The Passionate Spies

The Passionate Spies by John Harte is an extraordinary and thrilling read about three secret agents in Britain's Secret Service, who organized and led the "Arab Revolt" in 1917. It gave independence to new Arab-speaking nations in the Middle East and founded oil-rich Saudi Arabia. The colourful characters of spymaster Gertrude Bell (the first female officer in the British Army), the legendary "Lawrence of Arabia," and the astute traitor St. John Philby (father of the notorious KGB double-spy Kim Philby) are all so dynamic that their heroics are hard to believe, but nevertheless true and soundly researched by a perceptive author who depicts them for us in stylish prose. I found it hard to put down with its thrilling twists and turns and surprises, and amazing characters.

-Steve Harris, America's Secret History

The current war in Syria has dwarfed all serious academic study of the pre-Ba'ath era. This has left a new generation of scholars with no new literature about the formative years of the Syrian state, which the notable exception of James Barr's highly acclaimed A Line in the Sand (2011). This is why John Hart's new book is important, shedding light on British conspiracy-and agents-who shape the modern Middle East. It focuses on the careers and contributions of three individuals, Gertrude Bell, John Philby, and TE Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia. Skeptics will argue that they have been studied in the past, but never in one book, however, and not with the hindsight of 100-years, packaged in a gripping manner that will appeal to 21st century readers.

-Sami Moubayed, historian and founding chairman of The Damascus History Foundation