Lawrence of Arabia and American Culture: The Making of a Transatlantic Legend

Departing from prior scholarship on T.E. Lawrence, this work examines the extent of Anglo-American cultural interplay and the popular culture machinery involved in the manufacture of the Lawrence of Arabia legend. Although not recognized as such, the Lawrence legend was as much an American product as a British one. American journalist Lowell Thomas first publicised the story through war travelogues given in New York City, which soon found their way to England. The legend was perpetuated by American literary interest in Lawrence and then by a Hollywood film. By the 1960s, the Lawrence of Arabia story had become a small commercial industry.