"Thomas Edward Lawrence first set foot on the hot sands of Arabia in 1909. By 1918 there was a £20,000 price on his head. Lawrence's journey to becoming Lawrence of Arabia has long been legend. From his first postings as archaeologist, liaison and map officer, to fighting alongside guerrilla forces during the Arab Revolt. Journeying more than 600 miles through blistering heat to capture Aqaba, to his involvement in peace conferences that decided the future of the Middle East, Lawrence gave over his life to this land and its people. His journey to this point has long been legend. From his first postings as archaeologist, liaison and map officer, to fighting alongside guerrilla forces during the Arab Revolt. Journeying more than 300 miles through blistering heat to capture Aqaba, to his involvement in peace conferences that decided the future of the Middle East. Lawrence gave over his life the Middle East and its people. An unhappy outsider in childhood; in Arabia Lawrence found a home. Lawrence's epic story has always been ripe for the retelling - but Ranulph Fiennes is no ordinary biographer. Leading Arab troops into battle on the Arabian peninsula in a war fought only fifty years later. Fiennes too discovered the wonders of these far-flung lands and the people who live there, and is one of very few who can claim a true insight into the kind of life that Lawrence lived - bold and adventurous to the end. With detailed access to records and an in-depth knowledge, of the exploration routes and mindset of those who venture into the unknown, in 'Lawrence of Arabia' Fiennes brings us at last to a true and full account of this mysterious adventurer who captivated the world."-- Taken from dust jacket.