Under the tutelage of a smooth-talking confidential informant, jeans-and-t-shirt Jerry was transformed into Armani-clad Geraldo Bartone, the world's top drug trafficker. As Geraldo, he did things he had never dreamed of - piloting planes, captaining cocaine-filled yachts, and meeting the most powerful kingpins in the brutal drug trade. One false move could take him out of the game for good.
Yet within a few years, Jerry and the other officers of the task force became the most successful drug unit in U.S. history. Riding a wave of glory and success, Jerry had no idea that he would be the one scammed next. This is his story.
©2003 Jerry Speziale & Mark Seal; (P)2004 Books in Motion
"Interesting book ruined by sub-par narration"
Being a big fan of true crime books, (check out "Havana Nocturne", "Unholy Messenger" "Under and Alone" and "Takedown" for a few of my personal favorites) I had high hopes for "Without a Badge". It may, indeed, be an excellent read. Unfortunately, the narrator chosen for this audiobook presentation was laughably awful. The actual narration of descriptive text was passable, but every time he attempts an accent of any kind, the performance jumps into the realm of the silly. NONE of the attempted accents, (several New York, New Jersey, and various hispanic accents make the list) are anywhere near close to accurate, and in most cases, are so off base they sound like some sort of made up silly voice you'd use to tell a children's story. Or, worse yet, sound like regular speech while randomly scrunching up your mouth to obscure the pronunciation. Sad really, as the subject matter is interesting. I may pick it up and actually read it, provided I can keep a straight face thinking back to the narration of the parts I have already listened to.
Avid audiobook addict!
"Interesting life to read about"
Yes, the author does sound like Speedy Gonzales when he does Spanish accents, but I didn't find that overly distracting. More importantly, I had trouble taking this book seriously as I think the whole "war on drugs" is an utter and complete waste of time and money, so I can't see why anyone would bother risking their lives for it. The book is an interesting look at the drug scene 20 years ago, but it's not great literature and the subject matter is useless.