This was a memoir of life in the RAF, and the Royal Tank Corps by the man "who kept backing into the limelight", as George Bernard Shaw put it. Enlisting under the name of "Shaw" in the RAF after enlisting in the Tank corps under the name of "Ross", and being discharged from it , the "Savior of Arabia" continues to undergo the basic training of the ordinary soldier. Lawrence felt he had some sins to expiate, and this is a part of the chronicle of that journey. I think one should read it, and then read "From Here to Eternity", to understand the ordinary peace-time soldier's journey.
It is well written, and I see that it was originally published in 1927. ( )

It's a shame that Lawrence only wrote the two books. Seven Pillars of Wisdom is a tour de force of adventure and emotion. The Mint is equally good, although in a different way.

Less introspective. Less adventure (well, there's no war on). No camels (I should hope not in Southern England). No desert (see previous). And yet, Lawrence had this incredible gift for getting the reader into his head.

The Mint is Lawrence's attempt to chronicle how the military takes recruits as raw material and mints them into something new. It is a very successful attempt.

It also serves as a kind of bookend to Seven Pillars, in which Lawrence fell apart from internal stresses. The Mint is about how Lawrence recreates himself into something whole again. Makes himself into a part of a community that serves something greater. Not as the great man leading the charge, but as one of the cogs and wheels that make the whole thing go.

If you're in the mood for an interesting and intelligent book, take a look. ( )