Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “The Outsider: My Life in Intrigue” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

The Outsider: My Life in Intrigue

Frederick Forsyth

4.09 · Rating details · 1,751 ratings · 245 reviews

From Frederick Forsyth, the grand master of international suspense, comes his most intriguing story ever—his own.

For more than forty years, Frederick Forsyth has been writing extraordinary real-world novels of intrigue, from the groundbreaking The Day of the Jackal to the prescient The Kill List. Whether writing about the murky world of arms dealers, the shadowy Nazi und ...more

Get A Copy

Hardcover, 352 pages

Published October 6th 2015 by G.P. Putnam's Sons (first published September 8th 2015)

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about The Outsider, please sign up.

Be the first to ask a question about The Outsider

Lists with This Book

This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 4.09 ·

Rating details

· 1,751 ratings · 245 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of The Outsider: My Life in Intrigue

Sep 12, 2015 Samuel rated it it was amazing

THE OLD PRO.

"You still haven't explained why. You've explained what and how but not why!" - Simon Endean.

" For nearly two years, I watched between half a million and a million small kids starving to death because of people like you and Mason. It was done basically so that you and your kind can make bigger profits through a vicious and totally corrupt dictatorship and it was done in the name of law and order, of legality and constitutional justification. I may be a fighter, I may be a killer, b ...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Dec 15, 2020 Sebastien Castell rated it really liked it

Shelves: biography, writing, non-fiction

Frederick Forsyth is best known for his incredibly successful series of spy novels that began with the legendary Day of the Jackal which has been made into movies a couple of times now. However he also had a storied career joining the Royal Air Force to get his pilot's license, reporting from Cold War Berlin and war-torn Nigeria, and even assisting the U.K. spy services from time to time. The Outsider: My Life in Intrigue, is a memoire of his life and adventures, and one that's equally compellin Frederick Forsyth is best known for his incredibly successful series of spy novels that began with the legendary Day of the Jackal which has been made into movies a couple of times now. However he also had a storied career joining the Royal Air Force to get his pilot's license, reporting from Cold War Berlin and war-torn Nigeria, and even assisting the U.K. spy services from time to time. The Outsider: My Life in Intrigue, is a memoire of his life and adventures, and one that's equally compelling as an espionage novel in its own right.

For anyone interested in the life and times of a famous author with an adventurous past, The Outsider makes for an easy and fun read. The prose is concise, smooth, and keeps a rolling pace from Forsyth's first memories of desperately wanting to fly a Spitfire plane to his eventual (however delayed) chance to at last fulfill that wish. In between he lives a life that would make most writers (well, me, at least) feel insignificant by comparison. If you've ever suffered from "imposter syndrome", this book will have you curled up in a ball underneath the bed.

Forsyth achieved a great deal throughout the decades, but more than that, it's the adventurous and fearless spirit conveyed by the book that grabs you. He feels very much like a character from an espionage novel – brave, brash, cunning, and dismissive of bureaucrats and those he deems corrupt. There's a strong thread of classic British conservatism that runs through the book which might not please all readers (he's really got a thing about the BBC – hopefully he's gotten over it by now).

If there's a fault to be found in the book, it's probably one endemic to memoirs: Forsyth never really looks at the events he describes from any other perspective than his own. He makes judgments on who's heroic and who's venal, how one political perspective is honest and forthright and the other intolerably hypocritical, but never questions those verdicts. It's hard to say whether he feels he grew as a person between age 6 and 73, or whether those years were merely the spaces in which he went on grand adventures and with seeming effortlessness, wrote massive blockbuster novels. It's not that he comes across as arrogant – he doesn't – but simply that in telling his story he leaves little room for reflection. However, as someone who doesn't read a lot of memoirs, in some ways this made the book far more engaging for me, so I suppose you can't be too picky in these matters.

