A Prince of Our Disorder

A hugely admired, and Pulitzer Prize–winning, biography which concentrates on the relationship between Lawrence’s inner life and the actions and events which grew out of them. It is easy to warm to a biographer who, while drawing on his training as a psychiatrist, is never deceived into thinking that theory can ‘explain’ his Lawrence. The more Mack discovered about the social contexts of Lawrence’s actions and the demands on a public man, the more he understood Lawrence’s psychology. The result is a resounding confirmation of this approach to his subject. -- Desmond Christy * The Guardian *
A great book which honors its subject, its form, and its author. * Boston Sunday Globe *
Takes us closer to the core of Lawrence than any previous biography. * Time *
We are not likely to get as thorough and judicious a biography of T. E. Lawrence for some time. * New York Times Book Review *
Mack’s handling of this information is a model of sensitive psychoanalytical expertise. * Newsweek *
Unlike many ‘psycho-biographies,’ this was written by a trained psychologist who had also done his biographer’s homework: it remains the best biography of T. E. Lawrence. * Contemporary Review *