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LBJ and Vietnam: A Different Kind of War (An Administrative History of the Johnson Presidency)
by Herring George C.Decades later, the Vietnam War remains a divisive memory for American society. Partisans on all sides still debate why the war was fought, how it could have been better fought, and whether it could have been won at all. <P><P> In this major study, a noted expert on the war brings a needed objectivity to these debates by examining dispassionately how and why President Lyndon Johnson and his administration conducted the war as they did. Drawing on a wealth of newly released documents from the LBJ Library, including the Tom Johnson notes from the influential Tuesday Lunch Group, George Herring discusses the concept of limited war and how it affected President Johnson's decision making, Johnson's relations with his military commanders, the administration's pacification program of 1965-1967, the management of public opinion, and the "fighting while negotiating" strategy pursued after the Tet Offensive in 1968.
LBJ
by Randall WoodsFor almost forty years, the verdict on Lyndon Johnson's presidency has been reduced to a handful of harsh words: tragedy, betrayal, lost opportunity. Initially, historians focused on the Vietnam War and how that conflict derailed liberalism, tarnished the nation's reputation, wasted lives, and eventually even led to Watergate. More recently, Johnson has been excoriated in more personal terms: as a player of political hardball, as the product of machine-style corruption, as an opportunist, as a cruel husband and boss. In LBJ, Randall B. Woods, a distinguished historian of twentieth-century America and a son of Texas, offers a wholesale reappraisal and sweeping, authoritative account of the LBJ who has been lost under this baleful gaze. Woods understands the political landscape of the American South and the differences between personal failings and political principles. Thanks to the release of thousands of hours of LBJ's White House tapes, along with the declassification of tens of thousands of documents and interviews with key aides, Woods's LBJ brings crucial new evidence to bear on many key aspects of the man and the politician. As private conversations reveal, Johnson intentionally exaggerated his stereotype in many interviews, for reasons of both tactics and contempt. It is time to set the record straight. Woods's Johnson is a flawed but deeply sympathetic character. He was born into a family with a liberal Texas tradition of public service and a strong belief in the public good. He worked tirelessly, but not just for the sake of ambition. His approach to reform at home, and to fighting fascism and communism abroad, was motivated by the same ideals and based on a liberal Christian tradition that is often forgotten today. Vietnam turned into a tragedy, but it was part and parcel of Johnson's commitment to civil rights and antipoverty reforms. LBJ offers a fascinating new history of the political upheavals of the 1960s and a new way to understand the last great burst of liberalism in America. Johnson was a magnetic character, and his life was filled with fascinating stories and scenes. Through insights gained from interviews with his longtime secretary, his Secret Service detail, and his closest aides and confidants, Woods brings Johnson before us in vivid and unforgettable color.
Lazy B: Growing Up on a Cattle Ranch in the American Southwest
by Sandra Day O'Connor H. Alan DayWhat was it in Sandra Day O'Connor's background and early life that helped make her the woman she is today-the first female justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and one of the most powerful women in America? In this beautiful, illuminating, and unusual book, Sandra Day O'Connor, with her brother, Alan, tells the story of the Day family and of growing up on the harsh yet beautiful land of the Lazy B Ranch in Arizona. Laced throughout these stories about three generations of the Day family, and everyday life on the Lazy B, are the lessons Sandra and Alan learned about the world, about people, self-reliance, and survival, and the reader will learn how the values of the Lazy B shaped them and their lives. Sandra's grandfather first put some cattle on open grazing land in 1886, and the Lazy B developed and continued to prosper as Sandra's parents, who eloped and then lived on the Lazy B all their lives, carved out a frugal and happy life for themselves and their three children on the rugged frontier. As you read about the daily adventures, the cattle drives and roundups, the cowboys and horses, the continual praying for rain and fixing of windmills, the values instilled by a self-reliant way of life, you see how Sandra Day O'Connor grew up. This fascinating glimpse of life in the American Southwest in the last century recounts an interesting time in our history, and gives us an enduring portrait of an independent young woman on the brink of becoming one of the most prominent figures in America today.
