The Revolutionists

The Story of the Extremists Who Hijacked the 1970s

Jason Burke

$59.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
Pre-Order now

QTY:

English

Bodley Head
03 December 2024

History; General & world history; Politics & government; Revolutionary groups & movements

An immersive, character-driven account of the dark decade when terrorism took to the skies - and the origin story for today's conflicts

In the 1970s, a network of radical extremists terrorised the West with plane hijackings and hostage-takings. Among them were the beautiful young Leila Khaled with her jewellery made from grenade rings, the hard-drinking philanderer Carlos the Jackal sporting shades and open-neck shirts, and the radical leftists of the Baader-Meinhof Gang. They sought to liberate the Palestinians and overthrow western imperialism, orchestrating spectacularly violent attacks that held governments to ransom and the world gripped to their television screens.

Drawing on decades of research, declassified archive material and original interviews with witnesses and participants, Jason Burke provides a masterful account of their exploits over the course of this dark decade. From Dawson's Field and the Munich Olympics to the Iranian Embassy Siege in London and the Beirut bombings of the early 1980s, he takes us into the lives and minds of the perpetrators of these attacks, as well as the government agents who sought to thwart and assassinate them. In the process, he shows how the extreme fringe of a secular, leftist, revolutionary movement ultimately birthed something altogether different and far more lethal- the violent expression of a fanatically conservative religious zealotry.

Gripping, globe-spanning and pulsing with drama, The Revolutionaries is the definitive account of the decade when terrorism took to the skies and transformed the world.

By: Jason Burke
Imprint: Bodley Head
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 240mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 40mm
Weight: 750g
ISBN: 9781847926067
ISBN 10: 1847926061
Pages: 448
Publication Date: 03 December 2024
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Jason Burke is a globally recognised expert on terrorism and radical Islam and has reported for two decades on these and related conflicts from the front-lines of South Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe for the Guardian. He is the best-selling, prize-winning author of four critically acclaimed books, including most recently The New Threat from Islamic Militancy (Bodley Head, 2015; shortlisted for the Orwell Prize; 'A fine overview from one of the shrewdest observers of contemporary Muslim activism which draws together the strands of a highly complex reality to create a picture that is not just convincing but readable' NYRB) and The 9/11 Wars (Allen Lane, 2011; 'the best overview of the 9/11 decade in print' Economist). His first book, Al-Qaeda- The True Story of Radical Islam, is credited with having changed the popular understanding of the nature of modern radical Islam. He has made numerous appearances on television and radio and contributes to periodicals such as Foreign Policy, Prospect and the New Statesman.