Nonfiction: The Jackal by Joby Warrick

The full title of Joby Warrick's book is The Jackal: The Rise and Fall of Carlos, the World's First Super-Terrorist. In the book, the two-time Pulitzer Prize winning journalist chronicles the life of Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, most commonly known to the world as Carlos or 'The Jackal,' after appearing on the world's stage in 1975. The Venezuelan born Marxist would go on to become one of the most hunted men in the world.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a work of nonfiction that follows the career of Carlos, The Jackal, a super-terrorist most active in the 1970s and 1980s, until his capture in 1994. The book talks of his early life in Venezuela, his time studying in the Soviet Union, a place that he found to be somewhat rigid and stifling, to his eventual recruitment by a terrorist mastermind. It would be the 1975 hostage situation in Vienna, Austria, during the annual meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (or OPEC), where the world would be introduced to Carlos. Motivated by money more than ideology, The Jackal experienced successes, as well as many failures, killed many, and got married twice, before his ultimate capture and imprisonment in France. The author details Carlos' seemingly unfailing confidence, as well as the magnetism that attracted women, and got other men to follow his lead.

My Verdict: What drew me to this book was the opportunity to follow the life of someone who would eventually be known for taking hostages, hijacking planes, and bombing a radio building in Germany. There is a curiosity to understand what leads someone down that path, and Warrick meticulously lays out the events that led Carlos to become someone known for such spectacular acts of violence, that several countries would eventually deny him entry for fear of both what he might do, and which other countries may be angered by him being allowed to reside in their borders. The personal accounts from Carlos himself, as well as those who knew him, fill out the man's history and experiences, allowing for a satisfying account of a fascinating life.

Favorite Moment: The account of the bombing of Radio Free Europe's Munich headquarters in 1981 was particularly interesting to me, mostly due to the details that made it seem like more of a failure than a success.

Recommended Reading: I will recommend it forever: Michelle McNamara's I'll Be Gone in the Dark.