Lawrence of Arabia

“Mr. Fiennes’s Lawrence of Arabia: My Journey in Search of T.E. Lawrence is a casually elegant biography. 'No man is unblemished, particularly those who reach for greatness,' writes Mr. Fiennes, a fine biographer and autobiographer. The empire that Lawrence served is gone, and the Arab states in whose birth he played a crucial role are in chaos, but his hold on the English imagination endures in the post-imperial age. Mr. Fiennes has written a subtle and sympathetic account of a hero who did not want to be known.”

“An engaging, deeply personal, sometimes slightly eccentric new study by the adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes.”

“A biography of T.E. Lawrence, including accounts of his military and political work in supporting the Arab uprising against the Ottoman Empire in WWI, runs parallel to Fiennes’ recollection of events in Oman and their relation to Lawrence’s experiences. Fiennes' descriptions of the immense Arabian Desert and its weather are arresting and surprising, his account suspenseful.” 

Praise for Shackleton: A Biography:

“When Ranulph Fiennes produces a book about Ernest Shackleton, it should get our attention. I found that the best way to read this book is to imagine that you are in a pub sharing a beer with Sir Ranulph while he regales you with his tale about Ernest Shackleton. Fiennes moves the narrative along at a good pace and his storytelling becomes particularly animated when he is describing the actual grind of slogging through the snow and ice.”

“Fiennes brings the promised perspective of one who has been there, illuminating Shackleton’s actions by comparing them with his own. Beginners to the Heroic Age will enjoy this volume, as will serious polar adventurers seeking advice. For all readers, it’s a tremendous story.”

"Think of Fiennes, rather, as an Edwardian raconteur with veiny cheeks and a plummy growl who pours you a dram and pulls you close to the fire. He concedes that Shackleton was bad at business, bad at planning, bad at domestic life, and all too adept at taking risks. But he endorses the conclusion that 'When you are in a hopeless situation, when there seems to be no way out, get on your knees and pray for Shackleton.’"

“Fiennes's admiration shines through. A thorough record of Shackleton's successes and failures."

"Fiennes’ own experiences certainly allow him to write vividly and with empathy of the hell that these men went through.”

"Stirring. No one is better placed than Fiennes to understand or appreciate the enormity of this achievement.”

“There can be few stories in the annals of exploration so firmly entrenched in the public imagination as Sir Ernest Shackleton’s. Highly readable and compelling.  Fiennes is the only one of Shackleton’s biographers to have experienced firsthand anything like the extremes Shackleton and his men endured.  He sparks it to life in a way no other biographer could. Brilliant.”