Abu Nidal purportedly committed suicide in Baghdad a few months ago by shooting himself in the head a few times. As English author Patrick Seale probably would agree, Nidal's mysterious death was appropos of a murky life given to terrorism for profit from whatever financial source was available.

Abu Nidal: A Gun for Hire has many of the characteristics American readers find so grating about British journalism. Among these are the author's penchant for injecting himself into the story and then indulging in a baseless conspiracy theory which requires the writer to make every fact fit his premise (in this case, a far-fetched theory that Nidal worked for the Mossad). All that said, this book probably is more relevant in the aftermath of September 11th than it was when published a decade ago. The author gives textured explanations for the root causes of terrorism, and provides the mechanics of how these horrific crimes actually are implemented.

Seale also gives us a look into the sad history of Abu Nidal and other Palestinians who suffered at the hands of Israeli settlers. He follows Nidal as he evolves from a young expatriate into the recipient of patronage from the likes of Saddam Hussein, and finally into a quasi-businessman who becomes a freelance killer for profit. As an interesting aside, Nidal had been expelled from Iraq at the time this book was written. The terrorist Seale portrays is essentially a cowardly, bigoted man who loves money and whiskey more than radical politics and the Palestinian cause. In fact, as his career gains momentum Nidal murders far more Palestinians than he does Israelis and other Westerners. To underscore his actual motives, in one grimly amusing vignette Nidal has an in-law slain to settle a business dispute.

Abu Nidal: A Gun for Hire was published shortly before serial killers, terrorists and other criminals became media darlings and topics of the talk show circuit. It is interesting to read a relatively recent book that required the author to gather actual facts rather than rely on the self-serving declarations of his subject matter. Even with all its flaws, Seale's book is a valuable tool to understanding terrorism.

The book is a very interesting account of this terrorist's career. It covers many of the different organizations he is part of or works with and the countries that use him or support him. The book also tried to give the reader a better understanding of the Israeli / Palestinians war and why it effects Nidal. I found the most interesting part was just the detailed accounts of what he has been involved in; this is a very sick person that is out for as much death and destruction as possible. The book is well written and detailed. The author keeps the books going in a straight timeline. I would say that it could use an update on what he has been up to the last ten years. If you are interested in terrorism, and right now who is not, then you should pick up a copy of this book.

Seale, a noted expert on Middle East affairs, uses his expertise to create an engaging story about Abu Nidal and his terrorist organization. Not only does the book provide a detailed history of Abu Nidal, but it explains the whole of the Palestinian problem in relation to Abu Nidal and his efforts. With close ties to influential sources Seale is able to add a thread of authenticity to the tale. In some parts of the book, Seale acts out the role of a private detective, piecing together clues about Abu Nidal and his possible ties to Mossad. However, the book is entertaining and educational, a great addition to one's library.

This book is great. It tells how working as a mercenary really happens.

Highly detailed concerning its subject, but I had to quit reading half
way through as there were so many murders of the players, that I
don't see who could be left. Not a good book, as I am sure there are
others that could do a better job.

The book is full of good information on Hafiz Assad including facts that would be very interesting to any Middle East junkie. However, going through the book it all sounds very propoganda-like as if written by some Stalin's official biographer. I specifically found phrases like "Assad was constantly surrounded by enemies" quite amuzing reminding me of some off-shoot Soviet-era figure-head literature. I especially was suprised by spectacular conclusions Seale makes of Israeli and American policy - as if Assad was that wanderful angel manipulated by the cruel world of Nixon, Begin, and Gromyko. What really made me smile is the billions of dollars - claimed by the author - Israel made for itself by selling weapons to Iran. I seems that Seale tries to absolve Assad from Six Days War, to the October War, to the Syrian invasion of Lebanon, to just being a ruthless dictator.

I give this book three stars just because it does contain some very interesting information that I haven't seen before where even though Seale is an Arab-world-apologist he is still considered an expert on the subject.

The book is very interesting and very informative on Syrian politics of the past 50 years. However, when it comes to Israeli and American role it substitutes a complete waste of printed space. The author makes such spectacular conclusions on Israeli and American policy in the Middle East that at some places it just goes overboard with some quite idiotic revelations. I am really hoping that the author has realized this.

My recommendation is to read all the Asad portion and not pay too much attention to American/Israeli part especially if one knows some Middle East History.

He scores some debater points against Swartzkopf's memoirs, but they are of mundane importance. He did have one very interesting observation: that Swartzkopf's role was that of tactical execution, not strategy. The "hail marry" and the decision not to land the 1st marine division among others all came from Washington. Attempting to carve out some heroism for himself and the Saudi Royal family Khalid is very candid about how he spent his time in the war worrying about what his title was, that there would be no alcohol or female entertainers, and that Swartzkopf came to his office for meetings and not the other way around. He did successfully prove for the history books that he is indeed the "hero" of the great battle of Khafji. Thoughout the book he seems to repeat his obsession with the fact that every world-wide student of history knows Macarthur as the Korean War commander and Westmoreland as the Vietnam War commander, but few can mention the name of either's domestic counterpart. While this is a well written book and sheds a lot of light on Saudi perception of regional politics, I still think that historians will ask: "Khalid who?"

What makes this book interesting is Prince Khalid. He speaks of how important it was for him to be descended from Ibn Saud, and how critical it has been for his country to place his family members in governing positions - completely unaware of the unflattering image he is revealing of his inflated ego.

This book is an unusually good illustration of how someone who lives a pampered life can grow from a spoiled brat of a child into an impossible adult who cares more about his image and himself than the well-being of his charges or assigning credit where it is due. If wearing a uniform and driving around the desert in an air-conditioned Mercedes while your troops sweat it out in trenches...If avoiding the front lines or any dangerous area because you are "too important to be risked", if earning the title of General due to your family connections..if these things make you a warrior, then Prince Khalid fits the bill.

But after reading this book, I think that his definition of warrior, i.e. this book/his life..illustrates that he has little understanding of what that word really means.

I found this to be an immensely readable account of Desert Storm from the Saudi point of view, ... I was prepared for an egotistical, ham-handed account of how the Saudis won the war, with a little back up from other friendly countries-what I found was a far more balanced and perceptive accounting by a man who-even taken cum grano salis-performed an immensely difficult task. Yes, there was apple polishing on his own behalf, but I would encourage readers who may be tempted to snipe at the Saudi version of this story to question how Ameri-centric our own versions of Desert Storm are. Keep in mind that while we defeated Saddam militarily in six weeks of bombing and 100 hours of ground combat (I will leave it to others to debate who won the peace), the coalition did so only after six months of build up that without the considerable Saudi infrastructure-and checkbook-would have taken much longer.

Yes, he does go into great detail about his efforts to remain-at least in terms of protocol-on par with Schwarzkopf (no easy task, given his personality!) but I never got the sense that Khaled believed it was for anything more than show-even as he acknowledged that the show was important. All the world was watching, and Saudi Arabia was in a difficult position in both living up to its self-appointed role as crucible of the Muslim world and requiring military help from a country that couldn't be more different from S.A. In fact, Khaled should be commended for his perceptiveness of just how important politics and show would be in this, the first war of the 10-minute news cycle, information age.

For anyone who wants to understand Desert Storm, I would recommend first reading "The General's War," by Michael R. Gordon and General Bernard E. Trainor, then reading this book. I found reading each account of the Battle of Khafji side by side fascinating for each account's spin on facts.