Was anyone else super confused by this book? I jumped for joy when I saw it on NetGalley, being a big Indiana Jones fan, and was stoked to read some creative nonfiction around the topic. Unfortunately, this read more like fictionalized history as opposed to nonfiction.

By all means, check this out. I'm someone who loves clear prose so the lack of genre distinction bugged me, but that might not be a problem for everyone.

The Ark of the Covenant has always fascinated me ever since I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark as a kid, so naturally I really enjoyed this story of the real search for the Ark of the Covenant in the early 1900s. It reads more like a novel than an accounting of history, and therefore is very entertaining. It occasionally gets bogged down in technical details and seemingly irrelevant tangents which slows the pacing down, but ultimately it's a satisfying read. Fans of history, archeology and suspense (and of course the Indiana Jones movie) will like this one.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this archeological historical adventure.

As Professor Brad Ricca proves in his book True Raiders: The Untold Story of the 1909 Expedition to Find the Legendary Ark of the Covenant real life can be more fascinating and interesting than the movies could ever be. Lacking only a pit of snakes and large rolling boulder this true story of an attempting to find the lost Ark of the Covenant is an educational and yet fun romp.

Written with a touch more historical fiction than historical fact, conversations seem a little to modern for the time, an more complete than a journal entry or letter could convey, the book moves well and is absorbing. A gentleman with a military past and ties to upper classes of British culture is hired by a group of businessmen, calling themselves the Syndicate find the missing Ark in the city of Jerusalem. The location of the ark a professor who has discovered a new way of reading the Bible based on code breaking skills. Right there is the opening act of your movie. Joined by other men of adventure the group, after raising funds travels to Jerusalem to being the excavation.

A friendly priest, who knows archeology, a riled populous, spies, and liars, backstabbers and lovers, all make appearances. Holes are dug, relations strained, paranoia grows, even a little cultural trespassing. All things that make the readers stay enthralled and flip pages to the end.

The ending I won't ruin, though the story tying into the author in a movie theater is quite funny. A good read for armchair adventurers and fans of archeology.

Well, I am torn on this book. It's a nonfiction book, but while I was reading it, in some places it felt more like a historical fiction book.

It was well researched, but it veered off into other things that I scratched my head during. There are a lot of people to keep up with while reading. There is a list of people at the beginning, but I couldn't figure out why they were really in the book. For example, Mrs. Astor was in it and the description states that she helped Monty decide on the expedition, but no where in the book was this even mentioned.

The expedition team believes that the Ark of the Covenant is under Juersulem in a network of tunnels. They petition the Turkish government to do an expedition. While there, they are there under false pretenses, and end up slinking away in the middle of the night with stolen goods.

There is a link to Jack the Ripper, as well as Indiana Jones movie. Overall I give it 3 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for a Kindle Version of this book. It publishes Sept. 21, 2021.

Unfortunately, this was DNF for me. Which is disappointing as I love a good narrative nonfiction book. However, the writing was stilted and a strong, gripping narrative just didn't come through. I can see what some other reviewers mean when they say that, in a lot of places, it was written as though it was a fiction book. Gave up about a quarter of the way through.

I got this book as an ARC from NetGallery. I was very intrigued as I love non-fiction book. And one about an expedition no one remembers seemed a good catch.
No way! It was very hard to go through it. I checked on the NetGallery site and on Goodreads 5 times to be sure it was non-fiction. Too many dialogues, too many frivolous details, and many characters with no reason to be so detailed described. The plot also doesn't seem to develop.... It is static, so much that i kept checking if i was advancing on the book or nor.

Good idea, probably well researched but not delivered.

I'm so excited to have read this book! I loved the premise and everything about it. As a life long lover of archeology, I really enjoyed True Raiders. It's really intriguing, entertaining and fantastic.

This book immediately grabbed my attention..it has a great title and a fantastic photo on the cover. Love it.
The writing made me feel as if I was truly along for. The ride on this adventure. The authors way of telling the story made ms want to learn more and read further. Ive found in the past books such as these or with this kind of subject matter make it difficult to follow along if the author gets too preachy or teachy about explorarion, however, Mr. Ricca set forth a story I kept WANTING to read and follow along... Bravo! And a great gift idea for some family members ill be remembering to purchase for in the future!

Thank you to Netgalley and publishers for this complimentary arc in exchange for my honest review.

