Everyone has heard of T.E. Lawrence, soldier, scholar, author of Seven Pillars of Wisdom and translator who led the Arab Legions in their Revolt against the Turks. However, it is the mind of Lawrence which holds the greatest fascination. What made this man, a success by any standards, suddenly decide at the height of his fame and power to bury himself in the lower ranks of the Army and shun the honours bestowed upon him by a grateful nation? Those who have sought to understand the mind of Lawrence have often denigrated him unfairly. Can we now, after all these years - he died in a tragic motorcycle accident in 1935 - even begin to understand his complex psyche? In The Enigma Explained, Andrew Norman presents a searching yet sympathetic portrait of an extraordinary figure.
