I first heard of the book after purchusing the computer game Sam & Max: Hit the Road. I Found this game so fun I hadto find a Sam & Max Web Page, that is where I heard aboutThe Collected Sam & Max: Surfing the Highmay. I imeadiatelystarted looking for a place to buy it. After a short search I was at home reading the best darn book ever writen. I would recomend this book to anybody with a sence of humor oranybody who is a fan of the off-beat game. -Tristan Dah

This book is the first one I have ever ordered from overseas and it was worth every penny of postage. Unlike the episodes shown on the Fox Kid's Network, the comics in this collection are a tad more edgy. They're still suitable for kids but there's so many winks to popular films that everyone will be tempted to pick it up and have a read. One of the many great things about Surfin' the Highway is that even when you think you've finished it's worth picking the book back up because, like Airplane! and the Naked Gun films there are so many little background jokes that you won't ever want to stop reading. I for one am hoping that Mr. Purcell will write some more Sam & Max books so that we need never reach the end of the Freelance Police's wonderful adventures. And any book which has the words "Think about how far the universe extends! Keep thinking about it until you go insane!" is worth a buy in my book.

Is you like movie stoofs then youl like this book it just cant get any funnyer than this. You join sam (A 6 foot talkin dog that wears a suit and a phadora) and max (A 3 foot rabit with huge teeth) as they go through the most twisted adventures such as defeating the beast that lives behind some cerial boxes in the cerial isle or as the eat sizzling weasals on a stic. overal this is one of the best books you can buy. Youll laf (I have know idea how to spell laf) at nany crazzy ceans like when max starts shooting out of the window and says to sam " look its a crime in progress take that and that oohh i think i got a couple of them" then sam says "there making a movei u goof thats not a crime" then after shooting at them max says "Oh dont they know shows like that promote violent behavior. Just buy but dont take my word for it find out for your self

For her thirteenth birthday in 1835, Lucinda Lawrence's grandmother sends her a diary. Lucinda lives in Gonzales, Texas, when the American settlers were fighting to break free of Mexico, and she writes of many historical events, including the Alamo (where she loses a brother and an uncle), Goliad (where another of her uncles is killed), the Battle of San Jacinto, and the "Runaway Scrape," when the women and children of Texas barely escaped a step ahead of the Mexicans. Lucinda's diary is another wonderful Dear America book and I highly reccomend it.

My book, A Line in the Sand,The Alamo Diary of Lucinda Lawrence by Sherry Garland, is about a family that lives in Gonzales, Texas. The year of 1836. In San Anotonio there was a war that was about to start against the Mexicans. The Mexicans wanted Texas as theirs, other then having Texas as a free country.

Gonzales, Texas took a part in this war by sending their men to help fight against the Mexicans. They also were sending them food, bullets, and other goods that they would need to help them. Lucinda's brother and uncle went and fought against the Mexicans. During the battle against Santa Anna they die in action.

I think this was a great book. I would recommend this book to people who like a page turner and also likes to read books in a form of a journal or diary.

This is a really great book! I have recomended this book over & over & every one has loved it. I was just as upset, sad & as happy as she was @ all the right parts. This book is described really nicely. Read this, you'll like it, trust me!

It doesn't get much better than this. And I've read most of the top books in this field. If you have an interest in Baseball -- and want to read about the sport when it was really a "game" try this book. The book is truly told by the men who played the game in the early 1900's -- as transcribed in oral history fashion -- one chapter devoted to each player. Ritter brings to life players that most of us have always read about (Ruth, Cobb and Walter Johnson) and many more greats from that era -- Harry Hooper, Paul Waner, Rube Marquard, and Goose Goslin. (And yes, the author is my Uncle, but the book is STILL a great one!)

This is one of the greatest books I've ever read and may well be the best non-fiction book I ever read. The book is actually a collection of reminiscences of old-time baseball players compiled by their interviewer, Lawrence Ritter. The original book was written in 1966 with additional chapters added for the revised 1984 version that I read. What comes across first and foremost in all the recollections is the joy and dedication of the long-retired players. At a time when labor strikes, hold-outs and escalating salaries are standard sports stories, this book takes Baseball nostalgia to a new level. It isn't just about the joy of the game, however. This book brings to light a lot of forgotten Baseball history. I fancied myself a bit of a Baseball historian but there were a number of major events in Baseball's early history that I had never heard of before. I think the most memorable was Fred Merkle's "bonehead" play that cost the Giants the pennant in 1907. That was a situation where he forgot to touch second base and thereby cost the Giants the winning run. It is told (and referred to often) with better embelishment than I just gave it but, then, that's the point of my praise; the whole book is a poetic look backwards at the game we sometimes take for granted these days. It's no accident that the best parts of the book are the earliest recollections. You can almost see the corrupting effects of popularity creep up on the game in the 1920's. The stories that these veterans tell and the details that they give make you feel like you've been there yourself. If you're a Baseball fan, you'll love this book. If you're not a Baseball fan, reading this book might just make you one.

