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El Narco

Inside Mexico's Criminal Insurgency
by Ioan Grillo
El Narco: Inside Mexico's Criminal Insurgency. Bloomsbury Pr., dist. by Macmillan. Nov. 2011. c.336p. maps. ISBN 9781608192113. $27. CRIME
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British journalist Grillo has spent a decade covering the chilling world of Mexico's rival drug cartels, which have steadily gained strength until reaching their current paramilitary status and have led to a staggering 30,000 murders in the past five years. Grillo aims to answer the questions, What is El Narco? Who are these drug smugglers? The book is divided into three parts: a section on the history of Mexico's drug war, covering the past 100 years; an explanation of El Narco's anatomy and the widespread corruption that keeps its death machine running; and a discussion of Mexico's future, revealing how inextricably involved with this war the United States has become. Grillo suggests a future course of action that could help turn the tide.
VERDICT A graphic excursion into El Narco and the economic and political realities of Mexico, where a poor country boy's only chance of financial success may be to join a cartel. Fast paced, thorough, and shocking, this will engage readers interested in true crime, mob stories, current events, and the reality behind TV shows that dramatize the fast, short lives of those who run against the law.
Reviewed by Krista Bush, Shelton Pub. Schs., CT , Sep 01, 2011
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