This text is an unnecessary abridgment of one of the most compelling and beautifully written non-fiction works of the 20th century, Seven Pillars of Wisdom. While fans and collectors of Lawrence's work may find the book of interest, new readers should disregard this text and direct their attention to Seven Pillars of Wisdom post-haste. ( )

Lawrence explains in the Foreword, "If I am asked why I have abridged an unsatisfactory book, instead of recasting it as history, I must plead that to do so nice a job in the barracks which have been my home since 1922 would need a degree of concentration amounting in an airman to moroseness: and an interest in the subject which was exhausted long ago in the actual experience of it."