Author John Harte was born in London in 1925 when it was still at the center of foreign affairs and global issues. He was eight years old when Hitler became the sole dictator leading the biggest and most modern military forces ever. Harte’s awareness of the imminence of World War 2 took place when five Cambridge students decided they must take a stand against the threat of Nazi Germany. But his perception arose without their understanding of world affairs. Since he had inherited a library of over two thousand books from his father, he began to study them. Several described the First World War, which still puzzled historians, economists and journalists.

As a Second World War became inevitable, the author was growing into a teenager in the midst of the wartime crisis, with battles between fascists and communists, the unfolding civil war in Spain, and the helplessness of Britain’s weakest-ever government. It was an anxious time in England for anyone who understood what was happening.

The author became not only an observer of history, but also a watcher of political and military events. He was able to distance himself from communist ideology, which he found hard to take seriously. That was because he was still unaware of what the five brilliant Cambridge students had realized and discussed among themselves—that it was essential to help the Soviet Union to defeat Nazi Germany and prevent the German armed forces from conquering Britain.

As a prep school boy, he watched the bombing of London and the Battle of Britain from a rooftop in the West End. With three older brothers in uniform, it was inevitable that the incidents of the war would be vividly stamped on his memory.

I THE SEARCH FOR A BACK DOOR

1. Portrait of a Woman Secret Agent 9

2. The Arab Bureau 14

3. Gertrude Bell’s Team 19

4. A Hairy, Hardy Adventurer 21

5. A Man with a Mission 26

6. In the Hands of the British Raj 31

7. Journey to Fame 35

8. A Back Door to Europe 39

9. The Official Mind 42

10. Gertrude’s Thirst for Knowledge 47

11. The Arab Rising 55

II TAKING THE INITIATIVE

12. An Unlimited Liability 63

13. Two Sides of Philby’s Head 68

14. A Lone Wolf 72

15. Trusting Philby 77

16. Turkey’s Lifeline 80

17. The Attack on Wejh 85

18. The Art of War 87

19. The Hejaz Railway 91

20. Turkish Folly 94

III ANNOYING THE ENEMY

21. Lawrence’s Odyssey 98

22. The Door to Syria 104

23. The Aqaba Expedition 107

24. Arrival of an Unknown General 112

25. A Race Against Time 118

26. General Allenby’s Breakthrough 122

27. Treachery 128

28. The Cut-Throats 133

29. Yesterday’s Man 136

IV MECHANIZED WAR

30. Mechanized Warfare 137

31. The Final Stroke 143

32. Philby’s Future 149

33. Gertrude Bell’s Balancing Factor 154

34. The Value of Oil 159

35. Lawrence’s New Partner 161

36. Philby’s Dilemma 168

37. The Seven Pillars of Wisdom 174

38. Caliph of Islam 178

V THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE

39. Philby’s Fortunes 183

40. Reduced to Poverty 187

41. A Public Nuisance 192

42. The Opportunist 199

43. Philby’s Astuteness 204

44. Philby’s Ride to Fame 209

45. The Oil Business 213

46. The Great Game 218

47. Gertrude’s Passion 221

48. Epilogue 227

Notes 231

Index 241

Cune Press 248

Author 250