The author describes his seven-year search for Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, also known as Carlos the Jackal, recounting how he followed Sanchez through the world of spies and intelligence officers and dealt with the likes of Qadhafi, Arafat, and Nidal. 50,000 first printing. $50,000 ad/promo.
| ||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
In the 1970s and '80s, one name dominated the dark world of international terrorism as the world's most wanted criminal: Carlos, a.k.a. The Jackal. Branded as an evil mastermind, he was said to have plotted an incredible 20-year spree of assassinations, kidnappings, hijackings, and bombings, earning him a deadly reputation of near-mythic proportions. Could these heinous crimes really be the work of one man, or was Carlos a figment of some intelligence officer's imagination? The truth, as David Yallop found after a decade of research and a series of unprecedented interviews with the legendary killer, is a little of both.
I do not intend to hide anything from you, but you must understand that you may ask me questions that I cannot answer for a number of reasons.... To place my story in your hands is not much. You are placing your life in mine.
Weighing his own findings against the claims of Carlos himself, Yallop attempts to sort fact from fiction, information from misinformation, truth from lies. The knowledge that the Jackal has been captured since these interviews were held takes some of the bite out of the story. But Yallop's investigation into this shadowy world moves like a Hollywood thriller--only it's far more disturbing because the cast of players and the blood on their hands are real. --George Laney
From Publishers Weekly
In this compelling report from the Middle East, British journalist Yallop ( In God's Name ) chronicles his seven-year search for Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, who was born into an upper-middle-class family in Caracas in 1949 and by the age of 26 had become "Carlos the Jackal," the world's most notorious terrorist. Based on extensive research and numerous interviews with such figures as Abu Nidal, Colonel Khadafy and Yasir Arafat, Yallop argues that much of the reason the jackal is so difficult to track is that he is more myth than reality. The author maintains that by attributing an astounding assortment of crimes to him, various governments were acting to make the Cold War colder and a tense Middle East tenser. Yallop has little sympathy for Carlos, whose crimes--such as arranging the 1972 murder of Israeli Olympic athletes at Munich and the 1975 kidnapping of OPEC oil ministers--are certainly those of a dangerous terrorist; yet when the two finally meet, Carlos seems less menacing than expected. Although too drawn out and repetitive at times, the book is nonetheless a dramatic and intriguing international thriller with relevance to recent events: witness an epilogue that takes into account the Israeli-PLO accord. Full of bravado and with surprisingly little strategic sense, Carlos, suggests Yallop, was used as a puppet by those whose bloody missions he carried out. Photos not seen by PW .
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent and truly informative!!,
By Ali Saiyed (Dallas USA, Midlands UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Tracking the Jackal: The Search for Carlos, the World's Most Wanted Man (Hardcover)
Initially I picked this book up with a little skepticism, however I soon discovered what an excellent and informative read David Yallop had in fact created. The author cleverly pieces together parts of an international and dangerous puzzle in order to dispel the myth surrounding Carlos "The Jackal". The reader is led through a maize of characters located in some of the most dangerous parts of the world, political figures with hidden and violent agendas and also many of Carlos's doomed accomplices. Many of these people give varying and sometimes contradictory evidence, which the author has to sift through in order to get to get to the truth and indeed he does get to the truth. What amazed me were the scope of contacts and the depth of research carried out by Mr. Yallop. He has met with some of the most controversial figures in the world, from Qaddafi the leader of Libya to Wadi Haddad the fanatical leader of a Palestinian resistance movement. For this My Yallop must be praised as he spared no effort in searching for the truth and many of these people helped shed light on the real Carlos. The great many events of the life of Ilich Ramirez Sanchez "The Jackal" are studied and cross-referenced in detail in order to tear away the façade surrounding his myth. The author also explains how this myth was created and who was to benefit from such a disinformation campaign. In addition Mr. Yallop also enlightens the reader concerning certain important historical events that have occurred in the past, which helps throw light on some of the reasons behind the recent turmoil in the Middle East. Although I rate this book and author very highly, I do believe that readers interested in the life of Carlos consider another book prior to reading this. While David Yallop's book does make a great first read, "The Secret Wars of Carlos the Jackal" by John Follain will provide adequate preliminary reading and make this book even more enjoyable.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
EXCELLENT INVESTIGATIVE WORK,
By
This review is from: Tracking the Jackal: The Search for Carlos, the World's Most Wanted Man (Hardcover)
A very fascinating book, this is one of the most interesting documentary work i have ever read. It is filled with suspense and tension during the author's journeys to find the jackal. However, what makes this book really interesting is not tracking down Carlos, but the reality behind the politics and chaos of the middle east discovered by the author during his voyage. Also, the book shows different interviews made to important political figures such as Moammar Gaddafi, Yasser Arafat, George Habash as well as various diplomats and intelligence agents from Israel and europe, just to name few. In addition, the author visits some of the wildest places in the middle east, such as Lebanon, where his aide died on a bomb explosion while he tried to arrange a meeting with Carlos. It is without a doubt, a very thrilling work. I would highly recommend this book especially to those interested on learning about the reality and roots of the Arab-israeli conflict.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not all that Great Now Was He,
By
This review is from: Tracking the Jackal: The Search for Carlos, the World's Most Wanted Man (Hardcover)
This book covers the career and capture of one of the best known terrorist from the 70's and 80's. The book does a nice job of tells the reader who "The Jackal" was and what he did to get the reputation that he has. It was a nice PR job by him. We have a run down of the terrorist operations that can actually be credited to the Jackal although the book describes that there are a larger number that were claimed to be the Jackal that were not. We also get an inside view of what the real man was like. He is represented in the book to be more of an egomaniac that was really just looking for fame and money then leading a deep felt political cause. The author describes the police operations to hunt him down and the operation that place to actually capture the man. We also get a good overview of what life is like in a French prison. Overall this is an interesting book and one that may be the definitive account of he The Jackal outside of the hype. If you are interested in this topic this is a good book.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
