About the Book:

In the 1970s, a network of extremists terrorised the West with intricately planned plane hijackings and hostage-takings. Among them were the glamorous Leila Khaled, hard-drinking Carlos the Jackal, and radical leftists of the Baader-Meinhof Gang. United by their hatred of Israel, capitalism and ‘Western imperialism’, they unleashed a series of audacious attacks that brought governments to their knees and glued the world to their tv screens.

Drawing on decades of research, recently declassified government files, secret documents, and first-hand interviews with hijackers, spies, witnesses and victims, Jason Burke takes us inside these often-deadly operations. Through the perpetrators’ eyes – and of the unrelenting agents who hunted them down – he uncovers a dark, complex world of loyalty, betrayal and commitment to change at any cost.

Pitching us into these tumultuous times, The Revolutionists reveals how a campaign led by secular leftist revolutionaries gave way to a far more lethal movement of conservative religious fanaticism that would dominate the decades to come. It is impossible to understand the world today without reading this book.

About the Author:

Jason Burke is a globally recognised expert on terrorism and has reported for two decades on this and related conflicts around the world for the Guardian. He is the best-selling, prize-winning author of four critically acclaimed books, including The New Threat from Islamic Militancy, shortlisted for the Orwell Prize; ; The 9/11 Wars, ‘the best overview of the 9/11 decade in print’ (Economist) and the ground-breaking Al-Qaeda: The True Story of Radical Islam. He has made numerous appearances on television and radio and contributes to periodicals such as Foreign Policy, Prospect and the New Statesman.