The Outsider: My Life in Intrigue delivers exactly what it promises on the tin: the secret real-life adventures of a legendary writer who embodies the kind of characters we might find in a spy novel. That makes for a pretty fun read.
...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Sep 09, 2015 thePromoParrot rated it it was amazing

Shelves: reviews

I have been immensely fascinated by The Dogs of War, The Fourth Protocol, The Kill List and The Day of the Jackal, all written by Frederick Forsyth. To this day, The Day of the Jackal remains one of my all-time favorite political spy thrillers and Frederick Forsyth one of my favorite authors. His latest offering, The Outsider: My Life in Intrigue, is a spellbinding compilation of autobiographical vignettes, and is as entertaining as any other Frederick Forsyth book.

In this sixty-chapter memoir, ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Sep 21, 2015 Barbara rated it it was ok

I have not read any of Forsyth's novels, though I know of them and the movies made about them, but this memoir just didn't grab me. I love books about espionage and I think It was told in an easy style, sort of like someone talking with a friend, but it just came across flat. The beginning was the best part in my opinion. Enjoyed reading about his tenacity as a boy learning languages in school, turning down a chance at a prestigious university to pursue his dream to be an RAF fighter pilot. I ha ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Aug 16, 2017 Michael rated it liked it

I kept feeling that a certain streak of arrogance was to the fore. However he certainly had an amazing variation of experiences and it made a very interesting read, all of which provided a background to the books that Frederick Forsyth made his name from.

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Oct 29, 2015 Raja Subramanian rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: books-owned, read-in-2015

I could never resist anything written by Frederick Forsyth. I had bought every single book he has written (so far), and have read all of them. So when I saw his latest book, “The Outsider – My Life in Intrigue” it was a no-brainer for me when the decision came to purchase at the airport. Of course, I missed out sorely on the large discounts available on Amazon / Flipkart or the opportunity purchase a much lower priced Kindle edition. The book did not disappoint me at all!

As the title reveals, it I could never resist anything written by Frederick Forsyth. I had bought every single book he has written (so far), and have read all of them. So when I saw his latest book, “The Outsider – My Life in Intrigue” it was a no-brainer for me when the decision came to purchase at the airport. Of course, I missed out sorely on the large discounts available on Amazon / Flipkart or the opportunity purchase a much lower priced Kindle edition. The book did not disappoint me at all!

As the title reveals, it is an autobiography – not fiction! However, the various incidents in his life that he narrates in the book are as exciting as the plots he uses in his fiction. Some incidents are somewhat stranger than fiction!

Frederick Forsyth has evidently led a full live – a life of exploration, excitement, exploration, enrichment, escapades, and achievement. I just knew him as a famous author whose books I enjoyed immensely. To me he was an extremely talented author. After I finished reading this book, I realize what an immensely multi-talented personality he is. He is multilingual – fluent in French, German and Spanish, apart from English. He has been a pilot since age of 17 and served in the RAF with some nice yarns to tell (which he does in the book). He served as a reporter travelling to the most troubled spots on earth, and coming out unscathed from everyone, showcasing a charmed life well-lived. He has met some famous personalities, monarchs, Heads of State, dictators, and the like. In his twenties, he crashes his car at high-speed, but comes out alive with some nasty injuries. He sits on a pack of mortar on a flight, when a bullet goes between his legs through to the roof of the plane. What a charmed life!

At 70 years of age, he even fulfils his childhood dream of flying a Spitfire! And then, to research for a book, he goes off to Somalia, which is not the safest place for any person at all to be in the best of days.
I knew of the conflict in Nigeria and the tragedy at Biafra. But I never got to know who were really responsible for the deaths of so many children. Much of the news carried in newspapers those days were the official handouts (had no access to TV then) and I wasn’t able to fathom the enormity of the human tragedy. For reading this particular episode alone, the book is well worth purchasing!
After reading this book, I spoke so highly of it that a friend of mine remarked “What is the big deal? He is after all a writer of fiction!” implying that the narration of events in the autobiography could well be exaggerated fiction. I politely told that friend that he is entitled to his opinion and I do not buy that. Sometimes truth can be stranger than fiction. Sometimes real life can be more exciting than fiction. Sometimes real people do lead such an extraordinary life!

If you have read the fiction of Frederick Forsyth and wanted to know the man, here is the book for you. His previous book, The Kill List disappointed me. But this one did not!

