I had no idea that his story launched the career of Lowell Thomas! Timely quote, given the relationship between Lawrence’s activities and the subsequent Sykes-Picot Agreement & the Balfour Declaration, whose reverberations we feel today.

and it's one of the most informative books I think I've ever read. I literally opened it at random -- as I usually do when selecting quotes -- and this just jumped out at me. Longer than I usually post, but I thought it was worth it.

The "show" Thomas put on was a lecture with slides, and he called it "The Last Crusade."

I’ll see if I can snag that one from my library. I’m sure if it’s not in their collection I could get it via inter-library loan.

Like many people, I’m learning how much I need to learn about the history of the ME region.

You have the most uncanny way of finding such relevant quotes that pertain to the current issues of the day. Like Pinback, I am needing to learn more about the history of the ME region.

Both paper-printed and digital. I try to select a book each day pertaining to the current issues, and then I just open at random. I'd say about 75% of the time, I find a good quote on the first page.

I don't pick them in advance, so there's a deliberate attempt to find things pertaining to current events in terms of which book I choose, but after that, it's pretty much up to the gods of random pages.

A Peace to End all Peace was quite an eye-opener for me the first time I read it in about 2001, because I hadn't realized how involved the Ottoman Empire was in World War 1. That part wasn't taught in school! I highly recommend it.

That one gives the large-scale history; City of Oranges is a much more personal history of how the big-picture events impacted individuals and families. Also highly recommended.

There's actually another quote from A Peace to End All Peace that I'd like to use at a later date, if I remember to do so. I try to mix things up.

Maybe with what's going on with the House repukes, I might try to find something on the history of Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey . . . .

Look forward to your daily quotes!