The story is certainly captivating, but not as focused on the most interesting characters. The narrative does flow, and it’s an easy read

The Good Kings by Kara Cooney analyzes how systems of absolute power traps its citizens to make them believe they work in their best interests.

Tells the story of Chef Mozzy Mlantushi, working on a safari tour, who dreams of becoming a chef in a proper European or American restaurant

How Beautiful We Were is, in a word, fatalistic. The villagers are fighting a lost cause,– The David vs. Goliath story slowly morphs into a nuanced conflict.

The book does a great job to taking a complex, and messy, narrative and shaping it for the reader to understand. It was amusing to read how an obscure, but genius, cryptographer working in a dank room had far reaching consequences on the other side of the world without anyone knowing about it.

Pilgrim Days: From Vietnam to the SAS by Alastair MacKenzie is a memoir of the author who served in the special forces of several countries over his life. The book documents his life from serving in the New Zealand Army in Vietnam, to the SAS, South Africa, Oman, and finally as a private security agent.

Karen Blixen (17 April, 1883 – 7 September, 1962) was a Danish author who wrote under the name Isak Dinesen.

American Spy tells of Marie Mitchell works as an FBI intelligence officer, but cannot break into the old boys club being an African-American woman.

Stan Mullens, together with his partner Frank Giordano, is an American mercenary who sees himself as a scholar/soldier who likes what he does but has philosophical issues with his job.

Silence in the Desert by David Longridge – 3 school friends join the French Foreign Legion, the The Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Luftwaffe during World War II