The Day of the Jackal

by Frederick Forsyth

Published 11 August 1971
THE CLASSIC THRILLER FROM #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR FREDERICK FORSYTH

The Day of the Jackal makes such comparable books such as The Manchurian Candidate and The Spy Who Came in from the Cold seem like Hardy Boy mysteries.”—The New York Times 

The Jackal. A tall, blond Englishman with  opaque, gray eyes. A killer at the top of his  profession. A man unknown to any secret service in the  world. An assassin with a contract to kill the  world's most heavily guarded man.

One  man with a rifle who can change the course of  history. One man whose mission is so secretive not  even his employers know his name. And as the  minutes count down to the final act of execution, it  seems that there is no power on earth that can stop  the Jackal.

'Whichever option I choose, men are going to die.'

When the entire Soviet Union wheat crop is destroyed by a devastating string of failures, the population faces starvation. The USA is quick to offer assistance. They devise a plan to trade vital food resources with the Russians in exchange for sensitive political information. But the Politburo has other ideas: the invasion of Western Europe to commandeer the food for themselves...

As the paths of communication breakdown, the American president and leaders from around the world face an appalling choice: should they allow the loss of thousands to save the lives of many more?

This is the Devil's Alternative, and in this incomparable and gripping thriller the Cold War giants must fight a battle to the death.