Not a traditional travel guide. This book allows the reader to skip in sections, and choose whatever trip or adventure they’d like to experience.

Virginia Hall is an American from Baltimore, for her France is a second home. Virginia volunteers to work with the SOE and the OSS to coordinate the response of the French Resistance with the Allies, prior to D-Day.

Fortune’s Child: A Novel of Empress Theodora – A historical novel about a woman who used her wits and good looks to become the wife of the ruler of the empire.

Chinonso is a poultry farmer living in Nigeria, when his stops the suicide attempt of Ndali, an upper class, educated woman from a rich family

The author writes about how harems worked, the occupants and the politics of them.

About: From Russia With Love by Ian Fleming is the 5th novel in the series featuring English spy James Bond, 007. The book was published in 1957 and is considered one of the quintessential Cold War novels.   253 pages Publisher: Fine Communications Language: English ISBN-10: 1567310532   My rat­ing for From Russia With Love— 5 Buy From Russia With Love from Amazon.com* Books by Ian Fleming* Thoughts: From Russia With Love by Ian Fleming is considered the best in the series and, after reading it, I have to agree. While the book certainly offends modern sensibilities, it does offer a great story and a nail biting ending. The story revolves around the Soviets trying to humiliate the British Secret Service by killing their best agent, James Bond, in an embarrassing manner and hence lower morale. The plot was implausible back then, but even more now when people are not embarrassed at all anymore and even post their stupidity online for the ages. Bond is not a very sophisticated spy, sure he’s good at what he does but he rolls along with the thin plot to assassinate him, missing noticeable clues and falling into obvious traps, frankly it’s a wonder he’s…

It is refreshing to read a story from the aggressor’s point of view, usually we get a sore look from the victim’s eyes. This aggressor, however, is justifying his acts, however horrendous. In war and under pressure, as well as mob mentality, regular people commit atrocities which weeks or even days before were unthinkable to them.

The author does an excellent job brining the reader the many sides of Lawrence, from admiration “cool judgment under fire” to the introducing a complex man, depressed, shy but certainly eccentric.  The T.E. Lawrence we learn about has “found himself in part of the world where his taste for sweet things and his dislike of alcohol were shared by most of the local population”.

This book is certainly worth reading, there are some faults but it is a wonderful first effort by Mr. Lukas who certainly has a story telling capability. The novel is elegantly crafted with intriguing characters.

I got this book for free. Article first published as Book Review: The Templar Salvation by Raymond Khoury on Blogcritics. Giveaway: Five (5) hardcover books courtesy of the publisher. Enter below. My rating for The Templar Salvation – 4 About: “The Templar Salvation” by Raymond Khoury is the long awaited fictional sequel to “The Last Templar“.  The Knights Templar existed for more than two hundred years doing the bidding of the Roman Catholic Church.  At some point the knights have fallen out of favor with the  Pope, were hunted down and took their secrets (and some say artifacts) to the grave. What’s so mysterious? Buy the book and find out Thoughts: “The Templar Salvation” is a fast, imaginative page turner which brings back archaeologist Tess Chaykin and her boyfriend FBI special agent Sean Reilly.  This is an enthralling book and I could not find any glaring historical inaccuracies in it, quite the opposite, I thought learned a few things along he way. The book jumps back and forth in time, switching between the story of one of the last Templars and our contemporary heroes.  While the knight is trying to hide the objects of desire, central to the plot, Tess…