Frederick Forsyth Books

Excellent book. I highly recommend it. It will cause you to beleive in a higher being.

This is, simpy put, one of my favorite readings of all time.

This very short novel is engaging, exciting and very well written. Forsyth showed that he's more than one of the best thriller writers of all time.

This is a great little story that is combined with vivid illustrations. The illustrations make it seem as though it is a young readers' book, but the context of the book is a mature one. Simply, this is a story of a Cod War era RAF pilot who is flying his Vampire (early British fighter jet) home from Germany to England on Christmas Eve night. The reader is treated to the reflective thoughts of the lonely pilot as he flies through the dark and quiet winter sky, and then we are treated to a Twilight Zone-like account of faulty instruments, bad weather, and a mysterious rescue in the fog . . . .
An adult can read this in about 15 minutes. It's a great tale, and an unusual delivery from a master of espionage fiction. Try it if you can find it.

I cannot say why, but this short novella always mskes me think of Paul Gallico's wonderful story, "The Snow Goose." The biggest difference is that the primary character survives his experience in "Shepherd".

I first read this story about 20 years ago and I have since lost my copy of it and am going to order another. It is a great yarn, scaring you one moment, cheering you the next and with an ending worthy of Alfred Hitchcock at his best. I believe that I'll be ordering more than one so that I may send some as Christmas presents.

I first read this little book when it came out, in 1976. I have since bought many copies and given them away to friends. I have even sought out German-language copies to give to friends overseas who aren't fluent in English.

(The local library has an Audiobooks version, but I didn't care for that and stopped it after only a few minutes. A droning voice can't ever substitute for the images and sound effects created in the reader's own mind).

As far as Christmas memories go, reading this little story on Christmas Eve is one that I treasure to this day. My only regret is that one can never recapture the exact experience of reading it for the first time. I envy those who are about to discover this story.

Somewhere, I have a large unbuilt plastic model of a DeHaviland Mosquito. Have had it for 25 years, a gift from my best friend who got the book from me as a Christmas gift. Someday I promise to built it up, with decals for call sign "JK."

It saddens me to know (other reviews) that this is Fredrick Forsyth's last book. One of his best indeed. He has been an expert at cold war fictions and ICON is also on a East vs West story line. However it is remarkable the way he has put the story into todays context. We will really miss this master story tellers works in the future.

In another example of his genius, in his last novel (Source : BBC World), Fedrick Forsyth has created a monster of a thriller of no mean proportions. The story starts off with the death of the President of Russia and the installment of a caretaker President who calls fresh elections. A former Soviet-era engineer with a gift of speech is one of the candidates and a cinch to win. However, his party has a secret manifesto, a black manifesto. A manifesto whoose objective is to cripple all of Russia's neighbours and establish a dictatorship even more powerful and renegade than the old Soviet Union. But, somehow by lax of security, even though the head of security is a former KGB colnel, the manifesto falls into the hands of a US diplomat. Alarms are immediatly raised, and a secret commitee is formed to discredit the candidate. A retired top - class agent is sent in a MI5 cum CIA operation. His misson? TO direct all ethinic minorities, the Islamic Mafia, the military, the Jewish businessmen, the Anti-Drug and Anti-Terrorist Squad and the Church of Russia against a advisary which would cause their mass slaughter. However, there is one trick still up the KGB colnel's sleeve - The Mafia, His own Balck Gaurd and 'Coup d'Êtat'. In future years this bestseller is sure to become a collector's item, not because of the fact that the author has declared it to be his final book but because of its sheer intense action and drama.

Once again Forsythe has taken historical events and true characters and interwoven them into a compelling fiction thriller. His ability to take the poltical structure of Russia and create a scenerio that is both easy to follow and hard to put down is uncanny. It is hard to rate this story his best since so many are so good, however it is without a doubt right at the top. The story centers around the future of Russian politics in the aftermath of a failed democratic free market economy. One leader seeks to gain prominence by using the failure to his own advancement. However his true beliefs are found in a document known only to him and two other comrades (The Black Manifesto). Fortunately this document falls in the hands of a US diplomat. The story gravitates around America's need to discredit this leader without outward involvement. Forsythe takes us into the underworld of Russian mafia as well as the upper echilon of the Politboro.

We are told that the best stories com from people that write about what they know. So if this story seems insightful it may be because Frederic Forsyth worked for Reuters reporting from London and he wrote the story in hotels from Germany to Austria. He mixes the real, not so real and the plausible to make you think "what if."
I do not want to say much as the fun is being surprised during the reading. However compared to the movie the book is much more in-depth with more characters and details. Manny times you think Forsyth is going off on some tangent and not focusing on the main story; then with out warning the information makes sense later on. One example to look for is the quick encounter with military maneuvers where he describes the tank sergeant.
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It is the night of the John F. Kennedy assassination. Peter Miller, freelance reporter in the process of chasing ambulances is disappointed by the apparent suicide of a person of no consequence.
Turns out the dead man is holocaust survivor Salomon Tauber; he left behind a diary of his experiences. Miller reads this diary and seems particularly interested in some details. This inspires him to do a story on what happed to ex-Nazis. His quest puts him at odds with many people including an organization (O.D.E.S.S.A.) that was designed to help the SS escape justice. He also encounters independent agents out for their own agenda. Then there is the MOSSAD. Everyone accuses Miller of having his own secret agenda and not just out for a story. Can they be right?
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Be sure to also watch the movie with famous actors that actually fit the characters from the book. Naturally a lot of information had to cut out and some sequence changes to fit the media. We still get the full speech from Eduard Roschmann (Maximilian Schell)