This book tells the story of the search for the Ark of the Covenant from 1909 to 1911. A group of British, Finnish, and Swedish adventurers form a syndicate and raise money (much of which is apparently American) and obtain digging rights in Jerusalem from the Ottoman Turks. They are joined in some of their endeavors by Father Louis-Hugues Vincent, a Dominican monk in Palestine, who is a scholar and archeologist. The group bases their work mainly on a transcription of passages of the Book of Ezekiel interpreted from a cipher discovered by Dr. Valter Juvelius. They also dovetail that transcription with work done previously in 1867 to 1870 by Charles Warren, later General Sir Charles Warren who headed the London Metropolitan Police during 2 years of the Jack the Ripper investigation. Warren conducted one of the first excavations of the Temple Mount area in Jerusalem, his most important discovery being a water shaft known as Warren’s Shaft. The group, lead by Monty Parker, much later the Earl of Morley, explore a series of tunnels and excavate some areas, including (apparently) the Dome of the Rock sanctuary, setting off an international incident.

The writing is solid and easy to read. For the most part the narrative moves quickly although some of the side details in the beginning to middle of the story “tripped me,” and caused a break in the flow. The end chapters of the book are particularly well-written about what happened to all of the characters in the narrative. This is the strongest and seems to be where the author is most comfortable.

The Devil is in the Details:

I am aware that I just read an eGalley of this book and that there is still time for editorial corrections. However, certain things that really stuck out and stopped the narrative cold need to be mentioned.

Chapter 6 starts in June 1909 with Cyril Foley telling a tale about a day in which he says “… old King George V was married….” This is a real gaff. George V’s coronation was held on June 22, 1911. That would be in the future so he would not refer to him as “old King George V.” Cyril would not know what regnant name that king would choose until 1911, as the monarch-to-be gets to choose what name they reign under. Also, Cyril would not refer to him as “King” under any circumstance as King Edward VII would not die until May 20, 1910 and was still reigning. Prince George was the Prince of Wales at the telling of this story, and it would have been strange to call him “King.” The year of the marriage of Prince George, Duke of York and Princess Mary of Teck was July 6, 1893 and was at St. James Palace, London so the year noted in the text is correct.

Second, at about 26% of the text Monty Parker walks from one room, where he looks at himself in the mirror, into the next in which photographic paper is developing. Just that infinitely small amount of light would be enough to expose the paper, as it has not been put into the stop bath yet. This would completely ruin the photo.

Finally, and this is really minor if you don’t cook, at about 16% of the text Mrs. Vester is cooking mutton and yellow BUTTER is pooling under it??? If she’s cooking mutton, it’s a lot of animal fat, NOT butter! I note she is in the American Colony and she could have butter produced from their own milk cow(s), but that would not be what you would put into a mutton dish that has a lot of fat already. I’m really not aware of Middle-Eastern cooking that calls for butter, usually it’s readily available olive oil…. Apparently what Mrs. Vester is making is Maklouba or Maqluba, and all of the versions I found on the internet use lamb or veal, not mutton. We can suppose that Mrs. Vester may be poor and is using what she has so mutton it is, but the spicing she uses is salt, pepper, cinnamon, saffron, and allspice. Saffron is generally expensive and isn’t in other recipes for “upside down mutton” or Maklouba. The other recipes I found use turmeric, cumin, cardamom, etc and not saffron. Turmeric itself is plentiful, used in many Middle-Eastern recipes, and would not have been as expensive as saffron then or now. Is this recipe possible? Sure! Just a bit odd if taken in context with other known recipes. Most people won’t notice, but if you cook a lot, it will disrupt the flow of the story. So mentioned, but not terribly important to the overall direction of the action.

Overall, an interesting read. Thank you to Brad Ricca, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an eGalley of this work. I did not receive anything for this review and it is an honest review containing my opinions.

Having read through an ARC of "True Raiders," written by Brad Ricca and being published by St. Martin's Press (which provided me with the ARC), I am somewhat surprised to report that the book is both informative, charming, and redolent of a prose style which I most often associate with writers from an earlier time. The book, which reads like a rather ponderous novel at first (it is, in fact well grounded in reality), really hits its stride by the midpoint (by which time I was thinking of it as a novel). It focuses on an early twentieth century archaeological dig in and around Jerusalem prompted by a search for the Ark of the Covenant. As the story progresses, it assembles a colorful cast of adventurers, including Turkish politicians, a Jerusalem Rabbi, an assortment of former soldiers with broad imperial experience, a group of American expatriates in Jerusalem, and cameos by a number of prominent figures in Edwardian Britain. By the time the cast is assembled and the project gets well underway, the text gains enough momentum to hold the reader's attention. It is particularly fascinating for its insights into Biblical scholarship and its intersection with modern archaeology. By the end, all strands of the rather convoluted tale are brought to a most satisfactory, and not particularly surprising ending. Well worth the read for fans of Indiana Jones and would be archaeologists!

A mix of history, archeology and intrigue which is well-written from start to finish. This readers more like a story than a book of events, which I love when reading nonfiction. Enjoyable and recommened.