Lazos de amor
by Brian L. WeissPedro y Elisabeth no se conocían, y nada indicaba que hubiera entre ellos la menor afinidad, salvo que ambos eran jóvenes y que la infelicidad que nublaba su vida los había llevado a ponerse en manos del mismo psiquiatra. Esta circunstancia en apariencia casual no tardó en revelarse como una estratagema del destino. El doctor Weiss, autor de "Muchas vidas, muchos maestros" y "A través del tiempo", supo intuir que Pedro y Elisabeth estaban ligados indisolubremente. Fueron necesarias muchas sesiones -siempre bajo hipnosis- y el entusiasmo de un médico capaz de transgredir los dogmas de la ciencia al uso, para que ambos recuperaran la memoria de anteriores reencarnaciones y descubrieran los lazos que los unían más allá del tiempo.
Lazarus Rising: A Personal and Political Autobiography
by John HowardJohn Howard spent decades under media scrutiny, and while his credentials as a political leader, devoted family man and sports tragic are beyond dispute, in this autobiography he reveals much more about himself. In Lazarus Rising, Howard traces his personal and political journey, from childhood in the post-World War II era through to the present day, painting a fascinating picture of a changing Australia. We see the youngster who had to overcome serious deafness and who latched onto the family passion for current affairs and politics. From school debating, to a legal career, to the Liberal Party and life with Janette, it all seemed such a natural progression. Yet no one would say that Howard had it easy; not when his own colleagues sidelined him . . . twice. An economic radical and social conservative, John Howard's ideology united many Australians and divided just as many others. Long before he attained the role of prime minister, he first had to convince his fellow Liberals that he was the man they needed. To do that, he had to tough it out; it took several attempts and many years biding his time. When he finally got his turn to take on the ALP, he proved wrong all his doubters, and showed a whole nation that it had been a mistake ever to underestimate John Howard. He led the Liberal Party to victory in four elections and became the second-longest-serving PM in the nation's history.Lazarus Rising is history seen through the eyes of the ultimate insider; an account of a 30-year political career. No prime minister of modern times has reshaped Australia and its place in the world as forcefully as John Howard. As part of his reform agenda he privatized Telstra, dismantled excessive union power and compulsory trade union membership, instituted the unpopular Goods and Services Tax, and established the ‘work for the dole' scheme. Then there are the insights into political leadership and character, the stuff that drives history. Without his deep reserves of resilience - and the support of a strong wife and loving family - there would have been no Prime Minister John Howard walking the world stage. He tells us how he responded on issues vital to Australia, such as gun control, the aftermath of 9/11, Iraq and the rising tide of asylum-seekers. He also shares his thoughts on his former Treasurer and leadership aspirant, Peter Costello, and the Rudd-Gillard debate.Lazarus Rising takes us through the life and motivations of John Howard and through the forces which have changed and shaped both him and the country he led for 11 years.
Lázaro Cárdenas. Un mexicano del siglo XX
by Ricardo Pérez MontfortLa biografía definitiva sobre un hombre que transformó un país. El nombre Lázaro Cárdenas se convirtió en una alegoría. Es inevitable que al pronunciarlo se piense en la expropiación petrolera, la Revolución de 1910, la construcción del México moderno, la idea de soberanía y la noción misma de lo heroico. Pero esa metáfora encubre toda la complejidad de Lázaro Cárdenas del Río, un hombre de carne y hueso que tuvo una vida inaudita, trepidante y asombrosa, plena de sutilezas y claroscuros. En esta obra, Ricardo Pérez Montfort -uno de los mayores investigadores del expresidente- relata sin cortapisas la vida del michoacano, con brillante fluidez explica las motivaciones que lo guiaron y contextualiza las decisiones de quien tal vez sea uno de los políticos mexicanos más reconocidos pero más desconocidos, más alabados pero más envueltos en mitos. En este primer tomo de Lázaro Cárdenas. Un mexicano del siglo XX, se profundiza en los años de formación del general: su infancia y juventud, su participación en la Revolución mexicana, sus inicios en la política y su meteórico ascenso en los pasillos del poder: en resumen, los hechos que configuraron al hombre que cambiaría México.
