|
|
|
| |
List Price: $16.00 |
|
| |
Our Price: $10.88 |
|
| |
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours |
|
| |
Customer Ratings: 4.5 (from 182 reviews) |
|
| |
|
|
|
| Editorial
Reviews |
Product Description
A tour de force of investigative journalism-this is the story of the violent rise and fall of Pablo Escobar, the head of the Colombian Medellin cocaine cartel. Escobar's criminal empire held a nation of thirty million hostage in a reign of terror that would only end with his death. In an intense, up-close account, award-winning journalist Mark Bowden exposes details never before revealed about the U.S.-led covert sixteen-month manhunt. With unprecedented access to important players-including Colombian president César Gaviria and the incorruptible head of the special police unit that pursued Escobar, Colonel Hugo Martinez-as well as top-secret documents and transcripts of Escobar's intercepted phone conversations, Bowden has produced a gripping narrative that is a stark portrayal of rough justice in the real world.
"The story of how the U.S. Army Intelligence and Delta Force commandos helped Colombian police track down and kill Pablo Escobar is a compelling, almost Shakespearean tale." (Los Angeles Times)
"Absolutely riveting. . . . Mark Bowden has a way of making modern nonfiction read like the best of novels." (The Denver Post) |
Amazon.com Review
Readers of Black Hawk Down know Mark Bowden can tell an exciting story about as well as any writer at work today. Killing Pablo is further proof. It describes the rise and fall of Pablo Escobar, a notorious Colombian drug lord who became one of the narcotic trade's first billionaires. Pablo--Bowden refers to him by his first name throughout the book--started out as a petty thief and wound up running a massive smuggling empire. At his height in the 1980s, he owned fleets of boats and planes, plus 19 separate residences in Medellin, each with its own helipad. Violence marked everything he did: "He wasn't an entrepreneur, and he wasn't even an especially talented businessman. He was just ruthless." He bought off police, politicians, and judges throughout his country, and killed many others who wouldn't cooperate. The Colombian government tried to capture him, but without much luck; he evaded them time after time. "Now and then the police achieved enough surprise to catch him, literally, with his pants down. In [1988], about one thousand national police raided one of his mansions," writes Bowden. "Pablo fled in his underwear, avoiding the police cordon on foot." He got away, again, but his days were numbered. He was making powerful enemies in both Colombia and the United States. The final straw probably came when Pablo's men murdered a popular politician and, three months later, planted a bomb on a plane, killing 110 people, including two Americans. The bulk of Killing Pablo describes what happened when the U.S. government put its resources behind the hunt for Pablo. Bowden describes the search in gripping detail, from the massive electronic-surveillance effort to bureaucratic infighting between rival U.S. agencies. This is an outstanding work of reportorial journalism, too: in the epilogue, Bowden drops tantalizing hints that it was an American--not a Colombian--who delivered the killing shot to Pablo in 1993. Readers looking for a real-life thriller--or any kind of thriller, for that matter--won't do much better than Killing Pablo. |
|
| Product Details |
| Author: |
Mark Bowden |
| Binding: |
Paperback |
| Dewey Decimal Number: |
364.17709861 |
| EAN: |
9780142000953 |
| ISBN: |
0142000957 |
| Label: |
Penguin (Non-Classics) |
| Languages: |
|
| List Price: |
| Amount: |
1600 |
| Currency Code: |
USD |
| Formatted Price: |
$16.00 |
|
| Manufacturer: |
Penguin (Non-Classics) |
| Number Of Items: |
1 |
| Number Of Pages: |
304 |
| Package Dimensions: |
| Height: |
90 |
| Length: |
840 |
| Weight: |
65 |
| Width: |
540 |
|
| Product Group: |
Book |
| Publication Date: |
2002-04-02 |
| Publisher: |
Penguin (Non-Classics) |
| Release Date: |
2002-04-02 |
| Studio: |
Penguin (Non-Classics) |
| Title: |
Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw |
|
| Customer Reviews |
Customer Rating: 5
Review Date: 2009-06-24
0 out of 0 found this review helpful.
Summary: The Hunt For Pablo
A great read, with about a dozen or so photos, about one of the richest and most notorious criminals in history. The book briefly describes Escobar's rise to power, with the majority of the story focusing on the efforts of both the U.S. and Colombian governments' to track and kill him. Finding him was very difficult, as Pablo had a great deal of money and friends to assist him. But, with persistance and determination from those who were tracking him, he and his cartel were slowly and methodically destroyed. A fascinating story that shows that no matter how rich or feared a person can become, eventually they will have to answer for their actions if and when they overstep certain boundaries of our society. Pablo did this, and the book's front cover graphically shows the price he paid. |
Customer Rating: 3
Review Date: 2009-05-28
0 out of 0 found this review helpful.
Summary: An Absorbing and Fun Read
This is a fun and absorbing read about the assassination of Medellin Cartel founder and drug lord Pablo Escobar -- and the role of the United States in that assassination.
Bowden does a good job of portraying Pablo's rise to power, characterizing him as completely ruthless in the use of violence, yet strangely understated and charming. Pablo's ability to portray himself as a populist and the success of his kidnapping campaign against the Columbian aristocracy make for fascinating social history.
To his credit, Bowden does not write a feel-good ending. Obviously, other drug lords, perhaps even more insidious that Pablo, benefitted from his demise. Still, a figure like Pablo is a grave threat to Columbian society, and it is hard to debate the necessity of his elimination or of American cooperation in that endeavor. |
Customer Rating: 5
Review Date: 2009-04-24
0 out of 0 found this review helpful.
Summary: Incredible
If you have any interest in law, crime or the underbelly of society this book is a one sitting read. Fabulously written, phenomenally informative and exciting. Bowden is great and the subject matter really allowed him to shine. I was a teenager when these events were occurring and I vividly recall the mass media's version. Comparing it to the reality is incredible. |
Customer Rating: 5
Review Date: 2009-04-08
0 out of 0 found this review helpful.
Summary: True life search for Pablo reads like Clancy on 'roids!
Mark Bowden is well known for his book "Black Hawk Down". This is another master stroke. This book covers every angle from the DEA involvement to the Los Pepes vigilante group responsible for disrupting his operations. Mr. Bowden did a good job keeping my interest from beginning to end. He as always is impartial in his coverage and shows the many angles of the subject matter. As I said in the title this book draws you in like an action novel. I have also read Black Hawk Down and plan on reading Doctor Dealer and anything else Mark Bowden desides to put to paper. |
Customer Rating: 5
Review Date: 2009-03-19
0 out of 0 found this review helpful.
Summary: Engrossing account of Escobar's rise and fall
In the context of today's conflagration of violence in the drug war in Mexico, it is worthwhile to read this book again about the American drug war in Colombia. The book details the rise of Pablo from obscure origins to run probably the largest drug cartel in the world, and then the efforts by the Colombian and later American government efforts to capture or kill him. Ultimately, Escobar's declaration of war against the entire society and government would lead to his inevitable fall, yet the process was arduous and difficult, involving the loss of many lives. To a certain extent, he became a hero to the local disenfranchised, even though it's not clear what he's ever done for them. The Mexican Cali cartel helped in the war against Escobar, and today they have replaced the Medellin Cartel to be the most powerful and most violent drug supplier in the world. This makes you wonder if the American strategy in the drug war is working. Unless the demand side for drugs (meaning users in the US) are curtailed and unless poverty and weak and ineffective governments in the worlds are fixed, it seems the drug war will last a lot longer than Killing Pablo. The book's detailed research make it a joy to read. Highly recommended. |
|
|