...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Dec 22, 2015 Tuck rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-about-books, chechnya-russia-ussr, europa, music-and-other-700-s, natural-history, noir, pre-wwi, sailing-and-fighting, south-africa, spain

an entertaining autobiographer, but light in some ways, i guess in the lack of discussion about book writing and book trade. forsyth invokes the "luck" he has, but surely being given a chance to attend oxford as a 16 year old (he turned them down, hah, his mastery of 4 languages surely gave him added advantages, so he wanted to be a jet pilot, which he did become), becoming a journalist with the hopes it would allow him world travel, and being posted to northern england, but then knocking on doo ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Nov 16, 2015 Steve Gross rated it liked it

Anecdotal biography of the author. Mostly interesting, a little repetitive and at times self-serving.

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Apr 26, 2019 Vicky Hunt rated it liked it

Shelves: around-the-world-in-2019, jungle-desert-sea

A cool Brit with a penchant for excitement, Forsyth spent his educational years learning languages in different countries. He picked up quite a varied education; along with studying bull-fighting and a few other thrill sports. He moved early into the RAF, then retired into a position with the BBC. But, that didn't last long, due to his reluctance to stick to the company propaganda lines about the Biafra - Nigerian Civil War. His contention was that though the BBC had reported daily on the Americ A cool Brit with a penchant for excitement, Forsyth spent his educational years learning languages in different countries. He picked up quite a varied education; along with studying bull-fighting and a few other thrill sports. He moved early into the RAF, then retired into a position with the BBC. But, that didn't last long, due to his reluctance to stick to the company propaganda lines about the Biafra - Nigerian Civil War. His contention was that though the BBC had reported daily on the American-Vietnam War, they were concerned with the embarrassment that Britain would suffer due to the fallout of their involvement in this action. After some intrigue and threats on his life, he reported independently on the war.

All of this became a backdrop to his later novels, and he traveled a bit about Europe and Africa involved in some correspondence and research for further novels. The story is quite interesting throughout and reveals vignettes of his experiences, including sky-diving. Overall, I liked the book and especially enjoyed the Audible narration by Robert Powell. But, I do not consider it exceptional in any way, hence the 3 star rating. It did provide a deal of information to launch my further research on key current events.

The strengths of the book are the insight it provides into the political scene of the first half of the 20th Century. I read this book for my stop in Guinea-Bissau on my Journey Around the World in 2019. It was an excellent choice due to the fact that it provides a uniquely British perspective of Africa in a post-colonial era. Some of the African countries encapsulated here include Morocco, Somalia, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, and South Africa; as well as Guinea-Bissau.

I was taken aback to realize that the JFK phenomenon was world-wide. Forsyth was in East Berlin at the time. Men cursed. Women screamed when the announcement was heard on the news. I don't know why this surprised me. I grew up knowing the impact Kennedy's death had on Americans, and how everyone of that generation remembers where they were when they heard the news. It seems the shock-waves were felt around the world, and I can certainly understand that now.

Aside from his personal perspectives, Forsyth brings to the table his excellent writing voice, and his talent with phrases such as 'the nastiest corner of the human soul.' I would certainly like to read a couple of his novels, such as The Day of the Jackal and Kill List. My next stop, however will be along the coast in Guinea, where I am reading The King of Kahel by Tierno Monenembo. ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Oct 27, 2018 Rajeev rated it it was amazing

Frederick Forsyth is one of my favorite authors and it was but natural that I had the urge to read his autobiography when I chanced upon it. The standout feature of Forsyth’s volume of work is the impeccable research that goes into each of his novels which makes them so engaging and readable. The Outsider gives a glimpse into his style of working, which has paid the author rich dividends in the form of best-selling novels that he has churned out over the past 48 years- 2nd January 1970 being the Frederick Forsyth is one of my favorite authors and it was but natural that I had the urge to read his autobiography when I chanced upon it. The standout feature of Forsyth’s volume of work is the impeccable research that goes into each of his novels which makes them so engaging and readable. The Outsider gives a glimpse into his style of working, which has paid the author rich dividends in the form of best-selling novels that he has churned out over the past 48 years- 2nd January 1970 being the day on which he commenced work on his all-time best-selling work, The Day of the Jackal, which also happens to be his debut novel.

