Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations Paperback – Illustrated, April 29, 2008

I was so sorry to come to the end of this book. Every page was fascinating, written and thoroughly researched by Georgina Howell who gives us a fascinating account of a remarkable life. Gertrude Bell, born of a wealthy Victorian family, educated at Oxford, spent most of her life traveling through the Middle East, in style and on horse or camelback, and becoming very involved in its development during the early twentieth century. She had a major role in the founding of Iraq and the democratic election of its first King, Faisal, and was present as the victorious Allied powers reshaped the Arab world after World War I and the collapse of the Ottoman empire. Consulted and trusted by many powerful men from Churchill to King Faisal, her knowledge of Arabic and the ways of the Arabs- and the West- made her an invaluable resource to the British and Arabs alike.What this book taught me was how little most of us know about this era in history, about the Arab world, its customs and dramas, its personalities and clashes with the Western world which continue to this day. I was profoundly moved when I read at the end of the book that the Iraq Museum for which Gertrude had spent her last days painstakingly collecting artifacts (she became an archaeologist in order to do so) was looted of some ten thousand items and closed in 2003.I can't recommend this book strongly enough. I had previously read Freya Stark's biography, "Passionate Nomad" about another brave British woman who traveled through the mideast, and I plan to read "A Prince of Our Disorder: The Life of T.E. Lawrence" (Lawrence of Arabia). This triumvirate had a profound influence on the Arab world which is well worth understanding.

I am a native of Baghdad, Iraq. I had heard about Gertrude Bell and her role in the birth of post-WWI Iraq. This book introduced me to Gertrude Bell who is a most fascinating woman. When she sets her mind to something she always gives it her all and does an excellent job. This includes climbing the Swiss Alps, tracking wounded, dead, and missing British soldiers during WWI, and of course traveling across the Middle Eastern deserts. Bell showed the courage and wit of a thousand man! The book shared a lot of details about Gertrude, her family, her romantic life, and her adventures through the letter she wrote. While she worked for British Imperialism, and yes stood against creating a Pan-Arab state in the Fertile Crescent, she worked based on a personal connection with the Arabs of the region. She understood the dynamics of the Middle East in general and of Iraq in particular. This knowledge helped her assist the new Iraq stand on its feet after the Ottoman Turks left their three vialets (Basra, Baghdad, and Mosul) in shambles during their retreat. Bell's efforts averted a total ensuing chaos in modern Iraq after the retreat of the Turks. Bell has truly earned the title of Iraq's mother. She gave counsel to King Faisal I, the first king of Iraq--a task that was not always easy. She did earn the king's respect as well as the respect of many prominent Iraqis of the era. After reading this wonderful book about the most fascinating Gertrude Bell, my question was, "Where can I find a time machine to go back in the past and meet this special lady?" Ironically Bell and myself experienced different eras of Baghdad. I would pay very dearly to see the Baghdad she saw. She passed away when my parents were a year old. I hope that Hollywood would honor Gertrude Bell by making a movie that tells her story! I highly recommend this very informative book.

Gertrude Bell was a remarkable, brilliant and daring woman who broke all the boundaries for Victorian women. She inherited great wealth and used it to explore the Middle East and to climb mountains in the Alps. She was among the first women to graduate Oxford and she was the first and maybe only woman to explore the hidden niches of tribal Arab life before WWI. You have to read this well written book to begin to understand her challenges, her accomplishments and her immense sacrifices to her times.