I have heard so many stories about Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb, I can't tell fact from fiction. Lawrence Ritter and undertaken an extremely long journey to bring you a true record of the early days of baseball.

Packed with stories from legends Goose Goslin, Harry Hooper, Joe Wood, Hank Greenberg, Sam Crawford and others the spirit of baseball past comes to life. Ritter's ability to bring baseball alive is nothing short of spectacular.

Probably the best baseball book I have ever read, The Glory of Their Times, is more than a amazing collection of stories. You'll read about how baseball has transformed from a love of the game to love of money.

Each story has so much packed into it that I found myself re-reading each chapter just to make sure I got everything. I am so very proud that I have had the opportunity to read and review this extraordinary work on baseball. Thank you so very much Lawrence Ritter!

I am using this book as a study tool for my Gross Anatomy course. Anyone who has taken an anatomy class can tell you that color-coding structures is one of the most helpful ways to remember them. There are drawings of bones, muscles, joints, organ systems and explanations of virtually everything that could possibly be covered in an anatomy class. The drawings are excellent and most of the features of the bones are labelled as well. This was very helpful to me since I had to memorize virtually every tubercle, ridge, groove, or other protuberance on every bone of the body. When I had trouble with the skull because the drawings in my class notes were horrible, the drawings in this book were much clearer and helped out a lot. If you are taking an anatomy class, this is a smart and relatively inexpensive investment that will help you remember everything better.

I am an undergrad Pre-Med student, and I found that working with this book was a valuable resource for helping me to learn the parts of the body that I need to know. This book is laid out very well, and in addition to the outlines of the structures, provides brief summaries of their functions. I don't really know why this book helps ingrain the anatomy in one's brain, but my whole class purchased this book and we have found it extraordinarily helpful!!!!!!!

This is a workbook I'd reccomend for any student of Anatomy. I make a point to get a new copy every three to four years and color through it just to review and stay fresh. I am studying massage Therapy now, and first used this book six years ago when I was thinking about going into massage therapy or physical therapy since I knew I would need this(if you're wondering why the long length of time, just getting money together for school).

The knowlegde of the muscles, thier attachemnts, origins, and actions have stayed fresh in my mind for years so that going through A&P was much easier for me than for my classmates. While the bones and muscles were my main interest, I aquired a good working knowledge of the rest of the body from this book along with my textbooks.

This book is great for anyone even thinking of a medical profession, or artists needing a better understanding of how the body is put together. I have known a few people this book didn't help, but this was because they were not visual learners, but this is great for anyone who learns visually.

ADHD - to medicate or not

My son was diagnosed with ADHD when he was six years old. When he was diagnosed, it was a big shock but I set out to discover what this ADHD was all about. My search led me eventually to this book by Dr Lawrence Weathers, ADHD - A Path to Success, a revolutionary theory and new innovation in drug free therapy. Revolutionary - yes. Drug free! Was it possible? Yes!
If your child has ADHD and you are questioning the conventional treatment to medicate, read this book and explore the reasoning in it. It is an easy read and when I read it, it felt like a light had been switched on in my head. Suddenly, I could see how my son had slipped down the slippery spiral of defeat and failure. Yes, he was on medication for a while and it did help him focus at school, but was it worth it for all the side affects the medication caused? My conscience nagged me about drugging my child and this book gave me hope.
Having taken the plunge and risked travelling from England, half way round the world, I am pleased to say that the treatment does work if you let it. I now have a Grade 5 son in the advanced Maths group and the top Literacy group. He has several good mates, gets invited to their houses and has them to play in ours. Yes, he does still have bad days, (don't we all), but nowadays the good days far outweigh the bad ones.
If you read this book, it could well change your life and that of your child. ...

This book and treatment are Incredible!! As a stepmother of 3 teenagers, I highly recommend Dr. Weather's incredible, no-nonsense approach to dealing with ADHD and family.