Thanks to Netgalley, Brad RIcca and St Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 9/21/21

The intriguing story of an expedition most have forgotten ever happened. Brad Ricca (Olive the Lionheart) brings suspense and mystery to a 1910 search for the fabled Ark of the Covenant. Vivid descriptions transport the reader to Jerusalem at the end of British colonialism as well as ancient Jerusalem.

Thanks to the publisher, Netgalley and author for the ARC of this book, TRUE RAIDERS by author PROFESSOR BRAD RICCA.

I am Jewish, and after my visit to Israel in 2011, the history of my heritage has become very important to me. For instance, what happened to The Ark of the Covenant? King Solomon’s treasures? The accoutrements of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem? Long before my visit, I watched the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark. Professor Ricco has tackled some of those mysteries in his new book.

This true story bounces back and forth between two basic time periods – the 1860s - 80s and 1908-11. He follows two teams of archaeologists one led by Sir Charles Warren (1860s - 80s) and the other by Montague Parker (first decade of the1900s), who was the 2nd son of the Earl of Morley.

Warren was the first to really explore the tunnels that brought water to the Pool of Siloam and Hezekiah’s Tunnel from around 800 BCE. Two boys playing hooky from a nearby school find a tablet in the tunnel whose first word was deciphered as “Behold”. The rest was unintelligible. As an aside, Warren was also involved with the “Jack the Ripper Case” in London working with Scotland Yard.

In 1908, Parker joins Johan Millen, Cyril Foley, Clarence Wilson, Captain Robin Duff and Dr. Juvelius to create a syndicate to locate The Ark of the Covenant. Juvelius claims to have discovered a secret code in the Old and New Testaments that tells the location of The Ark.

In Jerusalem, they meet Father Vincent a biblical archaeologist working at a university in Palestine. He eventually joins the expedition. The team made a few discoveries and cleaned out the tunnels. They also made maps of them. Today, those tunnels are open to tourists.

In December 1910, William Le Queux published a successful novel called Treasures of Israel. His story seemed very real to the team in Jerusalem. Le Queux later became one of the founders of British Intelligence.
In 1911, in the Valley of Hinnom, in a cave they did not have permission to be in, Parker’s team finds a throne they believe was King Solomon’s throne until they realize it has a hole in the seat! Parker was also accused of illegally digging under The Dome of the Rock (The Foundation Stone).

Other interesting sidelights are the introduction of Ava Astor, divorced wife of John Jacob Astor, and Baron Edmund de Rothschild, a Jewish French banker. Astor was a victim of the Titanic’s sinking in 1912. Rothschild was a huge benefactor of Jews in Israel/Palestine.

At the end of the book Professor Ricco tells what happened to both groups of archaeologists and how he came to write this book. This part was also very interesting.

If you are a fan of history, archaeology or science, then by all means read this book. It is a page-turner, written more like a memoir than a straight history. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

GO! BUY! READ!

Kudos to the author for some insanely detailed research into an expedition that I never knew existed.

In 1909 a group of people set off to find the Ark of the Covenant following a supposed.cipher that revealed supposedly hidden messages in the Bible.

There are many parts of this expedition that are like a real life Indiana Jones. I love this type of stuff. Unfortunately this book is so mired in detail, m7ch of.it completely useless, that it's a slog to read. I tried and I tried but gave up 2/3 of the way in.

I really wanted to like this book and apparently I'm the outsider to give it a bad review but, well, it's just not a great read.

If you're looking for a book about the search for the Ark of the Covenant, read the Sign and the Seal, by Graham Hancock. That is an amazing book, which actually sparked.my interest in this field.about 30 years ago and I've since read a ton of books about it.

Tomb Raiders would not be in my top 10 recommendations.

Though I don't remember the details.of the book, my guess is that Graham Hancock mentioned the 1909 expedition in his book for a page or two, and that's about all is needed.

#netgalley #trueraiders

This was a great non fiction read for the year. Absolutely made me think of raiders of the lost ark and I enjoyed the adventure!

Remember being captivated by the movie, “Raiders of the Lost Ark”? The tag line for the movie was, “ "The creators of JAWS and STAR WARS now bring you the ultimate hero in the ultimate adventure."

Actually, Author Brad Ricca is the one who is revealing the ultimate hero in a fascinating adventure. “True Raiders” is every bit as exciting as any movie could be as it shines a light on the real adventurers who sought to find the Lost Ark of the Covenant. In the early 1900’s, devil-may-care English nobleman and soldier, Montagu Parker was asked to join a syndicate to lead an expedition to Jerusalem to find the Ark. The adventurers were guided by a complex cipher supposedly hidden in the Biblical book of Ezekiel. In 1909, the search through the tunnels, including the Hezekiah Tunnel, under the King Solomon’s temple, and Dome of the Mount began. Rubble was cleared, tunnels were opened, ancient pottery was uncovered, water was diverted, many intriguing people were involved. But did they find the Lost Ark of the C0venant?