Lázaro Cárdenas. Un mexicano del siglo XX (El hombre que cambió al país #Volumen 2)
by Ricardo Pérez MontfortLa biografía definitiva sobre un hombre que transformó un país. El nombre Lázaro Cárdenas se convirtió en una alegoría. Es inevitable que al pronunciarlo se piense en la expropiación petrolera, la Revolución de 1910, la construcción del México moderno, la idea de soberanía y la noción misma de lo heroico. Pero esa metáfora encubre toda la complejidad de Lázaro Cárdenas del Río, un hombre de carne y hueso que tuvo una vida inaudita, trepidante y asombrosa, plena de sutilezas y claroscuros. En esta obra, Ricardo Pérez Montfort -uno de los mayores investigadores del expresidente- relata sin cortapisas la vida del michoacano, con brillante fluidez explica las motivaciones que lo guiaron y contextualiza las decisiones de quien tal vez sea uno de los políticos mexicanos más reconocidos pero más desconocidos, más alabados pero más envueltos en mitos. En este primer tomo de Lázaro Cárdenas. Un mexicano del siglo XX, se profundiza en los años de formación del general: su infancia y juventud, su participación en la Revolución mexicana, sus inicios en la política y su meteórico ascenso en los pasillos del poder: en resumen, los hechos que configuraron al hombre que cambiaría México.
Lázaro Cárdenas: Un mexicano del siglo XX
by Ricardo Pérez MontfortLos años que definieron una vida y una idea de patria. En este segundo tomo de Lázaro Cárdenas. Un mexicano del siglo XX, se relata el periodo central en la vida del General: aquél que transformó nuestro país y lo catapultó a la historia. Los años de su sexenio (1934-1940) y de su encargo como secretario de la Defensa Nacional -durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, ni más ni menos- son analizados con una prosa rigurosa y ágil por Ricardo Pérez Montfort, quien desmonta mitos del michoacano, de la Expropiación Petrolera, de su visión de la política y de su existencia tras Los Pinos. Así, en este tomo II de la biografía más documentada de Cárdenas del Río se presentan las coordenadas imprescindibles para entender el México de hoy, sus luchas y contradicciones.
Layman's Report
by Eugene MartenFred. An ordinary man. Repairs office copiers by day, works on his own inventions by night. Fred. Builds a better electric chair, patents a lethal injection machine, corners the capital punishment market. Fred. Looks for love, finds it in the arms of the Holocaust-denial movement-for better or for worse.Inspired by the life of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr., subject of the Errol Morris documentary, Mr. Death, Layman's Report starts with the truth and takes it where only great fiction can.Eugene Marten is the author of Waste, In the Blind, and Firework. He resides in South Dakota.
Lay This Body Down: The 1921 Murders of Eleven Plantation Slaves
by Gregory A. FreemanThe John S. Williams plantation in Georgia was operated largely with the labor of slaves--and this was in 1921, 56 years after the Civil War. Williams was not alone in using "peons," but his reaction to a federal investigation was almost unbelievable: he decided to destroy the evidence. Enlisting the aid of his trusted black farm boss, Clyde Manning, he began methodically killing his slaves. As this true story unfolds, each detail seems more shocking, and surprises continue in the aftermath, with a sensational trial galvanizing the nation and marking a turning point in the treatment of black Americans.