We are told that the best stories come from people that write about what they know. So if this story seems insightful it may be because Frederic Forsyth worked for Reuters reporting from London and he wrote the story in hotels from Germany to Austria. He mixes the real, not so real and the plausible to make you think "what if."
I do not want to say much as the fun is being surprised during the reading. However compared to the movie the book is much more in-depth with more characters and details. Manny times you think Forsyth is going off on some tangent and not focusing on the main story; then with out warning the information makes sense later on. One example to look for is the quick encounter with military maneuvers where he describes the tank sergeant.
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It is the night of the John F. Kennedy assassination. Peter Miller, freelance reporter in the process of chasing ambulances is disappointed by the apparent suicide of a person of no consequence.
Turns out the dead man is holocaust survivor Salomon Tauber; he left behind a diary of his experiences. Miller reads this diary and seems particularly interested in some details. This inspires him to do a story on what happed to ex-Nazis. His quest puts him at odds with many people including an organization (O.D.E.S.S.A.) that was designed to help the SS escape justice. He also encounters independent agents out for their own agenda. Then there is the MOSSAD. Everyone accuses Miller of having his own secret agenda and not just out for a story. Can they be right?
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Be sure to also watch the movie with famous actors that actually fit the characters from the book. Naturally a lot of information had to cut out and some sequence changes to fit the media. We still get the full speech from Eduard Roschmann (Maximilian Schell)

The Odessa File Starring: Jon Voight, Maximilian Schell

While living in the Bay Area of California we were lucky enough to have a radio station that rebroadcast Canada's CBC radio station. "The Shepherd" read by Alan Maitland was a special on Christmas Eve for a number of years and we made sure to tune in each year. Living now in an area we cannot receive the broadcast we have bought the disk and now have our own tradition playing it for ourselves and friends on Christmas Eve. Makes a wonderful gift and stocking stuffer. Recommended highly.

In Canada people start calling the CBC in early December to ask when they will broadcast the story, "The Shepherd" read on the radio by the late Alan Maitland. I suspect that much of Canada was quiet the last half hour when they just played it on Radio One.
It is a tense & beautiful spirit/ghost story about a young RAF pilot lost over the North Sea on Xmas Eve.
I highly recommend it for its expert narration, as an event for the whole family to listen to, ages 10 & up, & as just a darn good story.

The rest of the stories, each w/a bit of irony or a bittersweet taste, are well done, too.

This is an account of a largely neglected expedition during the Civil War which was part of the Red River Campaign.. The eastern theater of the civil war has garnered the historical scrutiny of many writers while treating the campaigns west of the Mississippi as a side show of little significance. Michael Forsyth's book provides a well researched treatise that refutes such a view and asserts that this expedition had significant implications to the northern war effort. The author provides insight into the characters and personalities of the commanders' involved as well as detailed descriptions of the events leading to and during the engagements between the opposing armies. His premise, that Steele's expedition saved Banks' army and thus contributed to the eventual success of the Union Army in the east has well documented merit. This book should be read in concert with Michael Forsyth's other book "Red River Campaign of 1864 and the Loss by the Confederacy of the Civil War", Ludwell H. Johnson's book "Red River Campaign. Politics & Cotton in the Civil War". Gary Dillard Joiner's book, "One Damn Blunder from Beginning to End. The Red River Campaign of 1864", and Mark Christ's book, "All Cut To Pieces and Gone To Hell." The Civil War, Race Relations and the Battle of Poison Spring. I highly recommend these books for those wanting a greater understanding of the Trans Mississippi conflict and its contribution to the greater picture of the American Civil War as well as a look at Civil War America's "heart of darkness".

My only complaint was the maps in the book are Diagrammatic and would benefit more if they had more scale and topographical detail.

To the memory of Josephus Utt, Co. K, 14th. Kansas Cavalry at Poison Spring Arkansas 1864.

Mythological professional killer vs detective.


Mythological in the sense that he has a fancy name tying in to the history surrounding that particular assassin.

In this case, some perhaps not so nice people want a French leader removed, and haven't managed it themselves, so they bring in an outside expert.

On the other side is a detective trying to track him down.

An excellent example of tense spy thriller writing of the time, by one of its foremost proponents.

Excellent. As always F. Forsyth does it again. Intriguing. You just can't stop reading this great novel. And as usual you end learning something about a forging country. It's a must.

Fredererick Forsyth llega en este libro al más alto nivel de dificultad narrativa, en ocasiones pasa entre seis hilos conductores pero con la maestria de los mejores escritores de suspenso. Si te gustan las sorpresas narrativas y la proligidad en los detalles de la intriga política y espionaje este es tu libro.

Forsyth returns to the essence of the myth (Phantom's Opera) to recreate with admirable maestry, the visceral emotion he usually adds to most of his works. The adventure begins in France and translates to Manhattan where we will witness the horror, the anguish and despair of a man who is capable though the music to establsi a relationship woth the outer world.

Fascinating all the way through.

An impulse buy for the marlin on the cover of the cassette, I have worn this one out. Surely one of the best fishing stories ever told. A wonderful story about everything that is good in the world, and the way it should be. If you see it, buy it.