Two Books - Two Views

There are 2 books which have had more influence on events in the Middle-East than all of the diplomats and peace plans of the last 100 years combined. One, “The Seven Pillars of Wisdom” is an observation by T.E. Lawrence “of Arabia”, and gives insight into the fragility of the unity amongst the Arab tribes. It is also his personal observation of his experiences in the First World War as a liaison officer working with the Arabs against the Turks in the destruction of the Ottomon Empire in 1916-1918.

He took the title from the Book of Proverbs 9:1: "Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars.” Before the war had begun, Colonel Lawrence had begun a book on the 7 great cities of the Middle East, and their place in history. The finished version is actually the third version; the first having been abandoned by the outbreak of the war; the second having been stolen while on a train in England. (Wouldn’t you love to find that at a yard sale?)

“The Seven Pillars” is actually a rock formation located in Wadi Rum, or, what is present day Jordan. This is where he was based while serving with the British Forces in North Africa. Authorized by Emir Faisal he prepared attacks on the Ottoman Turkish forces from Aqaba in the south to Damascus in the north (present day Syria).

The dedication is one of the most debated in literature, with many believing it was dedicated to the young boy who acted as his aide-de-camp and was named Selim Ahmed, hence the dedication to “S.A.” Others believe the book was dedicated to the unity of the entire Arab race. Here is that poem;

I loved you, so I drew these tides of
Men into my hands
And wrote my will across the
Sky and stars

To earn you freedom, the seven

Pillared worthy house,

That your eyes might be
Shining for me
When I came

Death seemed my servant on the
Road, 'til we were near
And saw you waiting:
When you smiled and in sorrowful

Envy he outran me

And took you apart:
Into his quietness
Love, the way-weary, groped to your body,

Our brief wage

Ours for the moment
Before Earth's soft hand explored your shape
And the blind

Worms grew fat upon

Your substance
Men prayed me that I set our work,
The inviolate house,
As a memory of you

But for fit monument I shattered it,

Unfinished: and now
The little things creep out to patch

Themselves hovels

In the marred shadow
Of your gift.
 

The most unusual thing about this book is that T.E. Lawrence, who was an admirer of the Arab cause to be free of western influence, was the first cousin to Colonel Orde Wingate, the unsung hero of Burma during the Second World War, where he took on the Japanese with no outside support, constituting a third front and diverting valuable Japanese materials, and manpower to the area using tactics taken from the Old Testament, calling his 5 man groups the “Chindits” after the warriors depicted in the Bible. I have often wondered what dinner conversation was like between the two; what with one supporting Arab unity; while the other was an ardent Zionist.

The next book, “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” or “The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion” was an anti-Semitic diatribe passed off as real. In it, it purports to verify a worldwide Jewish plan to take over the world financially. It was first published in Russia in 1903 under the supervision of Pyotr Ivanovich Rachkovsky, and then widely distributed in America by Henry Ford, who provided funding for 500,000 copies.  It was later used by Adolf Hitler to vilify the Jews in Germany and elsewhere in Eastern Europe. Many people today still read this book and believe it to be true.

If you are wondering about this post; what its purpose might be; there is none really, beyond calling your attention to these two books which represent a large part of how the Middle East of today became the Middle East of today.

"The Bridge Over the River Kwai" by Pierre Boulle

As a young boy I saw the film version of this book with Alec Guiness playing the part of the British Colonel Nicholson. It was an exciting movie but I was a little bit puzzled at the time as to why a British soldier would so eagerly build a bridge for the Japanese. As I said, I was a young boy and my understanding of some things was not yet well formed.

The book, written by Pierre Boulle, who by the way also wrote "Planet Of the Apes",sets the record straight on the first page. He describes the mentality of the Japanese Colonel Saito as being the same as that of British Colonel Nicholson. They are both obsessed with "saving face". Having "spilled the beans" of the message on the first page does nothing to detract from the book. Rather it compels you to keep reading in order to justify this assertion.

The story is of two men and their clash of wills, even as they begin to realize that the gulf that seperates them only undercores their similarities. They are both the end products of false pride. They are both stubbornly rooted in their own beliefs of superiority over the other.

The main thrust of the plot concerns the building of a bridge over the River Kwai. This bridge will carry trainloads of war materials to the Japenese in the isolated areas of Burma. Colonel Saito is under tremendous pressure to get the job completed. Construction on the bridge has begun with almost no progress being made as the prisoners do everything in their power to sabotage the project. It appears that they are happily succeeding in their efforts.

At this point Colonel Nicholson and his men are taken prisoner and marched into camp. They are then tasked with completion of the bridge. As a Japanese, Colonel Saito is determined to bend the prisoners to his will and get the bridge built. To do less would be a loss of face. Colonel Nicholson, on the other hand, is hell bent on showing Colonel Saito that the Japanese are not capable of building a bridge without the British engineering and supervising the work. And although it is against the Geneva Convention to have prisoners work on military projects, Colonel Nicholsons' pride makes him an unwitting accomplice to the Japanese goal. His men are less than pleased. Some think him outright insane.

Unknown to Colonel Nicholson is that word has reached the British Command of his actions. A Commando team is dispatched to destroy the bridge. By this time construction is going well and the bridge is almost complete. The first train is headed towards the River Kwai and Colonel Nicholson is ready to celebrate his "victory" over the Japanese with the sucessful opening of the bridge. He is flush with pride over this accomplishment.

While all this has been going on, the Commandos have infiltrated the area and have wired the bridge, planning to destroy it even as the first train crosses. As Colonel Nicholson inspects the bridge he notices the wire and races to save his beloved bridge. In a gripping climax the Commandos are forced to kill some of the prisoners as one of the Commandos races to stop Colonel Nicholson from disarming the explosives. When the Commando is killed Colonel Nicholson returns to reality and with the sounds of the locomotive crossing the bridge overhead he sets off the charge himself while exclaiming, "What have I done?"

A pulse pounding story based on fact, both the book and the movie keep you on the edge of your seat. The book underscores one of the worst of the Seven Deadly Sins- Pride.

An interesting afternote to this book is the historical aspect. In real life this story actually happened- with one notable exception. The British never did destroy the bridge and it not only served the Japanese for the duration of the war, but parts of it are still in use today.

The movie was released in 1957 and garnered 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture. With flawless direction by David Lean and a cast including Sessue Hayakawa as Colonel Saito and Alec Guiness as Colonel Nicholson, the movie,as well as the book, are both excellent and have long been favorites of mine.