Forsyth was born in 1939, the year that the second world war commenced. Being in the midst of the war did have an indelible effect on the little child, which was but inevitable. The remarkable feature of young Forsyth’s life was that at that young age, he had the good fortune to stay for considerable periods of time in France, Germany and Spain as part of student exchange programs, which helped him in no small way to pick up foreign languages as also develop a flair for foreign cultures and peoples. Forsyth developed a flair for languages and he managed to get scholarships to pursue his love for foreign tongues. By the age of around 20, he was adept at French, German, Spanish and Russian.

Forsyth had a great passion for flying and at the tender age of just over seventeen, he managed to get himself into National Service in the RAF. He was an exception, because during that time there were lot of young folks who were trying to avoid the National Service. Forsyth gives very engaging accounts of his training which enabled him to get his flying wings in the RAF subsequently.

His love of languages, writing and travel eventually made Forsyth take up a career in journalism after a short stint in the RAF. He embarked on his journalistic career with the Eastern Daily Press, which was based in Norwich, Norfolk. Being in a local newspaper had its advantages. Forsyth says, it made him check his facts always, as there was no room for error. The locals would just walk up to the offices of the newspaper and point out the inconsistencies in the edition, which could turn out to be deeply embarrassing. Forsyth talks about an interesting encounter that he had with a tailor, who could read palms. He says that the ‘palmist’ was able to give an account of his past as well as his future. He says that whatever was predicted at that point in time has turned out to be true. This is definitely a candid confession from a person who prides himself to be a top-notch journalist and a seeker of the truth!!

Forsyth’s passion to travel the world and his ambition to do well in his journalistic career made him move to Fleet Street in London, which was the Mecca of journalism. A chance encounter with a senior journalist landed him in a coveted job as a foreign correspondent with Reuters. He was posted to Paris, just because he was fluent in French. Forsyth says that this move to Paris was the sole reason why a book called the Day of the Jackal could become possible about 10 years hence. A wonderful proof as to how circumstances and chance meetings shape the course that our life takes.

While in Paris, Forsyth had a ringside view of the attempts that were made on the life of the French President, Charles de Gaulle by the OAS. This was the inspiration for him to embark on his debut novel, Day of the Jackal, in 1970. This is an irrefutable proof for the fact that one has to have rich experiences which can subsequently shape one into a master story teller. Forsyth’s further stint at Reuters took him into East Berlin, as the Reuters representative there. He was the only western journalist present on the wrong side of the iron curtain. It was during height of the cold war. During his stint in East Berlin, Forsyth had to work for the Western intelligence in addition to his publicized role as that of a journalist. No doubt that all this exposure gave him tremendous insight into the world of espionage that he was able to reflect all of it so effectively in the thrillers that he produced subsequently as a successful author. Forsyth thereafter had a stint with the venerable BBC, but he was soon disillusioned with that Organization, that he left after a short stint with them. Forsyth paints a very dismal picture about the absence of basic journalistic ethics at the BBC. It is indeed a revealing expose’ that the author makes about the BBC, which is held in high esteem for impartiality. Forsyth was tasked to cover the Nigerian civil war, where the enclave of Biafra had declared independence from Nigeria. Britain was providing aid in the form of Arms and funds to the Nigerian Government to crush the revolt. BBC was unabashedly being selective and partisan in its coverage of the crisis and was toeing the official British line. Forsyth left the Organization and moved as an independent journalist to Biafra to cover the famine, a human tragedy that was unfolding there, which was a direct result of the atrocities committed by the Nigerian Government, with the active assistance of Britain. Forsyth’s exposure to the anarchy in the African continent, and the use of foreign mercenaries in conflicts was the fodder and inspiration for his novel, The Dogs of War.

Soon after his African sojourn, Forsyth found himself out of work. It was at that time, in 1970, that he started work on his debut novel, The Day of the Jackal. He finished this novel, which transformed his life beyond all realms of imagination, in just 35 days. The target of assassination in the novel, Charles de Gaulle was still alive. It was said that the level of technical details that was brought out in the novel was unparalleled, till that point in time. Even then, Forsyth had to face a lot of rejections and the manuscript was not accepted by a host of publishers. It was finally accepted by Hutchison, a major publisher, and the rest, as they say, is history. Forsyth, with his rich experience of intrigue and covert operations in East Germany and in the jungles of Africa, was able to come out with realistic and highly plausible plots in novels like the Odessa File and The Dogs of War, which established him as a frontrunner in the genre of thrillers.

