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shannonw19's review against another edition
4.0
I read Day of the Jackal when I was in college. It is one of a very few books that I re-read from time to time. And I am never disappointed. It truly is a page turner that led me read Forsyth's other novels. So, needless to say, I was looking forward to learning about his life and how he wrote the book and how he came up with the idea. I was really excited when I won an advance copy of his autobiography The Outsider: My Life In Intrigue from Goodreads.
I really enjoyed this book. Though it was quite slim on the details of his writing process, he provided many anecdotes from his life that became the novels he is famous for. More than that, however, I learned that he is also an man of principle who gave up a job at the BBC because he could not be a foreign correspondent the way he wanted to, which is to report honestly events that occurred and not report how the government wanted him to.
Mr. Forsyth has had a quite incredible life. He joined the RAF at 17 and got his pilot's license. He became a foreign correspondent for Reuter's and was in Paris when the attempts were made on DeGaulle's life. He was stationed in East Berlin. He has always lived a life of adventure, some of which has ended up becoming plots in his novels.
I found it interesting that he never sought to be a writer. He wanted to be a foreign correspondent because he wanted to see the world. He wrote Day of the Jackal in 35 days and never intended it to be the beginning of a career as a novelist. He was just trying to get some income after he left the BBC.
I also found it interesting that many of the good things that happened in his life occurred because of luck or meeting the right person at the right time. The fact that he wrote the book, met a publisher, was offered a contract, and then got an agent shows how lucky he is.
Overall, I loved this book and I would recommend it. I did not give it five stars, because, as I mentioned, I wish he would have provided a little more detail about certain things. But it is a really good book.
I received the book as a Goodreads giveaway winner. The opinions provided herein are mine and mine alone. I did not receive any other compensation for the opinions herein.
I really enjoyed this book. Though it was quite slim on the details of his writing process, he provided many anecdotes from his life that became the novels he is famous for. More than that, however, I learned that he is also an man of principle who gave up a job at the BBC because he could not be a foreign correspondent the way he wanted to, which is to report honestly events that occurred and not report how the government wanted him to.
Mr. Forsyth has had a quite incredible life. He joined the RAF at 17 and got his pilot's license. He became a foreign correspondent for Reuter's and was in Paris when the attempts were made on DeGaulle's life. He was stationed in East Berlin. He has always lived a life of adventure, some of which has ended up becoming plots in his novels.
I found it interesting that he never sought to be a writer. He wanted to be a foreign correspondent because he wanted to see the world. He wrote Day of the Jackal in 35 days and never intended it to be the beginning of a career as a novelist. He was just trying to get some income after he left the BBC.
I also found it interesting that many of the good things that happened in his life occurred because of luck or meeting the right person at the right time. The fact that he wrote the book, met a publisher, was offered a contract, and then got an agent shows how lucky he is.
Overall, I loved this book and I would recommend it. I did not give it five stars, because, as I mentioned, I wish he would have provided a little more detail about certain things. But it is a really good book.
I received the book as a Goodreads giveaway winner. The opinions provided herein are mine and mine alone. I did not receive any other compensation for the opinions herein.
jacki_f's review against another edition
4.0
Frederick Forsyth is best known as the author of a string of bestselling thrillers, but he was in the RAF and worked as a foreign correspondant before becoming an author, and the first two thirds of this book are about this part of his life. I don't know how many of his stories are 100% true and how many are embellished, but they feel true and either way they are terrifically entertaining. Reading this book feels like being at a dinner party, with the host starting increasingly gobsmacking anecdotes with lines like: "did I ever tell you about the time I was almost murdered in Paris" or "did I ever tell you about the time that I narrowly missed getting killed when a bullet went through my legs".
Forsyth's pedigree as a writer is apparent, with chapters ending with teasers designed to keep you reading, or starting with lines like: "I recall the date when I almost started the Third World War with exact accuracy for reasons that will become plain".
Besides his many adventures, he has had access to a string of fascinating characters: gun runners, assassins, drug smugglers, spies, presidents. His first novel, The Day of the Jackal, was based in part on conversations he had with de Gaulle's bodyguards. The Odessa File was guided by none other than Simon Wiesenthal. While researching The Cobra, he ended up in the middle of a coup d'etat in Guinea-Bissau.