My middle stepson was diagnosed with ADHD a few years back. He was prescribed Dexedrine, was in "resource" classes, and performing 3 grade levels below where he should have been when he came to live with his dad and I. On top of this condition, we had to integrate this child, his older brother, and younger sister into our household. Thankfully, my son did not want to continue with medication, and was somewhat open to other options. During this time, our child had also been convinced by his mother that he inherited fibromyalgea, depression, and bipolar disorder along with his ADHD. He had low self-esteem, was constantly whiney and unsocial. We decided not to use the medication, and began searching for other options. He went through one full school year at his regular level of the 6th grade. This took lots of tutoring and guidance on our part. Though, he passed 6th grade in regular classes (instead of resource), he still had trouble. We felt we were working harder at his homework than he was. Our lives were in a mess. This child got most of the attention from the entire family, and there was always someone there to bail him out. Finally, my husband found out about Dr. Weather's CAER program through his website. We read his book and immediately started applying some of the performance-based techniques. On our first school break, we packed our bags and took the entire family to visit Dr. Weather's in Washington. After 2 years (and 3 days with Dr. Weathers) we finally learned that my son did not have a problem. He was just fine. The problem was with the whole family. Dr. Weather's and his program have been our saving grace.

The program and principles worked for all of us. The other 2 children improved scholastically, and the whole family functioned. One is an honor roll student and the other enrolled in all honors classes. My husband and I learned to be a coordinated parenting team, not allowing the kids to divide us on issues. We now present a more unified front to the kids.

Dr. Weather's is wonderful. He is not only a reachable "Dr. Phil" who is no nonsense and tells you how it is, but has a scientific and proven technique that breaks bad habits and desensitizes you to what makes you over-react emotionally. My goodness! It's is so simple that the solutions to problems like these seem "too good to be true." But his solution is! It really is!

I highly recommend this book to others. Believe me, Dr. Weathers saved our lives!

I had read many books that are out these days on the subject of ADHD and in my opinion this is the best one you will find. It is the last one you will need to read because it is that great! I absolutely refused to put my son on the ADHD meds even though his school insisted I atleast do a trial period. I couldn't believe the school and fellow parents were pressuring me to medicate my 8 year old son so I decided I had to take it upon myself to try and help him. That is when I turned to books and discovered CAER. I agree with everything in Dr. Weathers book and it also helped understand my son more. I also realized I was part of the issue. I had correponded via emails with Dr. Weathers and eventually my son and I were actually able to fly cross-country to meet Dr. Weathers and be treated. Not only is my son doneing remarkably better but I also am cured from my allergies,too. Dr. Weathers CAER treatment is the BEST! I am 100%satisfied!

This title by Drs. Jacob and Lawrence is by far the best word on MSM (along with product manufacturers dmso2.com etc).

I, also, prefer the hardback version of this book. It is out of print but I found that it is still available at the distributor (msmsupplement.com as mentioned by someone in another review).

I hope that there is a new, updated version of this book on the horizon, because I know that MSM is helping so many people with a variety of problems (e.g. Arthritis, Allergies, Energy, Joint and Muscle & Nerve Pain, Skin Conditions ...). I even give it to my dogs and cats now!

By the way, Dr. Lawrence (on of the authors) is the doctor of the famous actor James Coburn. Mr. Coburn now attributes his recovery from crippling arthritis pain to benefits derived from MSM.

This book is interesting and easy to read. It is an information-packed resource for anyone with a wide variety of chronic pain and health problems. Based on this book, I have already recommended MSM to many of my animal patients--and to their owners! MSM gave me immediate and thorough relief for my own chronic arthritis pain.

Dr. Jacob and Dr. Lawrence have provided laymen with a resource that is easy to understand and full of information about our body's processes. I am a 55 year old female suffering from severe osteoarthritis pain from a ski-related injury 15 years ago. I was considering having surgery to alleviate the pain, but heard about MSM from a friend, and then found this book which gave me the facts I needed. After only one week of taking the crystals (5 grams per day), my pain was almost eliminated. I have continued taking MSM for two months now, increased to 8 grams per day with 1500mg of glucosamine sulfate daily, and have reduced my use of NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) to 1 per day from 3. I hope to completely eliminate the NSAID soon. My range of motion has improved so much that I am able to ride my horse in the mountains, climb stairs, jog, etc., all without pain! Thanks for the miracle!

Everyone who has fibromyalgia (or a loved one with fibromyalgia, like I have) has heard of Dr. St. Amand. It's a known fact that anyone seriously interested in recovery finds a way to get into his very busy practice for a visit with this compassionate man who happens to have fibromyalgia himself and truly understands the symptoms firsthand. This book brings the good doctor into your home. Buy the book, take it to your own doctor, and INSIST that he or she help you follow this plan. It will give you your life back. An added bonus: The book was coauthored by Dr. St. Amand's angelic nurse (and fellow fibromyalgia sufferer, as well) Claudia Marek, who brings years of personal anecdotes and lots of nonclinical advice and understanding to this book. Run, don't walk to the bookstore or simply buy it on the Internet. Just buy it and read it.

I suffered from pain and fatigue for most of my life. After 20 years of making the rounds of dozens of doctors, I was finally given a diagnosis of fibromyalgia. Then I was told, no one knew what it was, what caused it or how to treat it. The only solution was to treat the symptoms, and only then if you could find a doctor willing to give you the drugs to make life bearable.

Then I read Dr. St. Amand's book, and knew my instincts had been right all along. There was something in my body, actually causing this pain, and it was getting progressively worse. This is the most logical explaintion I have seen.

I have been on this protocol for 6 months and feel better that I have in several years. I can now look forward to a pain free future. This is a must read for everyone with fibromyalgia and their families.

This book is the culmination of 40 years of Dr. R. Paul St. Amand's work with fibromyalgia. He and his nurse, Claudia Craig Mareck, the co-author both have the disease and are in remisssion with the Guaifenesin protocol. They teamed up to write this book and now millions of lives will be saved.

I have been on the protocol for almost two years. I am 75% improved. I could only take a shower hanging on to the towel bar get dresssed and get back on the bed before Guaifenesin. I was so sick I don't even want to think about. The pain was everywhere. I know now that everything that has ever been wrong with me was fibromyalgia. Pain, allergies, infections, IBS and the list goes on. I had visited some of the top doctors in the country for fibromyalgia. I was no better.

The protocol seems very hard at first but if you read the book and follow the directions exactly you can reverse this terrible disease. I am making slow steady progress with the Guaifenesin protocol. IT WORKS! This protocol is not a band-aid cover up, it reverses the illness.

"Democracy in America", published in two parts (the first in 1835, the second in 1840), is the great work of Alexis de Tocqueville, a young, aristocratic Frenchman, who traveled through most of the Eastern, Southern, and Midwestern United States during a 9 month period in 1832. Tocqueville had originally set out to study the U.S. prison system but what he saw inspired him to write about much, much more.

The foresight he had for such a young man is really impressive to read 160 years later. What he saw in the morals, work ethic and government structure of the United States led him to accurately predict many of the ways in which the U.S. would lead and has led the world. At the same time Tocqueville was not oblivious to many of the ills in the America he saw. He very wisely writes of the cancer that the institution of slavery was to not only all black Americans, but to the white, Southern farmers and workers as well.

I hate having to give these books "stars" for ratings because in many cases it takes away from the ultimate importance and classic status of a book like this one. Tocqueville does tend to jump around and venture off into different topics that don't fit with the rest of their chapter, which could be attributed to his youth. Also, a few of his predictions, naturally, were way off. A native Texan, I had a good laugh at his view that "the province of Texas is still part of the Mexican dominions, but it will soon contain no Mexicans." But overall Tocqueville's view of America was honest, accurate, and the perfect explanation of why, on a daily basis, people continue to risk their lives to gain the freedom that only the United States of America offers.

De Tocqueville was an amazing man who posessed amazing insight into the workings (and not-workings) of American society. One only laments the fact that he was not a middle caste American politician arguing amongst great minds during the Constitutional conventions. Then again, we are equally lucky of the fact that he was a curious Frenchman of the leisure class who happened to be passing through. This is what gives de Tocqueville the ability to refrain from emotionalism and give us an outsiders view of what makes America good, bad and just plain different.

See, de tocqueville recognizes, as did our founders, that liberty and democracy are key ingredients to a healthy society. On the other hand, he points out that too much freedom or democracy lead to lazy, public-opinion driven conformity, over-emphasis on materialism and restlessness. Another contradiction de tocqueville points out is that although self-government is generally a good idea, there are times when an all powerful aristocracy is just more efficient. He can see all sides.
The best part then is that de Tocqueville doesn't come to any final conclusion. He just observes and reports on America's inner workings as seen by an aristocratic Frenchman.

