Lawrence of Arabia

An inordinately complex man who has been labelled everything from hero, to charlatan, to sadist, T.E. Lawrence blazed his way to glory in the Arabian desert, then sought anonymity as a common soldier under an assumed name. The story opens with the death of Lawrence in a motorcycle accident in Dorset at the age of forty-six, then flashbacks to recount his adventures: as a young intelligence officer in Cairo in 1916, he is given leave to investigate the progress of the Arab revolt against the Turks in World War I. In the desert, he organizes a guerrilla army and, for two years, leads the Arabs in harassing the Turks with desert raids, train-wrecking, and camel attacks. Eventually, he leads his army northward and helps a British General destroy the power of the Ottoman Empire.—alfiehitchie