The Outsider: My Life in Intrigue Hardcover – 6 October 2015

His humble approach to life. The excitement from his young days to the last pages keeps the reader so motivated to immerse. His simple witty and deep quotes make you think.A great read of a life lived extraordinarily.

Let me start by getting this out of the way – Forsyth is not a very modest man. And hence while ‘The Outsider’ is a breezy and interesting read, it is difficult not to raise your eyebrows at some points in the book. There is a touch of Tavleen Singh or Vir Sanghvi where the facts are broken down really well but it is difficult to do away with the undercurrent of ‘I told them so’ or ‘I knew better’ which seems to permeate throughout.As an autobiography, the book is extremely linear – starting from his childhood in Kent and is very detailed till he writes his first novel, which is from the 1940’s to 1970. The author seems to have a remarkable memory for a 70 year old – the kind of detailing and insight is well, a bit unrealistic. Nonetheless, benefit of doubt given – it is a fascinating enough tale with wonderful experiences. In fact it made me start to wonder how would I ever want to bring up my children to ensure they get such well rounded and ‘holistic’ experiences. Holidays in France, schooling in England, hitchhiking through Europe, training to be a the youngest RAF pilot, then a journalist with the peachiest of stints with the best of agencies – life till 25 could hardly have been more action-packed. He also doesn’t shy away from naming names, stating opinions and generally blowing his own trumpet. Of course with a pinch of salt – he is extremely lucky (bullet passing between his thighs anyone?), resourceful (always has a knife on him at the right time in a right spot), insightful (can read through people and knows who’s telling the truth) and seems extremely gregarious and quick to strike up friendships for someone who spends a chapter claiming to be a big introvert who’s always been ‘The Outsider’.After the growing up details, the middle part of the book which recount his experiences with Reuters in France and East Berlin, and then with the BBC and as a freelancer in Biafra, Israel and many others was for me the most interesting one. After which the insights and anecdotes get very scattered towards the end. When I think of Fredrick Forsyth, I think ‘great author’ and it is therefore a little disappointing that there is very little insight into the how of writing these complex thrillers except for doing a lot of research. The Day of the Jackal writing experience is summed up in a line by saying he didn’t step out of the house for 35 days and that’s about it. There’s a bit more on the Odessa File, but most of the latter books are hardly even mentioned. The latter third of the book is a smorgasbord of various tales from after he became a bestselling author. Interesting but reading your book to read tales about how you and your son almost rescued some bird on a fishing trip is not what I was looking for Sir.The book is however is a veritable gold mine of modern history, with facts simplified and presented for readers who may not know of those times or incidents. Despite the re-iteration of impartiality and facts, I did feel a bias in most of his narration of incidents. The writing style seems significantly simpler than his novels, although I’m really impressed by the ability to use difficult (esoteric?!) words in simple sentences. Too often, under the guise or attempt to show off writing skills, there is a tendency to write long convoluted sentences but with the vocabulary of a 12 year old. But I digress. Read the book with a dictionary (or a dictionary app of course) open on one tab and Wikipedia/Google on the other to keep looking up the many details and names that are dropped.

Wow, sir u have lived the life to its fullest. Awesome and mind blowing recounting of the adventure and fun.

Interesting read. Enjoyed reading it cover to cover.

Disappointing. I was not expecting a gripper like 'Jackal', but even as his life story it was dull. His stints for MI5 did not add up to much

Not a thriller. But a thriller like presentation. A fiction like expression but it is non fiction. Not a biography but an Outsider's view. FF narrated his life incidents as in his other creations. Interesting and informative on his life's memorabilia. A concise but content wise healthy novel authored by him just to please his readers.

For those who love to read him, and I am one of them, Frederick Forsythe's autobiographical " The outsider: My life in Intrigue" is a gem of a read, fast paced as his novels, full of adventures he undertook that led to his captivating novels. An autobiography as thrilling and as engrossing as his novels.

Forsyth is an authority on suspense and story telling. His times and life are window to a world little known by this generation.Worth a read y anyone who likes to know how a life is made.

Fantastic story, recollections of unbelievably varied exploits and adventures. Maybe his best book!

Interesting autobiography telling how FF's international outlook was initially shaped by his prescient parents sending him to live with non English speaking French families in the summer holidays 4 years running from the time he was 8. Thus he grew up speaking accent-less bilingual level French. Sending him to Germany each year in the summers from when he was aged 12 produced a similar result, & indeed he ended up taking A levels in both these subjects shortly before he was 16.Rather than go to University, he then trained as a pilot in the RAF, before working at Reuters in Paris (shadowing President de Gaulle, who was reckoned to be at constant high risk of assassination) & then East Berlin (as the only Western press correspondent in the city) - all this by the age of 27 ! Time working for the BBC followed, & he was sent to Nigeria in 1967 to cover the Biafran War. Subsequently the BBC pulled out of covering this conflict (Vietnam (in which Britain was not involved) was deemed to be more important), so FF returned under his own steam to Biafra as an independent correspondent, where he helped draw the world's attention to the terrible conditions of people starving there. At the end of that ghastly war, he found himself back in London with no job & no money & largely black-balled by the British media for having taken an "anti-Establishment" line (ie supporting the Biafrans) during the war.So......he decided to write a novel, which became "The Day of the Jackal". He then had to find a publisher, & (in another of the several strokes of luck which he freely admits have favoured him throughout his life) conveniently met one at a party who liked his initial manuscript, & then offered him a three novel contract. Thus "The Odessa File" & "The Dogs of War" followed in short order - & the rest is history.This book is certainly an interesting read - my only carp is that the background to FF's remaining books is covered fairly cursorily. Nevertheless, he has certainly enjoyed an astonishingly varied & dramatic life, & has undoubtedly deserved the success that has come his way.

spectacular, much too enjoyable than any best seller sold these days . May be, Forsythe is preparing another book, I hope so patrick thierry sao paulo brasil

Great autobiography. Passion and intrigue . Gives an inside vieuw of politics. As usual Forsyth makes it a passionate story

Frederick Forsyth is my favourite author, so when I found out about his "autobiography" I knew I had to buy it. The best way to describe this book is to say it is a collection of short stories/chapters that cover various aspects of his life (childhood, teens, early career etc) most of them have a humorous twist end but there are also factual insights into politics, civil wars and espionage. Some chapters cover family fishing/camping trips while other chapters remind you of his famous characters trying to avoid getting captured by the Secret Police. This book isn't for everyone, but if you are a big fan of Forsyth's vast knowledge, meticulous research and clever twists then this will be a very satisfying read.