (Lily)