it is one of the best books I have ever read It interesting and there's nothing more better than thies book.

The content of the book is good in terms of details and information, but the tone in which it’s written is biased and patronizing. Most of the statements have been historically proven and considered facts as of today but it lacks objectivity.

This book was interesting and shed light on the operation (and US involvement in) of finding the infamous Colombian narco-terrorist, Pablo Escobar. However, the material was originally published as a series of articles in a newspaper and it reads that way. There is a lot of overlap and catching up new readers (i.e. introducing a main character 80% of the way through the book). This makes sense to do when publishing the content as articles with time lapsing between publish dates, but as a novel, it gets a bit repetitive. If you look past this issue with the editing, the book is probably the most comprehensive on the subject and I really like Mark Bowden's writing. He writes about highly political topics without being partisan.

Once again, Mark Bowden does not disappoint. This book kept me completely captivated through the twists and turns of the Medellin cartel and Pablo Escobar's reign as pseudo-royalty while the US & Colombian governments tried to take him out. Man, what a bloody, insane story. I had comparisons between his cartel and the cartels in Mexico running through my brain the entire time.

Also, I was completely fascinated/sidetracked by the story of his enormous private estate, Hacienda Los Napoles, and how he had his own private zoo with illegal exotic animals, and how after his death, the hippos got out and got to breeding and now there is a sizable feral hippo population in the rivers of Colombia. Yes, FERAL HIPPOS. And how you can totally visit Los Napoles today as some sort of weird, Jurassic Park-esque theme park of his burned down estate, exotic animals, and shreds of his former extravagant life. This entire side story has completely consumed my life over the past three weeks and I have probably read 1,436 articles about this place and the feral hippo population because I find it completely insane. Truth is always, always, always stranger than fiction.

This book is gripping! Its about two stories – one is the rise of cocaine in Colombia, and Pablo Escobar’s role in it, and the second is the manhunt for Escobar after he escapes from prison in 1992. The Colombian cocaine story is an amazing one – it starts in the late 1970s and witnesses the transformation of Colombia into a narco-state as demand for cocaine booms in the US throughout the 1980s. Massive, multi-billion dollar fortunes are made by drug traffickers in places like Medellin, and people like Pablo become a law unto themselves. Basic law and order breaks down as the narcos act with complete impunity – murdering judges, police, presidential candidates, and anyone else who dares stand against them. Escobar’s mantra was “plata o plomo” – “silver or lead,” meaning you either took his money and let him have his way, or you took his bullet. The scale and brutality of the violence is staggering, and I came to be amazed that anyone at all had the courage to go against Pablo and his ilk, given the almost certain tragic consequences for themselves and their family. Most didn’t. Pablo was incredibly ruthless and came to kill not just the official (including people like the poor clerk who happened to sign an arrest warrant), but also torture and kill his children, relatives, and even just friends. Given the circumstances, its not all that surprising that very few in public life were not co-opted or cowed.

The dénouement comes when Pablo negotiates a surrender agreement with President Gaviria and the Colombian government after the brazen murder of a presidential frontrunner and bombing of an airliner – but this an agreement whereby Escobar is allowed to construct his own prison (in actuality an uber-luxurious villa), and pick and employ the guards. Not surprisingly, he continues to run his cocaine business pretty much unimpeded from his “jail,” leaves when he wants to attend soccer matches, brings in women and champagne for parties, and even orders hits. It is one such assassination – of several members of a rival cartel – that is the final straw for the government. But when the army is called in to re-arrest Escobar and transfer him to an actual prison, he manages to escape despite being surrounded by 400 soldiers (the joke in the American embassy becomes, “How many Colombian soldiers does it take to arrest Pablo Escobar? One to unlock the gate and 399 to watch him walk away.”) President Gaviria finally reaches his breaking point and decides to take the gloves off – by which he means, call in the gringos, since he cannot trust essentially anyone in his own government or military. Using American intelligence assets and special forces operators to hunt down a Colombian citizen – even a noxious drug trafficker and murderer – is taboo in Colombia, so it is kept mostly secret, and it is pretty clear that by participating in what is essentially an assassination mission, the US forces also overstep the boundaries laid down by American law and policy (which is that they are only to train Colombian forces, not actually assist them operationally). Its an interesting look at what happens when all the Americans in-country (the Ambassador, the military attaché, the DEA head, the CIA chief of station) are bought into one objective – killing Pablo – and Washington and its instructions are far away.

The whole book is a galloping good read – part study of a society gone haywire and part badass special forces mission tale - and I found myself stunned at times that I was reading nonfiction, given how remarkable and cinematic the events are.

Ocena: 4⭐️
Format: papier

To jest książka do wciągnięcia na raz, No dobra objętościowo może na dwa razy

found this in my uni library. amazinggg

Better than watching Narcos. Outstanding work of journalism that reads like a thriller novel.

Recommended!

The first section about Escobar's rise to power was the best part of the book. Once the DEA and various other American agencies got involved, Bowden shows a bad habit of fawning all over them, and comparing their rugged cynical professionalism to the whacky zany Colombians in some pretty patronizing ways. Still, it's a lively and very readable account and Bowden isn't entirely supportive of the ruthless extremes the hunters used in tracking down Escobar, giving the last word to the Colombian DEA chief who even today thinks that the ends, in this case, didn't justify the means.

Precízna práca autora s informáciami a zdrojmi doplnená o autentické prepisy komunikácie samotného El Doctoreho vytvorila veľmi pútavé čítanie a hltal som bez dychu stranu za stranou. Musím ale priznať, že aj keď je vyčínanie Escobara neospravedlnitlné a za hranou všetkého myslitelného v čo mnohí z nás veríme a žijeme, dokážem s ním v určitom zmysle sympatizovať. Viva la Colombia!

3,5⭐
Polecam obejrzeć Narcos po przeczytaniu tej książki

Too much info-dumping spoiled the narrative flow. Some heavy editing was needed from mid-way onwards.

Better watch Narcos.