Forsyth is very candid in admitting that he lost all the fortune that he had made writing novels, when he was well into his fifties. He had a divorce, which was a huge drain on his finances. In addition, he was swindled of all his life’s savings by a fly- by- night investment broker, which ended up making him practically bankrupt. He says that he made up his mind that he would make all that he had lost, and thereafter he started writing again. The resolve and the sheer courage of the man has to be appreciated.

This is a very riveting and enjoyable account of the life and times of one of the best novelists of this century. Forsyth does not claim his novels to be classy. But at the same time, they do have an element of plausibility that runs through them, which makes them so readable and enduring. The pains that the author takes in researching for his works, makes the reading so enjoyable that most of his novels read like historical fiction. His autobiography is not one to be missed, especially by his fans.
...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Nov 06, 2015 Jacki (Julia Flyte) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Frederick Forsyth is best known as the author of a string of bestselling thrillers, but he was in the RAF and worked as a foreign correspondant before becoming an author, and the first two thirds of this book are about this part of his life. I don't know how many of his stories are 100% true and how many are embellished, but they feel true and either way they are terrifically entertaining. Reading this book feels like being at a dinner party, with the host starting increasingly gobsmacking anecd ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Oct 06, 2015 Robert Intriago rated it liked it

Shelves: 2015, autobigraphy

A 3.5
If you already like Forsyth books you will enjoy this one. Do not expect a full blown autobiography. The book is written in a series of vignettes and you can divide the book into three clear sections. The first part deals with his growing up, schooling and learning to be a pilot. The second part is about his time as a journalist, to include stints in Paris, East Berlin, Nigeria and Israel. The final part is about the writing and publishing of his books and life after. There is very little a ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Oct 23, 2015 Barry Hammond rated it liked it

Frederick Forsyth, author of classic thrillers like The Day Of The Jackal, The Dogs Of War, and The Odessa File (all three made into pretty fine films) writes a memoir of his childhood, his realized ambition to be an RAF pilot, his days in newspapers as a foreign corespondent, an aborted career in the BBC, and some of the adventures he had researching his stories, or helping out The Firm. A very interesting memoir. The only criticism this reader had was that it could have been longer and include ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Jan 04, 2016 Nicola rated it it was ok

Oh, such interesting tales, told by such an arrogant, self-aggrandising person. I think nearly every chapter - not quite, but nearly - features Mr Forsyth essentially 'saving the day'. His recollections and claims may well all be true, but oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, he does want us all to have a slight frisson of delight at how he's so manly, competent, heroic, and filled with derring-do. I read to the end, but was thoroughly fed up with the author well before that point. Pity that he didn't use ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Dec 28, 2017 Mike Palmer rated it it was ok

Overblown, self-absorbed, over-reaching.

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Dec 30, 2020 Stephen Gallup rated it really liked it · review of another edition

How many of us can claim to have led eventful lives? I used to know a man (now long-deceased) who'd survived Pearl Harbor and years of subsequent combat, on Pacific islands and later in Korea. He sometimes said he "could write a book" about all he'd seen, although in reality he wouldn't even talk about it. No one else personally known to me comes to mind just now. But Frederick Forsyth's autobiography is an adventure story that tops anything else I can think of this side of fiction.

What made it How many of us can claim to have led eventful lives? I used to know a man (now long-deceased) who'd survived Pearl Harbor and years of subsequent combat, on Pacific islands and later in Korea. He sometimes said he "could write a book" about all he'd seen, although in reality he wouldn't even talk about it. No one else personally known to me comes to mind just now. But Frederick Forsyth's autobiography is an adventure story that tops anything else I can think of this side of fiction.

What made it so? Aside from the time and place of his birth, one vitally important part of his early years was being sent abroad to spend summer vacations with families that spoke other languages. He thereby acquired the ability to pass as a native speaker of French and German, and he attained O-level status in Russian (which I suppose equals fluency). This would open all sorts of doors for him as an adult.

