Perspective: Joel Hodson on Lowell Thomas
Excerpt from Joel C. Hodson’s Lawrence of Arabia and American Culture: The Making of a Transatlantic Legend, 1995
“One must question the veracity of various claims Thomas made. His articles about Lawrence include, for instance, at least one falsely reported “eyewitness” account of Lawrence in combat....It seems that Thomas was not in Arabia long enough or at the right moment to witness the military operations he claimed he did....
“Thomas’s account of visiting Lawrence in Arabia leads us to further inaccuracies and exaggerations in the Lawrence of Arabia story, and in the way it was first presented to the public. Lawrence, too, was a “teller of fantastic tales.” Together, Lawrence and Thomas created a potent story, but one no less honest than most of the official Allied war propaganda and a good deal more appealing.”
