INTRODUCTION


Colonel Stewart Francis Newcombe was already a legend in the deserts of Arabia before he was joined in Cairo during the early months of the First World War by a group of extraordinary specialists in Middle Eastern affairs. One member of this group was T.E. Lawrence who went on to achieve worldwide fame. Colonel Newcombe's story, like those of other unsung figures in the Anglo-Arabian panoply, has been eclipsed by the legend of ´Lawrence of Arabia´, and has languished in the dusty recesses of regimental records, government files or in the elliptical words of Lawrence’s book Seven Pillars of Wisdom. However, S.F. Newcombe´s untold story is there to be told. IN THE SHADOW OF THE CRESCENT is a story of extraordinary exploits and courage, coupled with Newcombe's own legendary and inexhaustible supply of energy and of remarkable adventures under the very noses of the Ottoman authorities – full of danger, intrigue and perhaps more surprisingly, of romance during Newcombe's captivity in Turkey.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

The Legacy of Lawrence of Arabia

Part Two of the Rory Stewart documentary, The Legacy of Lawrence of Arabia, will be shown on BBC2 on 23 January 2010 at 7pm. This is a revised time from the one originally advertised.

Part One can still be seen via the BBC iplayer at The Legacy of Lawrence of Arabia until the 23 January, although only in the UK. 

For those interested in early reviews - of Part One - look at the Daily Telegraph's  Lawrence of Arabia's legacy and the paradox of power and The Scotsman's The TV Review

Friday, January 8, 2010

Rory Stewart and the Legacy of Lawrence of Arabia

Rory Stewart presents the first part of his two-part documentary The Legacy of Lawrence of Arabia on Saturday 18 January 2010 at 8.00pm on BBC2.
"And I believe if our generals and politicians could see what Lawrence saw, then we would not be in the mess we're in today."
Rory Stewart is the Executive Chairman of the British charity the Turquoise Mountain Foundation and Director of the Carr Center for Human rights Policy at Harvard University. Having walked across Afghanistan he published a book entitled The Places in Between about his experiences and his observations. It became a New York Times bestseller and was named one of the New York Times' 10 notable books in 2006 and was hailed by the Times as a 'flat-out masterpiece'.