The Revolutionists

The Story of the Extremists Who Hijacked the 1970s

Jason Burke

In the 1970s, a network of radical extremists terrorised the West with intricately planned plane hijackings and hostage-takings. Drawing on decades of research, recently declassified government files, secret documents, and original interviews with hijackers, spies, witnesses and victims, Jason Burke takes us into the lives and minds of the perpetrators of these often-deadly operations.

Set against the backdrop of the Cold War and packed with revelations about iconic events such as the deadly attack on the Munich Olympic, Israel’s raid on Entebbe, the Iranian revolution and the rise of Islamic extremism, this is a sweeping, scrupulously reported historical narrative with the pace and suspense of a thriller.

Published by:: The Bodley Head, Vintage, Penguin Random House

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What the judges said
“The Revolutionists makes a counter intuitive argument – tracing the decline of the left that led to the rise of Islamism – and is tremendously well-written. It is the work of a lifetime, drawing on 12 languages for its services and is the kind of book this year’s judges would like to champion.”

About the author

Jason Burke, the International Security correspondent for the Guardian, has been a foreign correspondent for almost 30 years, reporting from the Middle East, South Asia, Europe and Africa. Burke is the author of acclaimed books on terrorism: the Orwell Prize-shortlisted The New Threat from Islamic Militancy, alongside The 9/11 Wars, Al-Qaeda: The True Story of Radical Islam and On the Road to Kandahar: Travels through Conflict in the Islamic World.