Lay the Favorite: A Memoir of Gambling
by Beth RaymerAn eye-popping and hilarious joyride through the underworld of sports betting. Beth Raymer arrived in Las Vegas in 2001, hoping to land a job as a cocktail waitress at one of the big casinos. In the meantime, she lived in a $17-a-night motel with her dog, Otis, and waited tables at a low-rent Thai restaurant. One day, one of her regular customers told her about a job she thought Beth would be perfect for and sent her to see Dink, of Dink Inc. Dink was a professional sports gambler-one of the biggest in Vegas. He was looking for a right-hand man-someone who would show up on time, who had a head for numbers, and who didn't steal. She got the job. Lay the Favoriteis the story of Beth Raymer's years in the high-stakes, high-anxiety world of sports betting-a period that saw the fall of the local bookie and the rise of the freewheeling, unregulated offshore sports book, and with it the elevation of sports betting in popular culture. As the business explodes, Beth rises-from assistant to expert, trusted and seasoned enough to open an offshore booking office in the Caribbean with a few associates, men who leave their families up north to make a quick killing, while donning new tropical personas fueled by abundant drugs and local girlfriends, and who one by one succumb to their vices. They lie, cheat, steal, and run, until Beth is the last man standing. Beth Raymer is a natural storyteller: funny, charming, and fully awake to the ironies around her. But she is also a keen and compassionate observer of the adrenaline-addicted, rougish types who become her mentors, her enemies, her family. Raymer brings to life a world that teems with pathos and ecstasy in this wild picaresque that also tells the story of a young woman's crazy, sexy, most unlikely coming-of-age.
Lay Down Your Guns: One Doctor's Battle for Hope and Healing in the Honduran Wild West
by Greg TaylorHow does Dr. Amanda Madrid's faith help her overcome violence and fear after dangerous drug cartels attack the jungle clinics she has established? How will she achieve her desire to bring hope and healing to the wounded and suffering people in the mountains of Central Honduras?In Honduras' "Wild West" mountain jungles, Amanda Madrid found her calling as a medical doctor to poor farmers.When she was a young girl, Amanda prayed a prayer asking God to help her serve the rest of her life as a doctor. When her father rejected her dream and calling, eighteen- year-old Amanda struck out alone to enter medical school in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.Her work as a medical officer, international consultant, and director of a multi- national Christian medical group called Predisan could have resulted in prestigious luxury for her. Instead, she became a medical missionary in her own country; her faithfulness to her prayer as a little girl led Dr. Madrid to the mountains on horseback and prepared her for the biggest challenge of her life.When a drug cartel captures a Predisan clinic in the jungle, Dr. Madrid goes toe to toe with the cartel's paid mercenaries--she in her signature red high heels and wielding prayer, the soldiers in their combat boots and brandishing AK-47s.This is the compelling story of a Honduran doctor heartbroken about the many killings and bad medicine of the drug cartels. Can the same kind of love and prayer she gives her patients also cause these violent men to lay down their guns?
A Lawyer's Life
by Johnnie Cochran David FisherBegins with the Simpson trial then reviews his previous career.
A Lawyer's Life
by Johnnie Cochran David FisherThe most famous lawyer in America talks about the law, his life, and how he has won.Johnnie Cochran has been a lawyer for almost forty years. In that time, he has taken on dozens of groundbreaking cases and emerged as a pivotal figure in race relations in America. Cochran gained international recognition as one of America's best - and most controversial lawyers - for leading 'the Dream Team' defense of accused killer O.J. Simpson in the Trial of the Century. Many people formed their perception of Cochran based on his work in that trial. But long before the Simpson trial and since then Johnnie Cochran has been a leader in the fight for justice for all Americans. This is his story.Cochran emerged from the trial as one of the nation's leading African-American spokespersons - and he has done most of his talking through the courtroom. Abner Louima. Amadou Diallo. The racially-profiled New Jersey Turnpike Four. Sean "P. Diddy" Combs. Patrick Dorismond. Cynthia Wiggins. These are the names that have dominated legal headlines - and Cochran was involved with each of them. No one who first encountered him during the Simpson trial can appreciate his impact on our world until they've read his whole story.Drawing on Cochran's most intriguing and difficult cases, A Lawyer's Life shows how he's fought his critics, won for his clients, and affected real change within the system. This is an intimate and compelling memoir of one lawyer's attempt to make us all truly equal in the eyes of the law.
