The Mint

The Mint by T.E. Lawrence is a treasure. It is the little iron sided box of a book that he promised a friend he would make of his notes on joining the R.A.F. Lawrence chose to hide from his fame in the only place he now felt comfortable, the military ranks of fighting men. But there was no fighting now, the war was over and it was on to new things. The new thing that captured Lawrence's interest was the creation of the British Royal Air Force. He did not want to be the man in charge, sitting in an office somewhere directing it all, looking down on the action, he wanted to be in the middle of it all with the men who would do the job. In his own words: "Events killed the longer book; so you have the introduction, set out at a greater length." He was found out. There was a media frenzy. The great Lawrence of Arabia was living as an ordinary man in the ranks under an assumed name. It was way more attention than Lawrence or the budding R.A.F. could stand so Lawrence disappeared again. He hid out in the tank corps for two years before he could sneak back into the R.A.F. Reading the Seven Pillars of Wisdom leaves you hungry to know more of the man and this tiny bit is all he was willing or able to give up of himself, after already giving so much in the First World War and the writing of the Seven Pillars of Wisdom. Lawrence meant it to become a book on the work of flying, but instead it is a book about men in the service, filled with Lawrence's insights of life in the ranks. It is not about the glory, but about the men. The training, endless drills and boredom are broken by little joys and defeats that happen almost between the lines. This book is not about battle, but living to do battle. It is about ordinary men who are warriors and a great warrior who preferred their company. The book's greatness comes from the man who wrote it, it is Lawrence, who always saw the ordinary in greatness and the greatness of the ordinary.

Called by T. E. Lawrence expert, Michael Yardley, the "most honest" of Lawrence's works, it is his account of his post-World War I service in the RAF. A definite must-read for Lawrence aficionados.