A few reccomendations to the de tocqueville virgins. First, as this is the unabridged, it may be advised to read the first book, pause to read something else, then read the second book. I read it straight through and found that not only would I have benefited from reflection, but much of the second book is a rehash the first. Second, keep in mind during the second book that the word 'democracy' is also de tocqueville's word for 'capitalism'. The word 'capitalism' would be introduced only years later by one Karl Marx. So when de tocqueville says that democracy increases industriousness, what the reader should hear is that capitalism increases industriousness. This in itself is a brilliant observation by de tocqueville. Democracy and capitalism really are the same thing, different scale. The producer, like the political candidate, cater to the consumer or the voter. Both systems allow the individual to choose the goods and services he wants and reject those he doesn't. This is why one may also want to read 'Wealth of Nations' with this book.

The only other thing I can tell the reader before he or she embarks on a fascinating reading adventure is to keep in mind why de tocqueville wrote the book. He intended it to be read by the french who were not familiar with or had misconceptions about America. Of course, it provides contemporary America with an amazing historical survey. Like the introductory exclamation to MTV's 'Diary' show says, "You think you know, but you have no idea".

The specific edition I am reviewing is the Heffner addition which is a 300 page abridgement. I also own an unabridged edition but I have only read Heffner cover to cover. What is amazing about de Toqueville is how uncanny many of his observations are over a century and a half later. He accurately predicted in 1844 that the world's two great powers would be the United States and Russia. He aptly pointed out that Americans are a people who join associations and he is so right 156 years later. Although there are both religious extremists on both ends, ie fundamentalists and atheists, he was dead on that, as a whole, we are a religious society but that our religious views are moderate. De Toqueville shows how American characteristics evolved from democracy as opposed to the highly class structered societies of Europe. From de Tocqueville, it could have been predicted that pop culture, such as rock music etc, would develop in America because the lack of an aristocracy causes a less cultured taste in the arts. In a thousand and one different ways, I found myself marveling at how dead on de Toqueville was. Most controversially, those who argue that we have lost our liberties to a welfare state might well find support in de Toqueville. Here, 100 years before the New Deal, he forsaw that a strong central government would take away our liberties but in a manner much more benign than in a totalitarian government. There are certain liberties that Americans would willingly sacrifice for the common good. Critics of 20th century liberalism in the US might well point to this as an uncanny observation. By reading "Democracy in America," the reader understands what makes Americans tick. De Toquville was an astute observer of who we are as a people and should be read by all educated Americans.

I want to note that there are several editions of this great work and in deciding which to buy, be aware that each has a different translator. I feel Heffner's translation is slightly stilted but, he did such a wonderful job in editing this abridgement that it, nontheless, deserves 5 stars.

Reporters have been known, now and then, to play fast and loose with the facts to entertain their readers or elevate themselves. This phenomenon is not limited to our own age. For proof, look no further than Lowell Thomas' fanciful volume, With Lawrence in Arabia. In 1917, Thomas was a 25-year-old part-time instructor at Princeton, a "fledgling showman from Ohio who had knocked about North America in search of fame, fortune and adventure," according to historian David Fromkin (A Peace to End All Peace). Thomas then raised enough money to travel to Britain and the Middle East front as a World War I cameraman. With his coverage began the Lawrence of Arabia myth.

Eight copies of Seven Pillars of Wisdom were published by Oxford in 1922 (six still exist). The first limited edition was followed in 1926 with the private publication of 211 copies of the book. In 1935 another limited run was published. But the same year, Seven Pillars was reprinted at least four more times. Now, there have probably been dozens, if not hundreds of printings.

This work assured T. E. Lawrence a place in history as 'Lawrence of Arabia'. It is a military history, colorful epic and lyrical exploration of Lawrence's mind.

Nevertheless, it is largely fiction. Fromkin writes that when poet and scholar Robert Graves proposed to describe the liberation of Damascus in a biography of Lawrence, the subject himself warned Graves, "I was on thin ice when I wrote the Damascus chapter...."

A onetime junior officer in the Cairo Arab Bureau, Lawrence admitted that Seven Pillars of Wisdom included a false tale of Arab bravery to aggrandize the followers of Sharif Hussein of Mecca and his son Feisal. Indeed, as early as 1818, reputable newsmen reported that the Australian Light Horse division liberated Damascus from Ottoman control, not Feisal's Arab troops, who marched in afterwards, for show.

By 1921, Fromkin writes, Winston Churchill was in charge of Britain's Arab policy in Mesopotamia and tapped John Evelyn Shuckburgh to head a new Middle East department and Foreign Office man Hubert Winthrop Young to assist him. They arranged transport and supplies for Feisal's Arab army, earning hearty endorsement from Churchill's Masterson Smith committee, which simultaneously took grave exception to T.E. Lawrence as a proposed Arab affairs adviser. The committee considered Lawrence "not the kind of man fit to easily fit into any official machine."