Were the adventurers searching for the lost Ark for fun or profit? A bit of both, especially at the start, but as the search and excavations continued, many involved with the project became enamored with the historical power and romance of finding the Ark. This book brings these hale explorers to life and evokes the place and period with vivid descriptions. From Ava Astor to a Franciscan Father, there is plenty to love about this adventure biography.

One person who is a small part of the story especially interested me-Bertha Vester. If you know the hymn “It is Well with My Soul”, written by her father, then you will be amazed to learn what happened to Bertha and her family, “the rest of the story” that continues today.

At times, a bit hard to follow, this turn out t be an enjoyable and very positive book. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance review copy. This is my honest review.

The Untold Story of the 1909 Expedition to Find the Legendary Ark of the Covenant

This is a nonfiction book that reads so much like fiction that it’s hard to remember how the characters were real people. As the title says, these were the true raiders who tried to do what Indiana Jones only accomplished in our dreams. Or did they really find the Ark of the Covenant? Monty Parker was a nobleman with a thirst for adventure and, using the findings of a Finnish scholar, traveled to Jerusalem at the beginning of the 20th century for a scavenger hunt that would lead them to the Word of God. The author does excellent work researching not only the people involved, but the time and place and the customs. It’s like time travelling and being there. He obviously also takes liberties with their conversations, but they are believable and engrossing. The text enfolds at breakneck speed, which makes for a fun read of what would normally be boring historical details. A word of caution, this book will make you want to drop everything and become Indiana Jones.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/ St. Martin's Press!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The only parts I didn't enjoy were the random tangents that had nothing to do with the story - the Jack the Ripper part is a prime example. I understand that the material for the story was taken from many sources and the author made it as cohesive as he could, but it did jump around a bit.
All of that to say, the book was an enjoyable read and I feel like I learned a bit as well!

I wish to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this fascinating, thoroughly researched non-fiction book in return for an honest review. This true story of the Parker Expedition of 1909 has been based on recently recovered and original records, newly translated sources, various publications, and first-person narratives. I have always enjoyed true, factual adventure accounts, including stories about archaeology. This is an intriguing and informative account of the expedition to find the fabled Ark of the Covenant, which they believed to be hidden within branching tunnels under Jerusalem.

The story for the search for the Ark conveyed the difficulty of crawling through dusty tunnels, sometimes muddy and dripping with water. Their tedious excavations where the tunnels branched off in new directions are the backbone of an exciting, thrilling story. I felt the story veered off into too many other historical directions rather than being concise.

Monty Parker, from a noble family, was approached by an obsessed, eccentric Finnish Bible scholar who claimed he had translated a hidden code in the Old Testament revealing the location of the Ark. The man claimed he had cryptic clues enabling him to discover Moses's grave in a different location. Parker was dared by Ava Astor and became interested in the endeavour to locate the legendary Ark.

Parker assembled a team of ex-military friends from elite families who were bored and anxious for adventure. One was most famous as a professional cricket player. Added to this team was a local Dominican father who was an archaeologist and religious historian, giving credibility to a group with no experience in archaeological excavations. The code-obsessed Biblical scholar also claimed he had deciphered Biblical instructions that lead him to make maps of the tunnels. Also connected were a psychic and translators of modern languages and ancient scripts.

Bribes were paid to political figures and guards to enable them to carry out their secret digs outside the walls of Jerusalem. There was much interesting history involved, including mention of battles in the past war, the opening of King Tut's tomb, local politics and the legal system, Whitechapel, New York and British high society, the Titanic, etc. With so many characters involved, and some not included in the summary at the beginning of the book, I found the narrative of this gripping adventure to lack cohesiveness and become disjointed at times. The book was helped by having each chapter clearly labelled as the featured character, the year, and the location.

I frequently stopped my reading to look at photos of the leading characters and the Parker expedition on the internet as none were used to illustrate the fascinating book. The expedition ended in infamy. Parker, with others, had bribed guards and sneaked into the holy and revered Dome of the Rock and were seen digging there. During Moslem, Jewish and Christian religious days, and news of their desecration set off riots through the city. They managed to flee by boat, but false rumours spread that they had escaped not only the Ark of the Covenant but a crown and ring associated with David and Solomon.

Recommended for those interested in history, Biblical study, and archaeology. 3.5 stars raised to 4 for the impeccable and painstaking research.

relics, archaeology, old-testament, historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, historical-setting, history-and-culture****

I guess that I just like my historical archaeology more of the Publish or Perish sort. There is a multiplicity of interesting major and minor characters, an abundance of dialogue, and a lot of interesting new things to learn. I geek history and archaeology, so it was a good read for me.
I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley. Thank you!