In the middle the pace slows slightly as he talks about his time in Nigeria and Biafra, an experience that strongly affected him and that he clearly feels anger about to this day. While interesting, this part of the book is less engaging than the earlier and subsequent chapters.
The overall impression is of a guy who has lived a fascinating and blessed life, and who is fully aware of it. This is a great read.
Forsyth's pedigree as a writer is apparent, with chapters ending with teasers designed to keep you reading, or starting with lines like: "I recall the date when I almost started the Third World War with exact accuracy for reasons that will become plain".
Besides his many adventures, he has had access to a string of fascinating characters: gun runners, assassins, drug smugglers, spies, presidents. His first novel, The Day of the Jackal, was based in part on conversations he had with de Gaulle's bodyguards. The Odessa File was guided by none other than Simon Wiesenthal. While researching The Cobra, he ended up in the middle of a coup d'etat in Guinea-Bissau.
In the middle the pace slows slightly as he talks about his time in Nigeria and Biafra, an experience that strongly affected him and that he clearly feels anger about to this day. While interesting, this part of the book is less engaging than the earlier and subsequent chapters.
The overall impression is of a guy who has lived a fascinating and blessed life, and who is fully aware of it. This is a great read.
jorgjuar's review against another edition
3.0
El intruso es una autobiografía escrita por el autor y periodista Frederick Forsyth, abarcando desde su juventud hasta su vida como autor. He leído varias novelas de él, así que me interesé en el libro.
Sin duda, F. Forsyth es un buen narrador de historias, y detalla muy bien su carrera como periodista y cómo muchas de sus experiencias fueron usadas posteriormente para sentar la trama de novelas posteriores, aunque cada lector encontrará algunas anécdotas más entretenidas y significativas que otras. Por otro lado, si bien su vida y experiencias han sido interesantes (o al menos más que las del promedio de las personas), hay algunos capítulos que no aportan mucho al libro en general, y que bien pudieron haber sido eliminadas.
En resumen, El intruso es un buen libro, pero solamente para los lectores habituales de F. Forsyth. Si nunca has leído ninguno de sus libros, recomiendo que lo hagas, y luego decidas si tienes interés en su biografía.
Sin duda, F. Forsyth es un buen narrador de historias, y detalla muy bien su carrera como periodista y cómo muchas de sus experiencias fueron usadas posteriormente para sentar la trama de novelas posteriores, aunque cada lector encontrará algunas anécdotas más entretenidas y significativas que otras. Por otro lado, si bien su vida y experiencias han sido interesantes (o al menos más que las del promedio de las personas), hay algunos capítulos que no aportan mucho al libro en general, y que bien pudieron haber sido eliminadas.
En resumen, El intruso es un buen libro, pero solamente para los lectores habituales de F. Forsyth. Si nunca has leído ninguno de sus libros, recomiendo que lo hagas, y luego decidas si tienes interés en su biografía.
eldiente's review against another edition
3.0
One of my favorite authors - what an interesting life he has enjoyed. I wonder often about the "coincidences" that seem to place people and events in near proximity. Mr. Forsysth has surely enjoyed overlapping adventures.
This isn't a direct autobiography, but interesting anecdotes.
This isn't a direct autobiography, but interesting anecdotes.
spm's review against another edition
4.0
A most enjoyable read. Some very interesting passages on the life of a great author.
His attention to detail and accuracy is what makes his works so enjoyable.
He has certainly lived a very full and rewarding life.
His attention to detail and accuracy is what makes his works so enjoyable.
He has certainly lived a very full and rewarding life.
chris_cousins's review against another edition
5.0
Frederick Forsyth has been my favourite author since I discovered "The Day Of The Jackal" in my teenage years. I have read everyone of his novels, some more than once.
This book is a great story of his life - it certainly shows where the inspiration for his stories originated.
One if the best biographies that I have read.
This book is a great story of his life - it certainly shows where the inspiration for his stories originated.
One if the best biographies that I have read.
georginadaw's review against another edition
4.0
While I enjoyed the story content and the author has evidently had a life filled with stories, I felt he had written it very egotistically. I wanted to hear more about the stories but not through the veil of smarm.
scottiesandbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Having never read any of Forsyth’s fictional work (book was donated), some of it was lost on me. Although it does make me want to read them and I will