Secondly, despite securing a good education, he had no interest in continuing it at Oxford, which could have led to a safe and respectable career in teaching or the civil service. Instead, to begin with, he wanted to fulfill a childhood ambition and become a pilot. This led to a stint with the RAF, after which, still wanting to broaden his horizons, he got into journalism. His facility with languages led to postings first in France (where attempted assassinations of Charles de Gaulle planted the seed for his later bestselling novel The Day of the Jackal), and later in East Berlin (where he was the first Western representative to learn the fate of a downed spy plane). And that's just the beginning. Later, things didn't work out so well when he joined the BBC, and refused to repeat their propaganda. He describes an all-too-believable scenario in which the bureaucracy sends reporters into the field for show but already has a pre-approved narrative to tell the masses—a narrative diametrically opposed to reality. It's certainly believable in view of the situation prevailing today throughout corporate media. So this was another turning point in his life. Instead of keeping to the safe path, in which he would have written whatever his bosses told him to write, and collected a steady paycheck, he transitioned to freelance status and traveled the world on his own dime. He provides detail-rich but somewhat confusing accounts of all the people he met and all the horrors he saw, particularly during the Biafran war in Nigeria. Some of the details are included, I think, not to advance this story but to support his argument that the BBC and the Harold Wilson government are directly responsible for the suffering and death of vast multitudes of African children.

Again, this portion of his narrative bogs down from a narrative point of view, but a few scenes are memorable, especially the one in which two children come to him begging for food (when he has none to give), and the one in which someone on the next hill tries repeatedly to hit him with mortar rounds. His response: "There are moments when the question 'What the hell am I doing here?' will not go away."

One thing he was not doing there was making money. Finally, out of necessity, he tries his hand at writing the first of his many novels that are heavily based on what he has seen of life. (I've separately commented on some of them here, here, and here.) That of course is where he made his mark.

Many of the opportunities that came his way seem improbable. He shrugs them off as "a series of flukes." One that stands out in my mind is the way, after a very disappointing morning spent trying to get a job interview with any of the Fleet Street newspapers, he happened to catch the eye of a Reuters man at the lunch counter, after which a peach of a job was his for the taking. In my own experience, that disappointing morning sounds all too real; the other part not so much. But I understand the world does not distribute favors equally. Then of course there's the very lucky break that enabled him to put his first manuscript in front of an actual decision maker in the publishing world. For almost all would-be authors, breaks like that remain in the realm of fantasy.

Other readers complain about "a certain streak of arrogance" and a "self-aggrandizing" personality. I didn't see it that way. I don't hold any of Forsyth's success against him. His is the path a life ought to take, it seems to me, if one is both fearless and lucky. The guy in this book clearly is both. I do acknowledge that his acceptance of the luck seems a trifle heedless. Perhaps my reason for not objecting to it is that his sentences, in the voice of the narrator of the audio version, evoke memories of certain British blokes I've known and liked over the years. I sense that what some of us take for arrogance may actually be a sunny expectation that life can and should work out in an acceptable way, provided you do your bit. Possibly it's a characteristic of that generation.

This is the second author memoir/autobiography I've read in the last few months (the other being Andrew Klavan's). Of the two, it's much less introspective. I do miss introspection at times. The absence felt glaring in the brief account of going aloft as an observer in a squadron of fighter planes comparable to the Blue Angels. I kept waiting for him to do something with that anecdote, perhaps to connect the experience with his own earlier longing to be a pilot. But as told it seems almost pointless—or it did till the very end of the book, which contains one last, and more touching, bit about that interest of his. Probably, in Forsyth's thinking, these bits simply go under the heading Other Adventures I've Had Along the Way. There are several toward the end of the book. If there's little narrative art on display in his account of being a freelance journalist, he clearly shows his talent for writing when describing his close encounter with a storm in the Indian Ocean.

