At the outbreak of the First World War, T.E. Lawrence was a British officer assigned to Branch Intelligence in Cairo. In this routine job the young lieutenant demonstrated an unfortunate talent for irritating his superior officers -- as well as a remarkable knowledge of Arabia and its people. But there was nothing to indicate that he would become a legend in his own lifetime. "Lawrence of Arabia" is an absorbing account of how this dramatic change came about, beginning with Lawrence's transfer to the Arab Bureau where he was to coordinate British and Arab troop movements. Boldly he plunged into the bitter conflict raging between the Arabs and their Turkish conquerors and worked out for his Arab allies a brilliant series of campaign tactics. Against a background of desert warfare, Alistair MacLean presents an unforgettable portrait of the genius who gave his mind, heart and perseverance to a dram of Arab independence -- and in so doing became the immortal "Lawrence of Arabia".