Fromkin reports that Lawrence was frequently insubordinate, went over his superiors and in 1920 publicly disparaged Britain's Arab policy in the London Sunday Times as being "worse than the Turkish system." He also accused Britain of killing "a yearly average of 100 Arabs to maintain peace." This was of course untrue.

Efraim and Inari Karsh write, in Empires of the Sand, that Lawrence's Damascus victory was "less heroic" than he pretended. Feisal was "engaged in an unabashed exercise in duplicity and none knew this better than Lawrence, who whole heartedly endorsed this illicit adventure and kept most of its contours hidden from his own superiors." Yet Lawrence basked in the limelight Thomas created in London, attending at least five of the showman journalist's lectures.

As an unfortunate result of Lawrence's subterfuge, he had a large hand in shaping the modern Middle East.

Bad enough, we suffer to this day the consequences of Lawrence's fabrications.

Worse, a new generation of readers seems to accept as gospel the Lawrence of Arabia myth that stemmed from Lowell Thomas' hype and Lawrence's own Seven Pillars of Wisdom. While few seem to know it, this was long ago debunked. Those who want to know what really happened should at minimum also consult Fromkin's A Peace to End All Peace and the Karsh's Empires of the Sand. Alyssa A. Lappen

Those who enjoyed David Lean's magnificent "Lawrence of Arabia" and picked this book up wanting to gain a deeper insight into T E Lawrence will be sorely disappointed if they expected to see the film reflected clearly in the book. True, the main incidents in the film are there in the book, albeit in a totally different context: you begin to realise how freely Robert Bolt (and presumably Lean himself) adapted Lawrence's account to make the film hang together more dramatically.

Many of the previous reviewers have commented that the book is a rewarding if demanding read, that it doesn't really "get going" until about 100 pages in, and that the constant shifts of scene and entrances and exits of characters are sometimes difficult to follow. All that is true - a friend of mine advised that Lawrence is easier to read about than to read. But I felt that choppy nature of the narrative was inevitable when one considers the type of warfare Lawrence describes: hit-and-run guerilla action undertaken by (often mutually antagonistic) Bedouin tribes. Just as Lawrence's raiding parties would emerge at unexpected places out of the desert, so the reader must be prepared for the text to jump from location to location, event to event, and must I suppose be prepared for much of the text (particularly the first 100 pages) to be devoted to how Lawrence managed to muster support both from the Arabs and from the British.

Parts of the book will remain with me for a long time - for example - Lawrence's descriptions of how he dug his camel out of the snow, the descriptions of the Bedouins' eating habits, the non-romantic description of life in the desert (defecating camels, infestations of lice and so on). However, what does come over is Lawrence as a tortured soul: he both loves and despises the Bedouin; professes that he knew from the start that the British (and therefore he himself) were merely using the Arabs against the Turks and would not honour their promises at the end of the War; is both proud (particularly of Allenby) and ashamed of the British; and is both spiritually and physically attracted to the Bedouin men, yet embarrassed by this.

It helps to have even a superficial knowledge of the Middle East campaigns in World War One: I felt that the danger of not having that overview is that one would tend to think that Lawrence's campaign was the pivotal factor in those campaigns rather than a contributory one (Allenby's campaigns are referred to only obliquely by Lawrence, even though in the later stages of the book he does emphasise the supportive role he was playing). Fair enough, as Lawrence was not writing a general history of the campaigns, but I feel (as my friend advised) that reading about Lawrence now that I have read him would be interesting.

It's difficult to describe the experience of reading The Seven Pillars. It is by turns beautiful and ugly. It is military history. It is a subjective view provided by a man very much of his time. It is an apology and an excuse for the necessities of war. It is a portrait of a tribe that Lawrence came to respect and even love. It is a travel book about life in the desert at the time of writing. It is inevitably a mix of fact and history and fiction and probably at least a little bit of wishful thinking.

It's a pretty amazing book to read.

A few notes:

Before you read the book, do some quick background reading on the history that's involved. This will help avoid confustion.

Be prepared for a long read! It's not only a long book, it's an extremely dense book. The choppiness and frequent changes in tone make it hard to put on the reading cruise control.

Read it as a product of its time. Lawrence was a fascinating man, but not without his prejudices or faults.