Jackal : Finally, The Complete Story of the Legendary Terrorist, Carlos The Jackal

Rating:
Summary: Interesting account of an unlikely terrorist.
Review: Among self-described "professional" revolutionaries, few cut a more fascinating figure than Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, a k a Carlos the Jackal. Before he was captured in 1994 and subsequently tried and sentenced to life in prison in France, the Jackal, a terrorist-for-hire whose higher-profile clients included Muammar al-Qaddafi, Saddam Hussein and Fidel Castro claimed to have nixed 83 people; dozens of hijackings, bombings and assassinations were blamed on him following his association, around 1970, with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. And yet, slovenly, feckless, girl-chasing and politically disoriented Carlos, however murderous, is almost too laughable to picture as a terrorist mastermind. Reuters man Follain does a nice job here of tracing, if not demystifying, Carlos' life of crime, from his guerilla training in Cuba as a teen to the bitter, pathetic and at times hilarious end. (When moved between prisons, he made sure to notify the subscription department of Cigar Lover magazine of his change of address.)

Rating:
Summary: Interesting account of an unlikely terrorist.
Review: Follain describes with brilliant accuracy a life filled with violence and terror. Carlos the Jackal's life represents the decline of wholesale terrorism and the countries who support it. Follain's book not only portrays Carlos' private life but depicts his entire operation. Overall, a great book.

Rating:
Summary: Breaks the Myth that is the Jackal
Review: Follain describes with brilliant accuracy a life filled with violence and terror. Carlos the Jackal's life represents the decline of wholesale terrorism and the countries who support it. Follain's book not only portrays Carlos' private life but depicts his entire operation. Overall, a great book.

Rating:
Summary: I like it, but...
Review: Good, good info on Carlos and his Venezuelan roots (I should know, I'm from Venezuela) and a detailed (and sometimes breathtaking) account of his most spectacular actions and capture. But, not being a native speaker, I have a problem with Follain's grammar. I mean, it's sometimes sloppy. I don't know, still and all good book.