Again, the overall story doesn't dwell on moments of doubt and weakness, and there's little of the humorous self-deprecation found so often in the genre. That absence no doubt contributes to what some are calling arrogance. Somehow, I don't feel like faulting it for that. ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jun 06, 2019 Denise rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2019, own

Forsyth's eventful, exciting life reads like one of his thrillers - making it easy to see how he came to be so good at writing them. I was fascinated to learn where some of his inspiration came from and just how much of it is based on his own experiences. ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Nov 28, 2017 Spybrary Podcast Podcast rated it it was amazing

There is so much more to Frederick Forsyth than the Day of Jackal.

Fans of Mr Forsyth's work will enjoy learning more about his very full and exciting life. This auto-biography almost reads like one of his own thriller books due to the many scrapes he experienced in his life.

From his time as Reuters man in East Berlin to the threats from the IRA, from being the youngest pilot in the RAF to being strafed by MiGs this book has the lot.

Don't read this book if you are wanting to pick up tips on how ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Sep 25, 2015 Jean rated it really liked it

Shelves: autobiography, espinonage, memoir, audio-book

Forsyth writes in an intimate manner and made me feel as if I was sitting in his living room over a cup of tea discussing his life. The book is well written, concise with adventure, intrigue and humor.

The first part of the book he tells of his youth and his desire to fly planes. I was impressed that his father sent him to live with a family in France each summer when he was a child to learn French; then as a teen he sent him to live with a German family to learn German. Just before he went into ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jun 20, 2016 Nick Brett rated it really liked it

I have a mixed history with the works of Frederick Forsyth, I loved the first three or four books and then he lost me as his books got increasingly right-wing and it felt he was more trying to get messages over rather than writing great books.
So I would have ignored his autobiography, but it has got some very good reviews and, I have to say, it looked like the man has had quite the life.
His life does read almost like a thriller. He moved through life as a RAF pilot, then a reporter and foreign c ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Oct 14, 2015 Qube rated it liked it

Being an admirer of his writing, I was keen to read Frederick Forsyth’s autobiography. My interest was further piqued when I read the he had been an MI6 agent. I therefore picked up the book as soon as it became available. It turned out to be an amusing collection of incidents arranged in chronological order.

At the end of it, I was left feeling a little disappointed. Usually, autobiographies give an insight into the writer’s mind, his values, what he stands for, and stuff like that. Autobiograph ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Oct 29, 2015 Gail Cooke rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

As an author who has given us amazingly true to life tales of intrigue for a number of years one would expect his memoir to hold extraordinary revelations, and The Outsider does just that. Frederick Forsyth as most know is one of the most acclaimed writers of our time with such titles as The Day of the Jackal, The Dogs of War and The Odessa File to his credit. His has been a life well lived as he is a former pilot and print and television reporter for Reuters and the BBC. Need I mention all of ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Feb 17, 2016 Gordon Paisley rated it it was amazing

Frederick Forsyth has long been my favorite author. I even wrote a paper about him for a high school research paper decades ago. I was thrilled to see his autobiography in the library the other day because I knew it would be fascinating. Even having an above-average knowledge of his story, I was still blown away by the life he has led. I am amazed at some of the places and scrapes he has gotten himself into and out of in his action-packed life.

In many ways, he is a modern-day Jack London, who ha ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Apr 13, 2016 Rex Fuller rated it really liked it

Of course there were The Day of the Jackal and The Odessa File, years ago when they came out, and maybe another. No idea why I didn’t read more. Picked this up as a curiosity, as much because he’s still alive as anything else. Was he in intelligence? Did he do what he wrote about?

Turns out the answer to that last question is yes, although he was not a real spook. He describes his life in a string of quick and breezy stories. Lots of humor. And a fair amount of suspense. First as a foreign corres ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Dec 16, 2015 Anirban rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction, 2016, favorites, bio-autobigraphy

There are spy thriller writers, and then there is Frederick Forsyth.

There are spy novels, and then there is the Day of The Jackal.

And, there are auto-biographies, and then there is this.

