Frederick Forsyth
(Author )

British author Frederick Forsyth is best known for such thrillers as The Day of the Jackal, The Dogs of War, The Odessa File, Icon and The Fist of God.

At 19, Forsyth became the youngest pilot in the Royal Air Force. But in 1958, he switched to journalism and became a reporter for the Eastern Daily Press.

The '60s saw Forsyth working for Reuters and the BBC in Paris, East and West Germany and Czechoslovakia. He also reported from the Nigeria-Biafran conflict as a freelancer. In 1970, Forsyth switched to writing exceptional, impressively researched thrillers. Two of his earliest books were also two of his best: The Day of the Jackal and the The Odessa File. Other bestsellers followed, including The Dogs of War and The Fourth Protocol.

Forsyth eschews psychological complexity in favor of meticulous plotting, based on detailed factual research. His books are full of information about the technical details of such subjects as money laundering, gun running and identity theft. They can read like investigative journalism in fictional guise. His moral vision is a harsh one: The world is made up of predators and prey, and only the strong survive.