• Killing Pablo

  • The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw
  • By: Mark Bowden
  • Narrated by: Mark Bowden
  • Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (1,376 ratings)

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Killing Pablo  By  cover art

Killing Pablo

By: Mark Bowden
Narrated by: Mark Bowden
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Publisher's summary

On July 22, 1992, Colombian druglord Pablo Escobar walked out of the luxurious prison he built for himself and disappeared into the Colombian jungle. His audacious escape destroyed the nation's tenuous cease-fire with its infamous narcos, and pushed it into open war with the Medellin drug cartel.

Over the coming days and weeks, the United States launched a joint military and intelligence operation with the Colombian government, assembling a team of expert personnel and an arsenal of state-of-the-art weaponry and surveillance technology the likes of which the world had never seen. Their mission: to track down Pablo.

But this time, they knew it would not be enough to just capture Escobar. This time, they would have to finish the job. This time, they were going to kill him.

©2001 Mark Bowden, All Rights Reserved (P)2001 Simon & Schuster Inc.

Critic reviews

"A gripping investigation...fascinating." (Booklist)
"Bowden hits another home run..." (Publishers Weekly)
"A master of narrative journalism." (The New York Times Book Review)

What listeners say about Killing Pablo

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Relevant Accessible History

As somebody who uses Audible to make my commute bearable, I have the tendency to gravitate mostly towards mindless fiction to make the time pass... and base my reviews primarily on how successful books do with that criteria.

That being said... this is a book that isn't mindless, but still kept me captivated. It's a facinating look into both American policies in Central America as well as techniques that are used in tracking people. I have thought about this book frequently during the recent hunts for Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. I was very surprised how hit-and-miss the technologies seem to be.

The author does a good job in presenting the details of the situations without making personal judgement on the characters involved, but does so in a manner that isn't school-bookish.

Well done.

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31 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Not that great

I don't share the other reviewers' enthusiasm for this book. The author is also the reader...and he does not bring a great deal of enthusiasm to the table. The story reads like a chronicle. In all, it's a rather stiff, uninspired timeline of Pablo Escobar's life.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic

Excellent book that not only tells an exciting story, but also delves into Columbia's past and provides some insight into how a manical person such as Pablo Escabar can rise to such power and in some eyes prestige

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • JT
  • 06-04-03

3 STARS

Overall, a very good book. However, it would have been much better if read by a professional voice actor.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

4 Stars - Really Gripping Story

This is a story worthy of Robert Ludlum or Elmore Leonard. Intrigue, deception, suspense, global politics and fantasy -- plus it's actually true! Provides a wild inside view to the cocaine trade, Columbian politics and the bizarre world that money can create. Pablo emerges as an almost mythic figure, on the one hand revered by his associates and public, and on the other a frighteningly brutal indescriminate killer. Without giving away the story, I'll tell you that there are real parallels with the Elliot Ness story of the untouchables. A great read (listen).

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Bowden hits another home run

Bowden is one of the few authors who can read his own work and keep you intrigued. The trade-off is that he does sound like a journalist rather than a story teller.
You won't find a more well-researched account of the drug wars up close and personal. A fascinating read and one of the books I found myself listening to in my driveway.
My only beef - it's abridged...

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Almost too scary to be true

Mark Bowden's writing on the modern history of Columbia and the horror that engulfed the entire country for a decade is an astonishing piece of work.
This is a gripping work of non-fiction and is a truly powerful insight to one of the world's most notorious terrorists, Pablo Escobar.

A huge thumbs up.

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5 people found this helpful

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

great story

I wish the unabridged version was available! Great story telling and background by the author.

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3 people found this helpful

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

Fantastic Detail Told From Multiple Perspectives

In my opinion this is Bowden's best work. His detail and research is unparalleled and the story itself couldn't be any more wild if it was fiction. Bowden offers a gripping look inside the many faces of Escobar, from the ruthless cartel boss that waged war on the Columbian state to the concerned family man who fought fiercely to keep his family safe.

The wealth, violence and details are shocking and Bowden's ability to organize so many narratives and perspectives into a single, cohesive timeline makes for one of the best non-fiction titles I've ever read. Having both the audiobook and the paperback, the abridged audiobook doesn't exclude much. As for the audiobook, Bowden's delivery, often direct and with disregard for political correctness, exponentially improves the quality of the audiobook as you get the sense that the man who did the research is telling you a great campfire story.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Worth a read

The story is inherently interesting- the rise and fall of one of the most successful, vicious criminals in world history. Bowden's a decent reader, though I would have liked to have gotten this story unabridged. Overall, a brisk, satisfying tale, though one you could get just as well through CNN or the History Channels adaptations.

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2 people found this helpful