I cannot call this book a typical auto-biography in the strictest sense. There are no massive revelations, no coming out of closets neither are there instances of self analysis. Instead we get a book, which becomes as thrilling as Forsyth’s novels. He tells us about East Berlin, and makes us travel to that walled ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Oct 13, 2015 Vikas Datta rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Mr Forsyth seems to have lived a life no adventurous than his heroes and he recounts it in a witty and candid manner... while pulling no punches as far as his account of the Harold Wilson government's role in the Biafran conflict goes and on the iniquities of the British legal system go but more engrossing are his accounts of hoodwinking the Stasi and encounters with nature, at its most benign and its most terrible.... This by the way is just a hint of what is available here... Forsyth readers, ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jul 10, 2016 Roan Chapin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

It is, by far, the most fascinating autobiography I have ever read / heard because: He is willing to tell the truth about his time in the RAF, Ireland, the mirk that is secret intelligence gathering, Africa, The BBC, fame and financial ruin, East Germany, secret police, mercenaries, Japan -- and how to get out of a jam. I listened to the audiobook.
WAYS OF ESCAPE by Graham Greene has now moved to position #2 on my personal list of Best Autobiographies.

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jan 11, 2017 Moirad rated it it was ok

Patchy. Interesting memoir focusing on his life before becoming a novelist, when luck played a huge part in his escapes from imprisonment and death. Much on the Biafran war and starvation of millions of children. A factual error early on in the narrative (he refers to the mods v rockers conflicts as taking place in the mid 50s, when it was the mid 60s, and the context means it wasn't a typo/editing mistake) made me somewhat suspicious of the believability of the rest of the book. ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Dec 09, 2015 Patricia Ann rated it liked it

I deeply appreciated and enjoyed the historical insights of Mr. Forsyth. I also liked learning how he "fell" into writing. However, I found it lacking in the " My life in Intrigue" portion. He was/is an adventurer, but the definition of intrigue didn't fit. Nice enjoyable read. ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Feb 01, 2017 David Highton rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: autobiography, arts-entertainment, all-non-fiction

A slightly odd autobiography, pretty detailed up to the age of 32 and just a few vignettes after that. The childhood section was the most interesting. The publicity on the cover quotes the Sunday Times 'as high-octane as any of his thrillers' - this is certainly not the case! ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend It | Stats | Recent Status Updates

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

Genres

Nonfiction

39 users

Biography

37 users

Autobiography > Memoir

17 users

Biography > Autobiography

15 users

History

10 users

Biography Memoir

5 users

Audiobook

4 users

Spy Thriller > Espionage

3 users

Thriller

2 users

Suspense

2 users

See top shelves…

About Frederick Forsyth

Frederick Forsyth

2,811 followers

Frederick Forsyth, CBE is an English author and occasional political commentator. He is best known for thrillers such as The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File, The Fourth Protocol, The Dogs of War, The Devil's Alternative, The Fist of God, Icon, The Veteran, Avenger, The Afghan, and recently The Cobra and The Kill List.

The son of a furrier, he was born in Ashford, Kent, educated at Tonbridge Scho ...more

Books by Frederick Forsyth

More…

Mariah Carey Is Telling Her Own Story (and Recommending Books)

If you haven't heard of record-smashing singer and songwriter Mariah Carey, is there any hope for you? Who else has sold more than 200 million...

Trivia About The Outsider: My ...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from The Outsider: My ...

“A journalist should never join the Establishment, no matter how tempting the blandishments. It is our job to hold power to account, not join it.” — 9 likes

“There are several ways of making quick money but in the general list, writing a novel rates well below robbing a bank.” — 6 likes

More quotes…

See a Problem?

Preview — The Outsider by Frederick Forsyth

The Outsider: My Life in Intrigue

Get A Copy

Friend Reviews

Reader Q&A

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

Readers also enjoyed

Genres

About Frederick Forsyth

Books by Frederick Forsyth

Related Articles

Trivia About The Outsider: My ...

Quotes from The Outsider: My ...

See a Problem?

Preview — The Outsider by Frederick Forsyth

The Outsider: My Life in Intrigue

Get A Copy

Friend Reviews

Reader Q&A

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topicDiscuss This Book

Readers also enjoyed

Genres

About Frederick Forsyth

Books by Frederick Forsyth

Related Articles

Trivia About The Outsider: My ...

Quotes from The Outsider: My ...

new topic
Discuss This Book