Kicking Ass and Saving Souls is David Matthews’ astounding biography of Stefan Templeton, his friend since childhood and a true-life action figure. Matthews entertainingly, and oftentimes critically, relates it, Templeton’s life is a white-knuckled read from his early days in West Baltimore to his current calling as a humanitarian aid worker. Over the course of the book there are close calls with Yakuza thugs and hungry sharks; there are karate brawls and daring jewel heists; and there are moments of selfless heroics. In other words, there’s enough unbelievable action in Kicking Ass to shame James Bond into retirement, and though Matthews agrees that it reads like fiction, he promises that Templeton’s story is bullshit-free. Here, we talk to Matthews about the book.