• A Narco History

  • How the United States and Mexico Jointly Created the “Mexican Drug War”
  • By: Carmen Boullosa, Mike Wallace
  • Narrated by: James Conlan
  • Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (372 ratings)

Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.
A Narco History  By  cover art

A Narco History

By: Carmen Boullosa,Mike Wallace
Narrated by: James Conlan
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $19.95

Buy for $19.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

The term Mexican Drug War misleads. It implies that the ongoing bloodbath, which has now killed well over 100,000 people, is an internal Mexican affair. But this diverts attention from the US role in creating and sustaining the carnage. It's not just that Americans buy drugs from and sell weapons to Mexico's murderous cartels. It's that ever since the US prohibited the use and sale of drugs in the early 1900s, it has pressured Mexico into acting as its border enforcer - with increasingly deadly consequences. Mexico was not a helpless victim. Powerful forces within the country profited hugely from supplying Americans with what their government forbade them. But the policies that spawned the drug war have proved disastrous for both countries. Written by two award-winning authors, one American and the other Mexican, A Narco History reviews the interlocking 20th-century histories that produced this 21st-century calamity and proposes how to end it.

©2015 Carmen Boullosa and Mike Wallace (P)2015 Audible, Inc.
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about A Narco History

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    219
  • 4 Stars
    106
  • 3 Stars
    33
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    7
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    201
  • 4 Stars
    73
  • 3 Stars
    42
  • 2 Stars
    10
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    205
  • 4 Stars
    77
  • 3 Stars
    32
  • 2 Stars
    10
  • 1 Stars
    6

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Interesting book, tricky pronunciation

The book makes reference to a lot of names of people, places, institutions, and events in Spanish with terrible pronunciation by the narrator which makes it unnecessarily confusing to the listener. Either the narrator needs better coaching or new narrators who are bilingual need to step forward.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant History

This should be standard reading for anyone who is interested in the history of the Mexican drug problem. They often quote from Ioan Grillo's El Narco - also obligatory reading if this is your interest. My only criticism is that the narrator clearly cannot pronounce the Mexican Spanish words properly and sounds more like a CNN transatlantic announcer.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Lost me half way

Started off well with history and background. Turned into political piece twisting and using storyline to pushing liberal ideal domestically. Disappointed ..

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

anti gun enough to ignore its value

the author loses credibility when he is so left leaning he never mentions "fast and furious" even though he mentions the murder of the boarder patrol agent. he also touches on armed civilians doing more to stop corrupt government and cartels. then continues to blame American laws that provide this protection as an evil.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Learned A Lot!

The historical view point taken by the author was interesting and lined up the facts in another book I read about the history of the war on drugs. the main characters of in this book lined up with the characters in the other book. the underlining theme of both books support the fact that the war on drugs was created by the same country aiming to stop it. Good listen, will get the hard copy for future research.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Blame America

There is a lot of interesting, factual information in this book. There is also a whole lot of opinion scattered heavily throughout. Somehow, Americans' freedom to own AR15's puts RPG's (rocket propelled grenades) on the streets of Mexico?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Carmen Boullosa should have listened

Otherwise excellent book

Carmen Boullosa should have listened before this audiobook was launched. She would have let the reader know of several mistakes in the pronunciation. Help this man to say "sexenio" properly, since it is a much used word in the text. It is pronounced Sex-EN-io, not Sej-EN-io.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Marxist take on the drug wars

Thorough, but told from a far far left wing perspective. After a while the authors’ socialist political lecturing becomes annoying, tiresome and detracts from the book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • J
  • 02-22-21

Great History

I love how the author maintained a non-bias factual sheet. Well knowledgeable, and great details on the series of events on the Cartel Drugs War.
This book should be listened by Americans and also Mexicans seeking a wider understanding and background of Politics, Corruption, US drug involvement and the origin of Cartels.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Spoiler Alert

2021 Record Mexican Homicide rate and no one gives a hot.
This is such a sad story. I hope Americans will ne moved to question the neo liberalism that runs America, it is dismantling Mexico.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful