Although many books have been written about T E Lawrence and the Arab Revolt, none before has fully explored the pivotal role of the Royal Navy in the Red Sea at the time. This is the first book to be written about the Navy's role in the success of the Arab Revolt in the creation of the legendary figure of Lawrence of Arabia. Following extensive and detailed research into the activities of the ships of the Red Sea Patrol by the author, a maritime historian and former Merchant Navy officer, it has become evident that, without the work of those ships, the Arab revolt would have failed and T E Lawrence would have remained an obscure officer in the military bureaucracy of Cairo.??Lawrence was very aware of the importance and relevance of the Royal Navy in their operations in the Red Sea and commented on it on many occasions, notably in 1918, saying 'The naval side of the operations, when the time comes to tell of it, will provide a most interesting case of the value of command of the sea..'. Until now, nobody has investigated this angle in any detail. By doing this so comprehensively, this book gives a fresh dimension to the Lawrence of Arabia legend.

The Red Sea is a unique and fragile environment. All but landlocked between Africa and Arabia, its peculiar oceanographic conditions, its geographical position and its geological history all conspire to make it particularly vulnerable to the side-effects of human civilization. In places, it is already a key environment under threat. What makes the Red Sea unique? What are the threats to this environment? Where should future research be directed? These are just three of the major questions addressed by the scientists contributing to this book.

Shedding light on the historical origins of violence, trafficking, piracy and civil unrest in Somalia, Yemen and Djibouti.