The Day of the Jackal Audiobook by Frederick Forsyth. Read by George Sewell. Abridged
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France in 1830, under King Charles X (the tenth), invaded the North African country of Algeria, in order to colonize (rule, exploit) it. The war with its subsequent uprisings and reprisals eventually led to the death of 825,000 Algerians and 95,000 Frenchmen. In 1954, the Algerian war for independence began. In 1959, French President Charles de Gaulle declared that Algeria should determine its own destiny. French militants who opposed Algerian Independence carried out many lethal terrorist attacks in Algeria and France. This included assassination attacks against President de Gaulle. In 1962, under the direction of a military engineer named Jean Bastien-Thiry, an assassination attempt was made on the President’s life. It nearly succeeded, but the assassins were caught and the leader, Bastien-Thiry, was executed by firing squad one week after being sentenced. The Day of the Jackal is a novel set-in motion by this incident.* Enjoy!
Frederick Forsyth (1938 - ) served in England’s Royal Air Force as a pilot flying the double tailed jet de Havilland Vampire (there’s a drawing of one at 54 minutes). After his service he became a journalist and wrote an unsuccessful nonfiction book. These experiences helped him learn to research and write. He wrote his first novel since he was broke. That novel was The Day of the Jackal and it was a great success. It was made into a movie in 1973. He books have sold over 70 million copies worldwide. Though retired, his books are enjoyed to this day and will be, I believe, enjoyed well into the future.
George Sewell (1924-2007) is a London born actor who has performed in a wide variety of television shows including: The Detectives 1993-97, Home James! 1987-90, a four-part Dr. Who 1988, the highly rated Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy 1979 (I think I have that audiobook cassette lying around here somewhere) and the science fiction anti-masterpiece UFO 1970-1 (I tried to like it but the women crew have to wear purple wigs while on the job… WHY? The enemy spaceships stay still so they will be hit…WHY?) Maybe the show was made for the very young or inebriated. According to IMDB, George’s father was a boxer known as “The Cobblestone Kid” which sounds like a fine title for a novel or film. Mr. Sewell, like the author, also served in the Royal Air Force, though during the second world war. RIP
*Because of poor sound quality that persisted even after restoration efforts were made, I cut the first 10 minutes off cassette 2, side 4. This part is not essential to know but basically it was a scene where the investigative team spoke with a suspect’s former boss to find out if the suspect was indeed The Jackal. And was he? One way to find out…