Black Sunday by Thomas Harris

A fantastic terrorist thriller from the seventies that feels just as prescient and fresh today (the only thing missing would be cell phones and better computers).
The story focuses on Michael Lander, a disgruntled, psychologically shattered Vietnam Vet who's looking to take out a measure of revenge on the country that he thinks turned its back on him. He's a pilot from a specialized division of the Navy, flying lighter than air craft (blimps). When the blimp program is canned, he becomes a helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War, where he becomes a POW. During his time in capture, he is forced to renounce his country - when he's finally rescued, he leaves the military in disgrace. He returns home to an estranged wife, a job flying promotional blimps, and a life in shambles. When he snaps, he decides to make as big a statement as possible. He designs a huge plastic explosive device that will attach to his blimp and detonate it at the Super Bowl, killing himself, 80,000 attendees, and the President of the United States.

Israeli Special Agents Kabokov and Moshevsky, still stinging from the recent Munich terrorist plot, become entangled in Lander's scheme when he enlists the help of well known terrorists from the Black September cell. They're grasping at straws and trying to find answers with time ticking away and little help.

Thomas Harris displays the gifts for suspense and detail that he'd later use to bring Hannibal Lecter to life. Black Sunday is a fast, fun read - makes me wish Harris would give another try at non-Lecter fiction.