Setting the Desert on Fire: T. E. Lawrence and Britain's Secret War in Arabia, 1916-1918

Scholarly but very readable account of the Arab Uprising. I liked Barr's extensive use of sources other than T.E. Lawrence. His description of how and why Britain decided to support a backwater Middle Eastern revolt in the first place is very well written. Britain was pouring money into Arabia; without T.E. Lawrence's organizational skills that money would have been wasted, the funds would have been cut off, and the Revolt would have failed. The Arabs may feel they got a raw deal, but it was probably the best deal possible at the time.Those expecting a novel (the cover art may fool you) or an easy read will be disappointed. The title is from Lawrence's description of Emir Feisal in Seven Pillars of Wisdom, and Lawrence took the photograph used for the cover. (He used photography as an archeologist and map maker before the war.) The book is well sourced; it has a bibliography, an index, footnotes, maps, and a list of people. The list was very helpful, because this is a story with dozens of characters. Barr inserts little descriptions of places he visited during his research. I found these interesting. Some places haven't changed much in a hundred years; other places (like Aqaba) are completely transformed.Setting the Desert On Fire isn't about Lawrence of Arabia, it is about Britain's role in the Arab Revolt. Lawrence was an important part of the story, so he's used as the fulcrum. The romantic image of Lawrence of Arabia was used to sell the book. This is unfortunate, but I'm glad I wasn't put off by the publisher's marketing.

This book is for the serious students of Middle East history. It has provided me with valuable information and insight that I was not able to obtain from other sources.

Well worth the read for several reasons: Gives the reader a better perspective of the extremely complex situation. Includes information from the German side I have not seen before. Provides information on the present state of many historic sites. I would like to see more from the Turk and German side in any future attempts to deal with this. I assume that angle has been written but never published widely in English.Chapter 19 on the Dera episode is perhaps somewhat unkind. Of course one cannot not be perfectly clear on the single missing page in Lawrence's diary. I would have like to have seen photos of the adjacent pages, a mention of the possibility that Mrs. Shaw may have removed it, a mention of evidence going against the author's theory (in that there is a statement of a military doctor who treated Lawrence soon after the Dera incident and there are statements by other colleagues saying that they did not question that the event did in fact occur and why).One never is able to chose the order of their books, but this book is best savored after reading Seven Pillars of Wisdom (1922 Oxford Edition), Safety Last, and Orientations. Better to read the word of TEL's fellow officers before taking on the modern perspective.The author obviously loves his subject and has done his work extremely well.

For anyone who doubts the adage "that those who ignore the lessons of history are condemned to repeat them" then this is the book for them. Barr not only looks at Lawrence's role in the desert revolt of 1917 to 1918 but also the convoluted dealings of Britain and France in the Sykes-Picot accord and its consequences for the Middle East today.The book is well researched with copious notes and references and extensive bibliography. There are also photographs of many of the people and places mentioned in the text. The book examines the reason for Britain's involvement in the region, the tensions between the India Office and its support for the ibn Saud family and the Egypt Office and its support for the ibn Husain family and the tensions between the Arab tribes themselves and the lack of a clear aim for the revolt. It also examines in some detail how the British government wanted to distance itself from the Sykes-Picot accord as the war progressed and the French insistence that it be honoured.The only criticism I have is that the author has a tendency to interpose his own observations of the sites of events in the middle of the text about those events without the benefit of separate paragraph. Apart from this the book is an excellent read and well worth its purchase for anyone interested in the region, the desert revolt or T. E. Lawrence.

After reading other books about and by T.E. Lawrence (including Seven Pillars of Wisdom), this book added important context to better understand the people and events that were part of the war in the desert during WWI. It helped clarify in particular some points about Lawrence's role in leading the Arab revolt, his achievements and troubles and how contemporary events in the Middle East still reflect what was then set in motion.

This book has good potential, telling the tale of the Arab revolt against the Turks in WWI, but spends too much time describing, in much more than needed detail, the many day to day meetings between this tribal chief and that British officer, who traveled when to where, and which dispatch said this and that to some other diplomat back in France or England or wherever. As a strict history it does cover the subject, but it's a somewhat boring read unless you are really interested in the politics. Recommended with caution.

They delivered before schedule. Books were exactly as described and ordered.

Well written, well researched, and very interesting. It reads like a novel and has information worthy of a research paper. I learned a lot about a portion of World War I that is generally overlooked, except for the movie "Lawrence of Arabia", and yet it set the stage for many later events.

I've rated the book 3* (314 pages of small fonts with reasonable maps and poor photos) because, though it gives interesting perspectives ... it says too little about people.Barr's book is at it's best when explaining the contradiction that underlay British policy ... that HMG had pledged to the Arabs things which conflicted with the Sykes-Picot treaty (between the British and French); in that context the book makes clear how important and unexpected it was that the Arab Revolt extended north (beyond the Hejaz) into Iraq and Syria. The book is interesting when explaining the religious dimension of policy across the region, including the role of India and it's Moslems (Indian troops on the ground e.g., in Iraq and the Moslems affecting the likelihood of which groups in which countries would do what e.g., affecting the independence movement in Egypt) and the rise of Zionism.But it says too little about people. Most strikingly Lawrence was a fascinating man the book says too little about and, if we didn't know from other sources, we'd wonder why David Lean made a film about him. James Barr doesn't make clear that it was Lawrence's education (e.g., his interest in the Crusades), his time in Carchemish, but above all his subtle brilliant intelligence, that made him the right man at the right time. Barr doesn't explain (as mentioned by Frank Stirling in his memoir "Safety Last") how amazing it was that Lawrence influenced (the senior soldiers around him) by force of character, including in the inner (and of course Arabic in language and culture) circles of Sharif Feisal. The Arab war strategy was shaped and courageously implemented by Lawrence, and you can get an impression of his originality from "The Strategy of Indirect Approach" by Liddell Hart (available on the Internet Archive) who knew Lawrence well.

Barr writes convincingly on TEL'smultiple roles during this critical period of modern history.What is interesting is the understated recognition given to GL Bell in the development of Lawrence.Barr could have made more of her brilliant work prior to L coming on the scene and using her knowledge to such good effect.Foe Lawrence fans there is much to savour that paints a complex picture of the birth of an Arab Revolt.Note..self determination is not given but taken!

I've watched the 1960's classic film "Lawrence of Arabia" many times and wanted to know more about what happened to the Middle East before, during and after WWI. This book pretty much covers the campaign during the period 1916-1918, with all the subterfuge, political in-fighting and military battles that happened at the time. Highly recommended.

This book tells the history of this part of the First World War in a fairly straight forward narrative - this means lots of details, names and dates. For me it is at its best when it is giving insight into the characters that were involved, and unfortunately it does this infrequently. My biggest issue with it, is that there is lots of detail but little analysis or reflection. At the end of the book we know a few more facts but don't understand much more about the key people involved or what their motivations were. Disappointing.

No dislikes really - would recommend to anyone interested in learning about T.E Lawrence but be aware that if you have seen the movie "Lawrence of Arabia" you will be in for a lot more facts than shown in the film with far more people involved in that particular era of events. Lawrence,in my opinion,was the right man in the right place at the right time. Depending on your viewpoint he was also a man "used" for greater means by governments involved.