Among other things, Thomas Edward Lawrence was an author, archeologist, and British Army officer.  During the First World War, he served as a liaison between the British and the Arab tribes fighting Ottoman rule in the western Arabian desert.  Lawrence spent approximately two years and covered hundreds of miles by camel in this role.  His campaign was successful in toppling Ottoman rule yet failed to fully meet the Arab tribes’ aspirations for self-rule.  Lawrence tells the story in “Seven Pillars of Wisdom”.