Lawyers Gone Bad
by Philip SlaytonIn this shocking and delicious expose, Philip Slayton, a respected corporate lawyer and former dean of law, sheds light on those who betrayed clients and committed crimes-sometimes for very little personal gain. While recounting actual cases of Canadian lawyers who ran afoul of the law, using one-on-one interviews with the offenders and their families, Slayton searches for what drives a respected professional to corruption. Sharp and insightful, this book is a call for reform of the legal profession as well as an entertaining, eyebrow-raising look at the few who give lawyers a bad name.
The Lawudo Lama
by Jamyang Wangmo His Holiness the Dalai LamaThe Lawudo Lama presents two life stories along with an extended introduction laying out their social and cultural context. It takes place in the Mount Everest region of Nepal, the home of the famous Sherpa guides, where the people practice Tibetan Buddhism and revere the local lamas and yogis. The stories are centered in Lawudo, a small village in the Khumbu region, and the central figure is the renowned Lawudo Lama. The first Lawudo Lama portrayed, Lama Kunzang Yeshe (1864-1946), was a yogi of the Nyingma lineage who spent much of his life meditating in a cave near Lawudo, and his life is reconstructed through meticulous research of written and oral histories. The second story is of Kunzang Yeshe's reincarnation, a monk of the Gelug lineage known as Lama Zopa Rinpoche, whose story is given in a first-person narrative. Lama Zopa is well known in the West as the author of several books and as the Spritual Director of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), which has more than 100 affiliate Buddhist centers worldwide. Lama Zopa Rinpoche travels and teaches extensively to large audiences and has thousands of students. The Lawudo Lama will appeal to travelers to Nepal, to Buddhist practitioners, and to scholars trying to understand the culture of the region. It is well documented, and is accompanied by more than 125 color and black and white photos, drawings, lineage charts, and maps.
The Laws of the Ring
by Urijah Faber Tim KeownWhat's your passion? For Urijah "The California Kid" Faber, fighting is not just a thrill but an act of self-expression. From his first fight in the outlaw MMA days of 2003, Urijah recognized his passion for the sport-and since then the former WEC World Featherweight Champion, now fighting as a top bantamweight in the UFC, has been living his dream. As one of the most exciting, charismatic fighters today, with a loyal following in the MMA community, Urijah is well known for his inventive fight style, cutting-edge approach to fitness, and California swag. In The Laws of the Ring, Urijah relates the full story of how he has made a career out of a highly demanding sport. Even outside the ring, his passion for fighting has motivated him to do so much more-to open his own fitness center, create a sports clothing line, lead a fight team, and recently to coach up-and-coming fighters in the television show The Ultimate Fighter. But even the California Kid couldn't do it all without constant hard work, healthy habits, and a whole lot of positive thinking. With his thirty-six "Laws of Power," Urijah shares the life lessons he's learned along his unconventional path, drawing from personal experience to give readers a sense of life inside the ring-and show how to take those lessons into their own worlds. Part manifesto for success, personal journey, and meditation on a well-lived life, The Laws of the Ring is filled with funny, provocative, and inspirational stories for a colorful glimpse into the rise of a young superstar, and the philosophy behind his accomplishments. With clear-eyed perspective and down-to-earth advice, Urijah zeroes in on getting the life you want-and living it to the fullest.
Lawrie Bond, Microcar Man: An Illustrated History of Bond Cars
by Nick WotherspoonOnce a common sight on Britain's roads, few people today seem to have heard of the Bond Minicar not a diminutive, gadget laden conveyance for the fictional 007 character, but a popular, practical, motorcycle-engined, three-wheeler that in the post-war austerity period, gave tens of thousands of people affordable personal transport at a time when conventional vehicles were beyond the reach of the average household. Yet whilst the later, mostly imported, 'Bubble cars' have remained in the public eye, it is largely forgotten that the first of the postwar 'Microcars' to go into significant production was the British designed and built Bond. Equally enigmatic seems to be the designer of this vehicle, Lawrence 'Lawrie' Bond a prolific automotive design genius, with a penchant for weight-saving construction techniques. He was responsible for a wide range of two, three and four wheel vehicles; from ultra-lightweight motorcycles and scooters, such as the Minibyke, Lilliput and Gazelle, as well as his other Microcars the stylish Berkeley and perhaps less-than-pretty Opperman Unicar and finally to his later work, including the innovative, but troubled Bond 875 and styling the Equipe GT sportscar.Here the story is told in full, covering all Lawrie's innovative designs and the various vehicles that bore his name, all in prolifically illustrated detail, together with his passion for motor racing, which resulted in a number of technically acclaimed racing cars, some of which can still be seen competing is historic racing events today.
