Winner Foreword Reviews’ Book of the YearWinner Readers’ Favorite Book AwardsWinner Beverly Hills Book AwardsWinner National Indie Excellence Book Awards Award-Winning Finalist American Fiction Best Book Awards LIONS OF THE DESERT is the true story of the WWII 1941-1942 Desert War in North Africa and Operation Condor, a story that has captivated the minds of authors, historians, and filmmakers … War in North Africa and Operation Condor, a story that has captivated the minds of authors, historians, and filmmakers for three-quarters of a century.
The story is told through the eyes of six legendary historical figures that lived through the epic events: Scottish Colonel David Stirling, leader of the Special Air Service, a brigade of eccentric desert commandos that raided Axis airfields and supply lines; German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, commander of the vaunted Africa Corps, who very nearly succeeded in driving the British out of Egypt; Egyptian Hekmat Fahmy, the famous belly dancer, regarded as a Mata-Hari-like German agent in previous accounts but in fact a far more intriguing and ambiguous character in real life; Major A.W. Sansom, head of the British Field Security unit that hunted down Axis spies and pro-German Egyptian nationalists operating in Cairo; Johannes Eppler, the notorious German spy of Operation Condor whose real story is finally told; and Colonel Bonner Fellers, the U.S. military attaché in Cairo, who was privy to Allied secrets in the North African theater and inadvertently played an important role in intelligence-gathering activities for both sides in the campaign.
Fans of Beneath A Scarlet Sky, The English Patient, and the WWII novels of Ken Follett (The Key to Rebecca, Jackdaws, Eye of the Needle) will enjoy this timeless tale of WWII espionage, romance, and derring-do in the North African desert–with the knowledge that this is how it all really happened.
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The Coalition has a lot of good action and suspense, an unusual female assassin, and the potential to be another The Day After Tomorrow [the runaway bestseller by Allan Folsom].
The storyline was very strong and richly detailed. The multiple plots thru out the novel were easy to follow and flowed quite evenly. The authenticity of the characters was very well researched and made for an enjoyable read. The scenery and atmosphere of the novel were very detailed to almost make you feel like you were right there along, with the characters. The length of the novel was just right, enough to make the reader feel educated after reading this novel. The interest level and suspense thru out the novel were well detailed and enjoyable. I would definitely read more from this author.
Although this work is based on newly declassified documents, and therefore may have more historically correct chronology and facts than previous books covering these events, it is still a work of historical fiction. And it reads more like a movie script than a historical reference. That isn’t a bad thing, as it did hold my interest throughout. It is a roaring fascinating read, and got a high rating for that. Had the editing been better (not so many omitted words, indefinite antecedents for pronouns, jarring inconsistencies of identification) it might have crept up to a 5 rating.
A great WW2 documentary. I learned many new facts about the North Africa campaign, Rommel and the initial formation of the British SAS. Time well spent, a well crafted military history.
It made what could be a rather mundane history of the events entertaining and engrossing. It showed that humans with all our iproblems bring about great events in history.
While this is historical fiction, it sticks closely to the actual facts of the North African campaign and is good in that sense. It compares favorably with Ken Follett’s “The Key to Rebecca” which covers the same ground but is pure fictional crap. The title is somewhat misleading, however, inasmuch as 70% to 80% of the text deals in extensive detail the activities of a belly dancer in Cairo, the Cairo social scene, and the British efforts to capture two inept German spies who never managed to convey any important military information to Rommel. Most of the detail about Rommel himself consists of him repeating over and over again how brave the British troops were and how bumbling and stupid their commanders were (which, in fact, they were).
I thought the book was very good
While this is a novel, it is based on real events and real (named) characters. It also relies on secret information that has recently been released. Well researched.
great book and great read. learned lots about Rommel and the war in Africa and the desert.
Best education on that era I’ve ever read. Very good book.
Samuel Marquis never disappoints! I love this new addition to the WWII series. My favorite aspect is the multiple perspectives provided — this story is told from the point of view of several different historical figures. My personal favorite is Hekmat Fahmy, an Egyptian belly dancer, an intriguing and complicated German agent. Would recommend to all fans of war history!
A beautiful and well researched look at part of WWII that a lot of people seem to forget. Set in North Africa, six complex characters from both sides of the war, try to gain control of the area and get a leg up on the other side. Such a great addition to a wonderful series.
I’ve read the other 3 books in Samuel Marquis’ WWII Series, and this is the PERFECT addition to the series- it makes it so well-rounded perspective-wise. The author has such a strong, informative voice that hooks you in. The amount of research is evident, all while giving the reader a fantastic story. As far as WWII fiction goes, this one is incredibly unique and unlike anything else!
I loved getting to learn about Operation Condor, which I had never heard of until this book. This is such a delightful change of setting to the usual WWII historical fiction, which I’ve only read taking place in America or Europe. I would definitely recommend this to avid WWII fiction readers for added perspective!
A thrilling look at an often forgotten, yet essential part of WWII. Follow six different characters from both sides of the war as they fight for control of North Africa. Set predominantly in Egypt, Marquis tells a beautiful story that any history fanatic would be interested in.
Factually I think it is accurate but it is a slow read. Bounces between primary characters just when it gets.good they switch to another primary character story.
This author thinks his readers are stupid as he repeats dialogue about the character background continually through out the book.
A good yarn–historical fiction based on fact. It was enjoyable and informative concerning the lead-up to the Battle of el Alamein as we witness the formation and initial success of the British SAS and watch Rommel’s battle plans unfold on the German side, while spies and spy-busters duke it out in Cairo. The only thing that gets in the way is the writing, which is competent but contains a lot of irritating things, such as a British upper-class character saying, “Me and my unit want to…” A good editor would have fixed the book so it might earn 4 or 5 stars.
Not his best work.