Rating: 
Summary: An analyze of an assassination
Review: This book is brilliant. I chose to read it after we got it for homework in school. I read a few thrillers and mystery. But this book is on my list of top five books. It's about an assassin whose codename is the Jackal. He is hired to kill the French president de Gaulle. You follow him when he brilliantly plans the murder. You see how he thinks, how he choose the perfect weapon, gets false passports etc. You end up liking him and whish him good luck, while you sometimes might want him to fail. How does Forsyth do that? We meet many other characters through the reading, about fifty. Even if they are too many in a book of over 300 pages, it is not quite hard to follow the plot. Who are then the main characters? Well, the Jackal is one of course. The villain is the Jackal, but who is the hero? Is it Lebel, Rolland or Thomas? In a strange way, you find that the plot is the real main character. All things that happen in the book is just analyze of the attempt of murder on de Gaulle. Everything that happens is important and manipulates the ending of the story. This makes the story very complex and brilliant. You won't waste your time reading 150 pages with nothing happening. Every page is important. Read it, or you'll regret it. I will very soon see the both versions of the movie.
Rating:
Summary: A true classic
Review: What can I add to 69 other reviewers? Simply this; I first read the book 25 years ago, and I still regularly take it back down off the shelves and dip into some part that jogs my memory, and enjoy savouring the detail afresh, as with a great piece of classical music or a Jane Austen novel. I am not normally a reader of thrillers; but this is equally much a great detective story and a mind game, and the writing style and the language are also superb, as is the evocation of the French setting. It starts quite slowly but accelerates all the way to the end. It is fascinating to compare it with the great 1973 film (NOT the Bruce Willis version). Scenes from the film like the final assassination attempt create an even more vivid picture in the mind as you read the book again. On the other hand, the detail of the planning, or the moment of Lebel's realisation of how the Jackal has got a gun through the apparently impregnable police screen, or seeing how all the different threads of the storyline fit together, can only be captured in the book. Every word and every nuance count at the climactic moments. Read the book, then see the film, then read the book again. It may not be as pacy as some modern all-action thrillers, but it is never contrived and virtually every bit rings true.
Rating: 
Summary: Flaws in the Glass
Review: The plot of The Day of the Jackal is flawed in two ways. Early in the story, before he has accepted the assignment to kill de Gaulle, the Jackal flies from London to Vienna, meets the three OAS leaders who seek to employ him and, after agreeing to the assassination, spends the night at an airport hotel before returning to London the next morning. At this stage, well before he had assumed any of his several disguises, he must have travelled under his real name. Soon after the French authorities learned of the plot, they also learned of the meeting in Vienna. Since their suspect was English, why did they not have all passengers from England to Vienna at the time investigated? They would have found the Jackal, under his real name, flying to Vienna on the very day of the meeting.
Secondly, there is insufficient attention devoted to the means by which the Jackal, who supposedly left nothing to chance, planned to escape after the assassination. He had made sure of his escape route from the apartment building overlooking the station forecourt, but where was he to go? How could he leave France, with no further disguises available to him and with a hue and cry after a man answering his description? He had no documentation and, even had he done so, any passport would arouse suspicion because there would be no evidence of his entry into France. His four earlier assumed identities, those of Duggan, Jensen, Schulberg and Martin, were all known to police. There is no mention that he carried his own, genuine passport which, even if he did have it with him, would have no entry stamp for France.
Rating:
Summary: A classic thriller
Review: Forsyth sets himself a problem with the theme of this book ;it is about an attempt to assassinate General de Gaule and ,as is widely known ,the man died of natural causes .Thus Forsyth denies himself one central tension-excitement about the outcome.That he still writes a brilliant and suspenseful thriller ,by concentrating on process rather than outcome ,is a testimony to his skills as fiction writer and his background in journalism.
The book is written in a clinical ,detached style reminiscent of a police report ,or indeed non polemical investigative journalism.There are few stylistic flourishes and much technical detail .We are rarely made privy to the way characters think or feel and this gives the book a documentary mood ; events feel viewed as from a distance lending the book an eerie and chilling feel.
The right wing OAS -a real organization -who feel that de Gaulle has betrayed France by granting Algerian independence hire the Jackal ,a professional ,to assassinate him .We learn little of the Jackal except that he is a blond Englishman ,ruthless and efficient at his trade .As he lays his plans -new identity ,weapons ,location etc so the French authorities realise that he is an altogether tougher proposition than the fanatics who have tried to kill de Gaulle previously and the hunt is on.From that point on the book goes into overdrive and is almost unbearably suspenseful and gripping.
One of the very best thrillers ever and probably the best ever about a manhunt.
Rating:
Summary: Ground Breaker
Review: One of the things a reviewer must bear in mind is not when he read the book but when the book was written. Day of the Jackal is a ground breaker that has since been copied countless times. The book is about an assassin hired by the OAS (nowadays, they would be called French terrorists, patriots, far-right extremists etc) to kill Charles DeGaulle, president of France. The OAS was composed of French war veterans who felt betrayed by the country they had served with enormous sacrifice to their lives. When Charles DG gave up Algeria, he became the symbol OAS decided had to be struck down. Events turn out such that a foreign professional assassin had to be hired to do the job, and of course, to ensure the balance, the French police had to be tipped off. Thus the game of cat and mouse began. As the author detailed the workings of both sides, readers are captivated and would actually root for both sides, nevermind the author did explicitly state CDG survived. Of course, critical readers may find certain about of suspension of belief required. First, it was the repeated failed attempts of the OAS members to do the killing themselves that cost OAS its support. The cause of the failure was supposed to be sheer bad luck and silly oversight of the OAS, who were supposed to be experienced soldiers. They may not know much about politics, but to fail in such operations seem rather unforgivable. Second, the serendipidity of the authorities getting on the right track to hunt the Jackal was also incredible. Whereas the Jackal, codename for the assassin had relied on careful planning and relied not on luck, luck was the only thing the authorities had. The message might be that detective work is long labourious and luck only favours the prepared. Third, I guess there is no way the author can short change the Jackal's effort except to make the assassination attempt fail by the sheerest bad luck. Nonetheless, the structures introduced by the author to the assassination and manhunt was wonderfully captivating. This novel definitely makes true the saying the goal is the journey, not the destination.
Rating:
Summary: Forsyth's very best...great place to start for first timers
Review: This book is a classic. The story is a classic thriller and fast paced. Forsyth is well known to be a classic espionage writer and this book is a testament of that fact. The story is about OAS(A French terrorist outfit) looking to kill the French President. With 6 previously failed attempts at his life the OAS decide to hire a foreign national to do the job. The story revolves arond how this foreign national(code named:Jackal) plans, prepares to do the job and how the French authorities look to foil the plan. A master thriller, a gripping story, hard to put down and Forsyth is in his own league with this book. A great place to start for first time Forsyth readers.
Rating:
Summary: the process is more important than the outcome
Review: I've finally got around to reading this acclaimed novel. It's regarded as Forsyth's best book, some even say it's the best spy novel ever written. I've read five of his novels and think that the only one of his books that comes close is "The Fist of God" or maybe "The Devil's Alternative". Some say that reading spy/thriller novels is a waste of time because you already know what's going to happen in the end. Even though one knows the outcomes of spy/thrillers they are not a waste of time because we read these books mostly for seeing how events unfold and come together in a unique way. This particular book is very well known and even many who haven't read it already know what's going to happen in the end. I saw the movie numerous times before reading this novel and still couldn't seem to put it down. I was constantly asking myself questions like "how will he get out of this one?", "when will such and such happen?". Another thing which impressed me about this novel is the realism. This is what separates Forsyth from other authors. The assassin in this story is somewhat of a superman, but believeable. All of the other characters and events are also realistic. Forsyth never does things like give people ten PhDs or other absurdities.
Rating:
Summary: one of Forsyth's best
Review: This is simply vintage Frederick Forsyth, which translates into vintage thriller/espionage material. The suspense of the assassination attempt on Charles de Gaulle by an Englishman codenamed the Jackal (hired by the OAS) is maintained at a high level throughout; this is achieved by simultaneously tracking the Jackal's preparations and the French authorities' efforts at stopping him. Both the details of making plans and the action of executing them in the plot are balanced nicely.
Rating:
Summary: Thrilling, thrilling tale
Review: There is little to be found wrong with this book. I mean, it sits towards the top of its genre so what can you really say bad about it? The book doesn't get bogged down with extraneous detail like so many Clancy novels, yet it has enough to satisfy the type of reader who generally reads these novels (I'm not one of them). The characters were as real as characters in a fictional espionnage thriller can be, I suppose, and the plot was certainly interesting enough to capture anyone's attention. My only qualm with this book is the ending. One, there is a final twist at the end that will leave you scratching your head and then saying, "Well, wait a minute..." It forces you to go back and reconsider almost everything the Jackal did. My other problem with the ending, and this is nitpicking to be sure, is that the ending seemed too 'Hollywood', if you will. The main character working to solve the Jackal's case just happened to be in the right place at the right time. It seemed a little contrived. All in all, a thrilling book and one with enough political relevancy to seem like you're learning something along the way, as well.
Rating:
Summary: Not Your Usual Good Guy
Review: I liked this book (and the old movie made from it) because the detective who chased the Jackal wasn't your stereotypical literary/cinematic superhero -- he was physically unimposing and, it was specifically mentioned, a totally henpecked husband.
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