Commentary on T. E. Lawrence’s Seven Pillars of Wisdom

T. E. Lawrence’s Seven Pillars of Wisdom is the memoir of a British junior officer during the Allied campaign against the Turks during the First World War. A remarkable work that remains germane in the current operating environment, Seven Pillars was not the book that Lawrence intended to write upon embarking on his adventures in southwest Asia. He had drafted a book on seven great cities of the Middle East but lost his initial text prior to completion. As a tribute to this work Lawrence maintained the title, which he derived from the Bible, Proverbs 9:1, “Wisdom hath builded a house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars” although not relevant to his seminal writing. Lawrence captures many essential aspects of war. He depicts war as brief flashes of tremendously violent activity nested within a boring and monotonous series of actions. Lawrence also provides a framework for the modern parlance of operational culture and irregular warfare. Though at times verbose Lawrence provides an incredible depiction of the Arab environment and human landscape in war.

When viewed against the backdro...