Lawrence of Arabia's War: The Arabs, the British and the Remaking of the Middle East in WWI
by Neil FaulknerRarely is a book published that revises our understanding of an entire world region and the history that has defined it. This groundbreaking volume makes just such a contribution. Neil Faulkner draws on ten years of field research to offer the first truly multidisciplinary history of the conflicts that raged in Sinai, Arabia, Palestine, and Syria during the First World War. In Lawrence of Arabia's War, the author rewrites the history of T. E. Lawrence's legendary military campaigns in the context of the Arab Revolt. He explores the intersections among the declining Ottoman Empire, the Bedouin tribes, nascent Arab nationalism, and Western imperial ambition. The book provides a new analysis of Ottoman resilience in the face of modern industrialized warfare, and it assesses the relative weight of conventional operations in Palestine and irregular warfare in Syria. Faulkner thus reassesses the historic roots of today's divided, fractious, war-torn Middle East.
Lawrence of Arabia's Secret Air Force: Based on the Diary of Flight Sergeant George Hynes
by James Patrick HynesX Flight was designated the task of giving close air support to the desert army formed and commanded by Lawrence of Arabia. It flew from advanced desert landing grounds on reconnaissance, liaison, bombing and ground attack missions. The existence and deeds of the flight were kept secret, so much so that even the RFC Paymaster was unaware of their existence.George Hynes was an aircraft mechanic and became responsible for keeping the flights somewhat elderly aircraft airworthy whilst working in the most difficult desert conditions on hastily constructed landing strips and living and working under canvas in temperatures that froze at night and rose to 100 degrees plus at noon.His diary gives a clear insight into the conditions endured, the actions that took place and the many almost insurmountable problems that occurred as they followed Lawrences steady advance against the numerically superior Turkish Army and Air Force. George personally encountered Lawrence on many occasions and maintained contact with him after the war.The diary is supported with the Flights weekly operational records, perspectives of the battle scenarios and other background information.
Lawrence of Arabia's Secret Air Force: Based on the Diary of Flight Sergeant George Hynes
by James Patrick HynesX Flight was designated the task of giving close air support to the desert army formed and commanded by Lawrence of Arabia. It flew from advanced desert landing grounds on reconnaissance, liaison, bombing and ground attack missions. The existence and deeds of the flight were kept secret, so much so that even the RFC Paymaster was unaware of their existence.George Hynes was an aircraft mechanic and became responsible for keeping the flights somewhat elderly aircraft airworthy whilst working in the most difficult desert conditions on hastily constructed landing strips and living and working under canvas in temperatures that froze at night and rose to 100 degrees plus at noon.His diary gives a clear insight into the conditions endured, the actions that took place and the many almost insurmountable problems that occurred as they followed Lawrences steady advance against the numerically superior Turkish Army and Air Force. George personally encountered Lawrence on many occasions and maintained contact with him after the war.The diary is supported with the Flights weekly operational records, perspectives of the battle scenarios and other background information.
