Frederick Forsythe ...how close to the facts...?

[bluedolphin]

Having read The Day of the Jackal.. and am now reading the Fist of God....am curious to know how close to the facts he goes or deviates from .....btw enjoyed both

[bernardo]

"The Day of the Jackal" is fiction, although it is inspired by the real politics in France of the time. The assassination attempt at the beginning, organised by Bastien-Thiry, was real, as was the OAS. But the Jackal himself and his plot were fictional.

[bernardo]

Ilich Ramirez Sanchez was a dodgy South American Marxist terrorist who was given the nickname "Carlos the Jackal" by the media. But he was named after Forsyth's fictional Jackal, not the other way round.

[Phantaxus]

many of the techniques used to acquire false id's do still work. there was a documentary about it on tv earlier this year they managed to aquire primary id documents in Frederick Forsythes name and rented a flat for him they were also able to get credit cards in his name. The producers then set their sights a bit higher and managed to get primary id documents for David Blunkett including a driving licence despite the fact he is registered blind.

[bernardo]

Yes - the famous example of that is the method of using a dead child's identity to get a passport. Forsyth discovered that it was possible when he was doing his research for the book. He alerted the authorities to the possibility, and expected them to change the rules to close the loophole. To this day, some silly people still try to "blame" Forsyth for the fact that criminals use the same method, as if he had somehow encouraged them. In fact, he was trying to stop it, and has often said that he is astonished at the fact that the loophole remains open, 30 years on.