Nothing special about this book.
Pablo Escobar: My Father was by far the best perspective of Pablo and they life they lived during his empire and how they live now.

This is an excellent book. And also a sad one.

Think Clear and Present Danger. Now blend it with Desperado and Miami Vice and you get the fascinating rise and fall of Pablo Escobar. In this book, Mark Bowden gives a very detailed, tense and colorful depiction of Pablo's life, from his early days on the streets of Medellin, engaging in petty crime to his election to the Colombian parliament to becoming the world's no.1 wanted man, leading a narco-terrorist empire worth some 40 billion dollars. The hunt that would eventually lead to Pablo's death after a gruesome decade of violence cost some 3,000 civilian lives.

But the breathtaking, movie-like action is only side of this story. The more fascinating, the more sordid side is the life in the 80s-90s Colombia. This book is primarily about the huge gap between the wealthy and the poor in the country, the brutal struggle, the civil war between the right government and the left guerilla, the corruption, the cheapness of life. Pablo's network stretched deep into every level of Colombian life, including senators, judges, police. And then, when these people crossed him, he would target their lives and their families.

In the end, Pablo's downfall required the same ugly, violent measures that he employed - a vigilante group called Los Pepes, indirectly and directly supported by the government and the police and CIA surveillance help, engaged in assassinations, bombing and terror much like Pablo's until he was finally cornered and killed. There can't be any happy ending to something like that.

We also get a glimpse into Pablo's personal life - he often used underage prostitutes but was devoted to his life and kids, he had special luxurious bathrooms installed in every getaway house he had, because he was very finicky about his hygiene, he loved caricatures of him and hated any political criticism. It's a story that trumps all fiction.

I am glad to have chosen this book for two reasons. One, after reading Black Hawk Down, which I initially wrongly voted with two stars - amended to five, I wanted to give another stab at Mark's work, and as expected, he does not disappoint. He is a great writer. Two, Pablo's life is a refreshing departure from the Europe-heavy history reading I've been doing lately. It's always nice to get a different perspective of the world. Not just that. A different world.

Well worth your time.

Igor

Excellently written, and while the life of Pablo Escobar was filled with violence, the author tries not to be dramatic regarding the way in which Escobar. killed, tortured, held a country in grips, and went down in history as one of the greatest Cocaine lords .

It took a team of many to finally hone in on Escobar's final hiding place. Using radio signals monitored by a team, in particular the son of one of the highest governmental generals, in the end, after many slick escapes, Pablo died in a hail of gunfire, and Bowden is quick to note that only one of Escobar's thugs died with him.

While filled with details, the book is never boring. The lowly street thug, Pablo Escobar, could have worked in the shadows, continued to amass his billions, instead his ego cried for recognition and fame. It was when he tried in vain to be part of the government, thereafter, the megalomaniac was know as a drug king who killed many, succeeding periodically at bribing governmental men on the take.

Mark Bowden does an excellent job of telling the story of the hunt for Colombian drug trafficker Pablo Escobar. The story of Pablo's life and his meteoric rise to the top of the Colombian drug trade is very reminiscent of the rise to power of many American mafia dons with just as much murder, mayhem, and corruption.

I read this book after seeing the History Channel documentary and learned even more from the book. The "chase scene" at the end of the book is riveting and it felt like I was reading a novel instead of a non-fiction book.