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The Eagles Saga #1
Eagles
He lived for vengeance, power . . . and the love of one woman.
Roland Eagles is orphaned at fifteen when German bombs destroy his family. After lying about his age, he joins the British army, seeing action at El Alamein and Normandy before participating in the liberation of Bergen-Belsen where he is forced to confront his own heritage while sparing an SS officer — a good German — who is fated to play a key role in Roland's life.
After the war, Roland makes headlines by eloping with the beautiful daughter of a foreign diplomat — only to lose his wife in childbirth. While a nanny raises his daughter, Roland uses a gambler’s nerve to build a financial empire which will allow him to meet, on equal terms, the wealthy family who shunned his father for marrying a woman of a different faith.
From the innocent passions of his first love to the tight embrace of money and power — from World War II Germany to London, Paris, and New York of the 1970s — Eagles is the remarkable saga of a man who overcomes a series of setbacks to emerge triumphant. In Love. In business. And in family.
Roland Eagles is orphaned at fifteen when German bombs destroy his family. After lying about his age, he joins the British army, seeing action at El Alamein and Normandy before participating in the liberation of Bergen-Belsen where he is forced to confront his own heritage while sparing an SS officer — a good German — who is fated to play a key role in Roland's life.
After the war, Roland makes headlines by eloping with the beautiful daughter of a foreign diplomat — only to lose his wife in childbirth. While a nanny raises his daughter, Roland uses a gambler’s nerve to build a financial empire which will allow him to meet, on equal terms, the wealthy family who shunned his father for marrying a woman of a different faith.
From the innocent passions of his first love to the tight embrace of money and power — from World War II Germany to London, Paris, and New York of the 1970s — Eagles is the remarkable saga of a man who overcomes a series of setbacks to emerge triumphant. In Love. In business. And in family.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
624 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1984
10 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
About the author
Lewis Orde
17 books8 followersLewis Orde was born in Reading, England, in 1943, grew up in London and came to the United States in 1964. After serving three years in the U. S. Army, he returned to England to work on newspapers and magazines before settling permanently in the United States in 1977. He is the author of twelve novels including The Lion's Way, Eagles, By Blood Divided, and Dreams of Gold.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 30, 2021
My copy of this novel lost its dust jacket ages ago. The back cover is warped due to moisture damage. I don't know the author, and there's no clue what the story is about. So....I took a chance on this rank outsider, and IT CAME FIRST. One of the best novels I've read in ages. The characters were real, the story was fast-paced and gripping, and my emotions were touched on many levels. 10/10. Ok, Goodreads, 5/5.
February 9, 2018
Spoiler alerts:
Really a 3.5, because although a book about a Brit in a British setting written in American English jarred (I didn't expect it to, as I feel localization is usually unnecessary, but it seemed so out of place on occasion) and a lot of the plot appeared contrived (though probably no more so than your average Hollywood movie), I nevertheless enjoyed following the story, especially when Catarina was a part of it.
The story is about following your instincts, but also learning the important lessons in life, especially when it comes to love and friendship. It begins with Roland Eagles' childhood in a Kent seaside town in the 1930s and its abrupt termination by events beyond his control (although we get an inkling that his instincts will help to protect him). The war is glossed over very quickly, apart from a defining event with a long-lasting influence. Then he starts out in business and grows, professionally, while also evolving personally.
There was a period where I didn't like the person he was becoming, even taking into account the tragedy he suffered, but neither did some of the other characters and he was steered back onto the right path by paying attention to the signals flashing all around him.
By the end of it all, when asked if he'd like to try all over again there were plenty of things he would've done differently, but he had the wisdom to recognise that changing those things would've led him along different paths and he'd have missed out on so many good things too! On balance, he was satisfied to take the bad with the good - see why by reading the book, which I feel confident to recommend as light reading before bed, as I did myself.
Really a 3.5, because although a book about a Brit in a British setting written in American English jarred (I didn't expect it to, as I feel localization is usually unnecessary, but it seemed so out of place on occasion) and a lot of the plot appeared contrived (though probably no more so than your average Hollywood movie), I nevertheless enjoyed following the story, especially when Catarina was a part of it.
The story is about following your instincts, but also learning the important lessons in life, especially when it comes to love and friendship. It begins with Roland Eagles' childhood in a Kent seaside town in the 1930s and its abrupt termination by events beyond his control (although we get an inkling that his instincts will help to protect him). The war is glossed over very quickly, apart from a defining event with a long-lasting influence. Then he starts out in business and grows, professionally, while also evolving personally.
There was a period where I didn't like the person he was becoming, even taking into account the tragedy he suffered, but neither did some of the other characters and he was steered back onto the right path by paying attention to the signals flashing all around him.
By the end of it all, when asked if he'd like to try all over again there were plenty of things he would've done differently, but he had the wisdom to recognise that changing those things would've led him along different paths and he'd have missed out on so many good things too! On balance, he was satisfied to take the bad with the good - see why by reading the book, which I feel confident to recommend as light reading before bed, as I did myself.
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December 10, 2022MyNextRead
September 23, 2014
Rehoboth
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews