Calling all graduate readers: this
month’s selection for the Third Thursday book Club meeting, chosen by popular
vote at last month’s meeting, is Desert Queen, by Janet Wallach.
This fascinating biography reveals the extraordinary life of Gertrude Bell:
adventurer, adviser to king, ally of Lawrence of Arabia.
Turning away from the privileged world
of the “Eminent Victorians”, Gertrude Bell (1868-1926) explored, mapped,
and excavated the world of the Arabs. Recruited by British
intelligence during World War I, she played a crucial role in obtaining
the loyalty of Arab leaders, and her connections and information provided
the brains to match T.E. Lawrence’s brawn. After the war, she played
a major role in creating the modern Middle East and was, at the time, considered
the most powerful woman in the British empire.
A richly textured biography of a woman
who devoted her life to knowing the desert Arabs better, perhaps, than
any other European of her day.
"Wallach comfortably commands the
tangled political and diplomatic history of the Middle East.” (Chicago
Tribune)
Please join us for a stimulating discussion
of this unusual book, accompanied, of course, by wine, coffee, and delicious
refreshments.
Where: Berkeley and Mike’s
When: Third Thursday, March
20, 7:30 p.m.
Reservations: Yes, please
call Berkeley or email.
Cost: free - participants
take turns bringing refreshments.
Where else can you have so much fun
for free? |
