Hero: The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia

Written by Michael Korda

Narrated by Robin Sachs

From Michael Korda, author of the New York Times bestselling Eisenhower biography Ike and the captivating Battle of Britain book With Wings Like Eagles, comes the critically-acclaimed definitive biography of T. E. Lawrence—the legendary British soldier, strategist, scholar, and adventurer whose exploits as “Lawrence of Arabia” created a legacy of mythic proportions in his own lifetime. Many know T.E. Lawrence from David Lean’s Oscar-winning 1962 biopic—based, itself, upon Lawrence’s autobiographical Seven Pillars of Wisdom—but in the tradition of modern biographers like John Meacham, David McCullough, and Barbara Leaming, Michael Korda’s penetrating new examination reveals new depth and character in the twentieth century’s quintessential English hero.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Nov 16, 2010
• ISBN: 9780062034533

Michael Korda

Michael Korda is the author of Ulysses S. Grant, Ike, Hero, and Charmed Lives. Educated at Le Rosey in Switzerland and at Magdalen College, Oxford, he served in the Royal Air Force. He took part in the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and on its fiftieth anniversary was awarded the Order of Merit of the People's Republic of Hungary. He and his wife, Margaret, make their home in Dutchess County, New York.

[Farhad Rajabi · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fantastic biography of Lawrence of Arabia…
His life was intertwined with what we know of Middle East…

[Gary Coleshill · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very good indeed. I thought I knew a lot about Lawrence, but this taught me some things I didn`t know despite having read the 7 Pillars of Wisdom and having watched David Lean`s film several times. Nice narration by Andrew Sachs.
Maybe a tad too long though.

[reader1009-863136 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Biography. I think this would probably be very interesting if I had time to get into it (unfortunately, I don't have that time right now).

[catherineburkehines · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fascinating.

At the end, I'm a little shell-shocked at spending 700 pages with T.E. Lawrence. 700 pages is an awful lot of reading, particularly since Korda's emphasis was on military strategy (hardly my area of expertise) and since Lawrence really didn't have much of a personal life; what he did have was distinctly odd. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible. This I did." ~ T.E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom.

[aliceanna-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I almost put this book to the side permanently but I'm glad I didn't. The background info that the author gives on the Arab Revolt gets VERY tedious at times. When the subject reverts back to Lawrence's role in that historical context, the narrative picks back up again. The latter half or so of the book flows much more freely and is much more enjoyable. I just wish the author had found a way to weave the background info into Lawrence's story rather than presenting it as large chunks of dry history. Once that objection is overcome, the book is excellent and really delves into what made this very, very complicated man tick. Korda does a very good job of presenting the differing opinions of Lawrence's contemporaries (those who loved him, those who hated him and the few who fell somewhere in between) and letting the reader draw his or her own conclusions considering Lawrence's actions over the years. It is interesting to think about where Lawrence's passions would have led him had the Arab Revolt and WWI not intervened in his life. He was brilliant and his life experiences formed him into a highly complex and unpredictable man.

[zen_923 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good overview of T.E Lawrence's life. A bit dry at times.

[emed0s · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'd like to remark that I've liked the way the author references all the other Lawrence biographies as well as his correspondence, it all makes for a balanced work.

[revslick_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It is truly amazing that Korda could be an editor-in-chief at Simon & Schuster and put together such a piss poor editing job with a captivating historical figure. If you've never heard or explored Lawrence of Arabia's story then do yourself a favor and at least check out the wikipedia article.

[annelim_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Very thorough, well written, but very dense

[rsfox · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Lawrence of Arabia first captured my attention when I saw David Lean's Academy Award winning film of the same name for a high school English class. Of course, while the movie was hardly an accurate account of Lawrence's life, this book shows how that the movie was able to capture the general tone of Lawrence's experience in Arabia. That said, Korda's approach to Lawrence is well researched and superbly written and thoroughly fleshes out the remarkable character and achievements that have made T.E. Lawrence a "hero" for the ages. Indeed, Korda's telling of this impressive life is a must read for anyone interested in the modern history of the Middle East and Lawrence's role in its shaping.

In the beginning of Lean's file, standing before Lawrence's bust in St. Paul's cathedral in London following his funeral, "but did he really deserve a place in here?" Korda's biography answers that question with a resounding..."yes."

[terryballard · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An absolutely outstanding addition to the Lawrence shelf. Korda shows how Lawrence learned as a boy to push himself to the extreme, and how he totally impressed the bedouin he lived among in the years he worked as an archeologist before the war. Of the 700 pages, about a third was taken up with the war years. Korda then spends a generous portion of the book on Lawrence's failed attempt to deliver the promises he had made to the Arabs he fought for, and how he tried and finally succeeded to rejoin the military as an enlisted man at the bottom of the ranks, while still maintaining friendships with Churchill, Lady Astor, George Bernard Shaw and Thomas Hardy. Readable, thorough and enlightening.