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swizzlevixen's review
adventurous
informative
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
4.0
Fascinating history, told in an almost distressingly narrative manner that makes it seem more fictional than real. However, there is a lot of source material to back it up, and much of the source material is vague and colored by personal recollection, and the desire to present things as more palatable than they might have been, so I can see the desire to amalgamate these into a series of more personal recollections that may or may not reflect the actual truth. A fascinating story, nevertheless.
mightync's review
2.0
I'm an Indiana Jones fan and I was very excited to read this book. But, after a chapter where Cyril Foley tells a story in, what I assume is, a London pub to a group of men, I wondered what kind of book I was reading. This may be a true story, but gussying up the narrative with poetic descriptions of the setting and "could-possibly-be-true" interactions between the characters detracts from the facts. And the facts, the knowledge gained about things that happened in the past, are what draw me to history. A little embellishment is understandable when sources are scarce, but this book seemed to be at odds with itself. Is it a history book? Dialogue and the inner thoughts of characters should not be so prevalent and numerous in a work of non-fiction. Is it historical fiction then? Frankly, I'm disappointed. There was a lot of digging, a lot of speculating, a lot of deciphering, and a whole lot of empty tunnels, but very little discovery. Though I'm sure the author wanted this to be a captivating and adventurous saga like an Indiana Jones blockbuster movie, the reality is, it's not.
trike's review
1.0
Perhaps this story is untold because it’s uninteresting. When you have to invoke Jack the Ripper in order to add a bit of spice to your narrative because one of the people tangentially involved with your archeological dig was also tangentially involved with that murder case, perhaps you should look elsewhere for thrilling adventures.
[b:The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon|3398625|The Lost City of Z A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon|David Grann|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320487318l/3398625._SY75_.jpg|3438638] also makes a meal out of not much, but at least there the focus is kept squarely on the area in question without bringing in a bunch of irrelevant side topics. But even there I struggled to maintain interest in that book, semi-reluctantly giving it three stars instead of two simply because it was decently written.
The writing here is so flowery that it borders on purple prose. It almost feels like he was paid by the adjective. In my nonfiction history I don’t want the author to wax poetic about sunsets and other such irrelevancies that have bog-all to do with the tale at hand. (And, frankly, unless you’re going from journals and contemporary weather reports, you have no damn idea what the day looked like in 1909.) The template for this should be the excellent [b:Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica's Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night|54900051|Madhouse at the End of the Earth The Belgica's Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night|Julian Sancton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1600097225l/54900051._SY75_.jpg|85668818], where the scene is set deftly with a brief description and then we move on to the meat of the story. Plus, Sancton had several journals kept by the sailors to work from, as well as numerous newspaper articles, so he was able to piece together a story from their day-to-day recordings and contemporary accounts.
There’s not as much of that here, hence all the adjectives and extraneous side stories. Plus, there’s not much payoff. I suppose one could argue that it was the journey rather than the destination which was important, but when you have a meandering road trip where passengers go off to do random things, it’s hard to sustain that argument.
[b:The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon|3398625|The Lost City of Z A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon|David Grann|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320487318l/3398625._SY75_.jpg|3438638] also makes a meal out of not much, but at least there the focus is kept squarely on the area in question without bringing in a bunch of irrelevant side topics. But even there I struggled to maintain interest in that book, semi-reluctantly giving it three stars instead of two simply because it was decently written.
The writing here is so flowery that it borders on purple prose. It almost feels like he was paid by the adjective. In my nonfiction history I don’t want the author to wax poetic about sunsets and other such irrelevancies that have bog-all to do with the tale at hand. (And, frankly, unless you’re going from journals and contemporary weather reports, you have no damn idea what the day looked like in 1909.) The template for this should be the excellent [b:Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica's Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night|54900051|Madhouse at the End of the Earth The Belgica's Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night|Julian Sancton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1600097225l/54900051._SY75_.jpg|85668818], where the scene is set deftly with a brief description and then we move on to the meat of the story. Plus, Sancton had several journals kept by the sailors to work from, as well as numerous newspaper articles, so he was able to piece together a story from their day-to-day recordings and contemporary accounts.
There’s not as much of that here, hence all the adjectives and extraneous side stories. Plus, there’s not much payoff. I suppose one could argue that it was the journey rather than the destination which was important, but when you have a meandering road trip where passengers go off to do random things, it’s hard to sustain that argument.
db_cooper's review
adventurous
challenging
informative
medium-paced
3.0
Really well written descriptive vignettes, but as a whole, didn't hold together well as an integrated story. Lots of good anecdotes. Doesn't wrap the "plot" up nicely, lots of unresolved threads, but that is likely reflective of the nonfiction subject matter (not a tidy ending), rather than the author's skill. Glad I read, likely won't reread.
duchessofreadin's review
4.0
Are you ready for an adventure that you will not soon forget!? Then, you need to sign up for "True Raiders." This journey will leave you wanting more - and seeing new breath being brought back to the men who set out for one unforgettable excursion.
Brad Ricca goes through impeccable research to bring the story of the Expedition to find the Ark of the Covenant, at a time when there was a fever pitch for artifacts - although the process at the time didn't really preserve history - rather it would destroy and hope for treasure at the end.
The adventure that this expedition undertook was one for the search for the Ark of the Covenant - something that had been lost since the Israelites were taken into captivity by the Assyrians.
I found this book easy to follow, and very interesting. You are going to be captivated from the first chapter. If you decide to listen to this via audiobook (I listened to parts of this on audio - while I was working) the chapters are short, which makes it easy to set a timer and not get lost or forget your location in the book.
I cannot wait to get my hands on a hard copy of this book, as this is one that I would like to add to my collection. If you love history, then this is one that you are going to want to read, and jump into a journey that you are not going to soon forget.
Brad Ricca goes through impeccable research to bring the story of the Expedition to find the Ark of the Covenant, at a time when there was a fever pitch for artifacts - although the process at the time didn't really preserve history - rather it would destroy and hope for treasure at the end.
The adventure that this expedition undertook was one for the search for the Ark of the Covenant - something that had been lost since the Israelites were taken into captivity by the Assyrians.
I found this book easy to follow, and very interesting. You are going to be captivated from the first chapter. If you decide to listen to this via audiobook (I listened to parts of this on audio - while I was working) the chapters are short, which makes it easy to set a timer and not get lost or forget your location in the book.
I cannot wait to get my hands on a hard copy of this book, as this is one that I would like to add to my collection. If you love history, then this is one that you are going to want to read, and jump into a journey that you are not going to soon forget.
sammystrootman's review
1.0
This was an adventure story that wasn't exciting and a nonfiction book that contained little verifiable truth. It takes a very uncritical look at the titular expedition with almost no examination of political or religious context, both of which would have made this book much better. The principle characters are described in a very hero-worshipping manner with no examination of how their actions and decisions affected people who weren't wealthy white British men. History exclusively from a white male colonial perspective isn't interesting (or complete) history.
Ricca would have been better off writing a historical fiction novel; his writing style of creating fictional scenes discredits this as a work of history, but might've made a pretty good adventure novel (if the story was actually exciting).
Many diversions to unrelated events in the region and other historical figures that were not relevant to the central topic.
Ricca would have been better off writing a historical fiction novel; his writing style of creating fictional scenes discredits this as a work of history, but might've made a pretty good adventure novel (if the story was actually exciting).
Many diversions to unrelated events in the region and other historical figures that were not relevant to the central topic.