Lawrence of Arabia
by B. H. Liddell HartT. E. Shaw, better known as Lawrence of Arabia, was one of the most romantic, heroic, and enigmatic figures of his day. The subject of myth and hagiography, he was equally accomplished in several fields-as archaeologist, diplomat, writer, and soldier-and he worked throughout World War I and after in the Middle East in efforts to promote independent Arab states. His autobiography Seven Pillars of Wisdom is one of the greatest works of its kind. The esteemed military historian B. H. Liddell Hart wrote this study of Lawrence in order to pierce the clouds of legend. He discussed Lawrence's Oxford days, his experiences as an intelligence officer in Egypt, and in particular the tactics of guerrilla warfare he practiced so effectively against the large Turkish armies during World War I. Liddell Hart was one of the few to give Lawrence his full justice as both a man and a brilliant soldier. Long out-of-print, this book unravels the many puzzling features of Lawrence's story and restores him to his proper place as one of the twentieth century's heroic, but very human, figures.
Lawrence of Arabia: My Journey in Search of T. E. Lawrence
by Ranulph FiennesA vivid and illuminating biography of the famed T. E. Lawrence, written by &“the world's greatest living explorer,&” Ranulph Fiennes.As a young British intelligence officer in Cairo, archaeologist and adventurer Thomas Edward Lawrence became involved in the 1916 Arab Revolt, fighting alongside rebel forces against the Ottomans. He made a legendary 300-mile journey through blistering heat; he wore Arab dress; and he strongly identified with the people in his adopted lands. By 1918, he had a £20,000 price on his head. Despite readers' long fascination in his story, Lawrence—one of history's most enigmatic adventurers—has long remained unknowable, But with in-depth knowledge of what it takes to venture into the unknown, this authoritative biography from famed explorer Ranulph Fiennes at last brings enthralling insight and clarity to this remarkable life.
Lawrence Of Arabia: Mirage Of A Desert War
by Adrian GreavesA new biography of Lawrence of ArabiaT.E. Lawrence is one of the most enigmatic characters in British history. At the outbreak of the First World War he was working as an archaeologist in the Middle East. He had no military training at all, and a strong distrust of politicians and senior officers alike. And yet he succeeded in a task where all these people had failed: not only did he unite the Arab nation - a nation at perpetual war with itself - but he also led them to victory against the Ottoman Empire.How he managed to achieve these incredible feats has fascinated and confounded historians ever since. The myths that have grown up around this remarkable man have been enhanced by the untruths Lawrence himself propagated. He was never captured and tortured by the Turks as he claimed, neither was he the first to target Ottoman troops by dynamiting their trains. And yet the truth is every bit as compelling as the fiction. He was far more ruthless than he portrayed himself, and the battles he fought were every bit as barbarous as those fought by his Ottoman enemies. He was also strangely determined not to take credit for his achievements: when offered the VC at Buckingham Palace he refused it, leaving the king holding the box.This brand new biography by the author of RORKE'S DRIFT uses primary sources to uncover the truth from all the fictions that surround this legendary man. It covers the actualities of the war Lawrence fought in greater detail than ever before, and also describes what happened to Lawrence after the war.
Lawrence Of Arabia: Mirage Of A Desert War
by Adrian GreavesA new biography of Lawrence of ArabiaT.E. Lawrence is one of the most enigmatic characters in British history. At the outbreak of the First World War he was working as an archaeologist in the Middle East. He had no military training at all, and a strong distrust of politicians and senior officers alike. And yet he succeeded in a task where all these people had failed: not only did he unite the Arab nation - a nation at perpetual war with itself - but he also led them to victory against the Ottoman Empire.How he managed to achieve these incredible feats has fascinated and confounded historians ever since. The myths that have grown up around this remarkable man have been enhanced by the untruths Lawrence himself propagated. He was never captured and tortured by the Turks as he claimed, neither was he the first to target Ottoman troops by dynamiting their trains. And yet the truth is every bit as compelling as the fiction. He was far more ruthless than he portrayed himself, and the battles he fought were every bit as barbarous as those fought by his Ottoman enemies. He was also strangely determined not to take credit for his achievements: when offered the VC at Buckingham Palace he refused it, leaving the king holding the box.This brand new biography by the author of RORKE'S DRIFT uses primary sources to uncover the truth from all the fictions that surround this legendary man. It covers the actualities of the war Lawrence fought in greater detail than ever before, and also describes what happened to Lawrence after the war.