-
Gangster Warlords
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 14 hrs and 55 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $18.02
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
El Narco
- The Bloody Rise of Mexican Drug Cartels
- By: Ioan Grillo
- Narrated by: Paul Thornley
- Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The world has watched stunned at the bloodshed in Mexico. Thirty thousand murdered since 2006; police chiefs shot within hours of taking office; mass graves comparable to those of civil wars; car bombs shattering storefronts; headless corpses heaped in town squares. The United States throws Black Hawk helicopters and drug agents at the problem. But in secret, Washington is confused and divided about what to do. "Who are these mysterious figures tearing Mexico apart?" they wonder.
-
-
Great book ruined by bad narration
- By Robert Pitman on 08-17-12
By: Ioan Grillo
-
Blood Gun Money
- How America Arms Gangs and Cartels
- By: Ioan Grillo
- Narrated by: Shawn Compton
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The gun control debate is revived with every mass shooting. But far more people die from gun deaths on the street corners of inner city America and across the border as Mexico’s powerful cartels battle to control the drug trade. Guns and drugs aren’t often connected in our heated discussions of gun control - but they should be. In Ioan Grillo’s groundbreaking new work of investigative journalism, he shows us this connection by following the market for guns in the Americas and how it has made the continent the most murderous on earth.
-
-
Another great book by Ioan Grillo.
- By Cody Bad on 03-01-21
By: Ioan Grillo
-
Confessions of a Cartel Hit Man
- By: Martin Corona, Tony Rafael
- Narrated by: Jacob Vargas
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Martin Corona, a US citizen, fell into the outlaw life at 12 and worked for a crew run by the Arellano brothers, founders of the Tijuana drug cartel that dominated the Southern California drug trade and much bloody gang warfare for decades. Corona's crew would cross into the United States from their luxurious hideout in Mexico, kill whomever needed to be killed north of the border, and return home in the afternoon. Martin Corona played a key role in the downfall of the cartel when he turned state's evidence.
-
-
Rather Disappointing
- By Betty Von Schnuuglestein on 08-03-17
By: Martin Corona, and others
-
Narconomics
- How to Run a Drug Cartel
- By: Tom Wainwright
- Narrated by: Brian Hutchison
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What drug lords learned from big business. How does a budding cartel boss succeed (and survive) in the $300 billion illegal drug business? By learning from the best, of course. From creating brand value to fine-tuning customer service, the folks running cartels have been attentive students of the strategy and tactics used by corporations such as Walmart, McDonald's, and Coca-Cola.
-
-
Worthy book in the "economics explains X" genre
- By A reader on 04-11-16
By: Tom Wainwright
-
The Dope
- The Real History of the Mexican Drug Trade
- By: Benjamin T. Smith
- Narrated by: John Curless
- Length: 17 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Mexican drug trade has inspired prejudiced narratives of a war between north and south, White and Brown; between noble cops and vicious kingpins, corrupt politicians and powerful cartels. In this first comprehensive history of the trade, historian Benjamin T. Smith tells the real story of how and why this one-peaceful industry turned violent. He uncovers its origins and explains how this illicit business essentially built modern Mexico, affecting everything from agriculture to medicine to economics - and the country’s all-important relationship with the United States.
-
-
Stuffy British Reader Abuses the Spanish Language
- By pilot on 03-19-22
-
Wolf Boys
- Two American Teenagers and Mexico's Most Dangerous Drug Cartel
- By: Dan Slater
- Narrated by: Pete Simonelli
- Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At first glance Gabriel Cardona is the poster-boy American teenager: great athlete, bright, handsome, and charismatic. But the streets of his border town of Laredo, Texas, are poor and dangerous, and it isn't long before Gabriel abandons his promising future for the allure of the Zetas, a drug cartel with roots in the Mexican military. His younger friend, Bart, as well as others from Gabriel's childhood join him in working for the Zetas, boosting cars and smuggling drugs, eventually catching the eye of the cartel's leadership.
-
-
Great book
- By pattiecakes on 09-20-16
By: Dan Slater
-
El Narco
- The Bloody Rise of Mexican Drug Cartels
- By: Ioan Grillo
- Narrated by: Paul Thornley
- Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The world has watched stunned at the bloodshed in Mexico. Thirty thousand murdered since 2006; police chiefs shot within hours of taking office; mass graves comparable to those of civil wars; car bombs shattering storefronts; headless corpses heaped in town squares. The United States throws Black Hawk helicopters and drug agents at the problem. But in secret, Washington is confused and divided about what to do. "Who are these mysterious figures tearing Mexico apart?" they wonder.
-
-
Great book ruined by bad narration
- By Robert Pitman on 08-17-12
By: Ioan Grillo
-
Blood Gun Money
- How America Arms Gangs and Cartels
- By: Ioan Grillo
- Narrated by: Shawn Compton
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The gun control debate is revived with every mass shooting. But far more people die from gun deaths on the street corners of inner city America and across the border as Mexico’s powerful cartels battle to control the drug trade. Guns and drugs aren’t often connected in our heated discussions of gun control - but they should be. In Ioan Grillo’s groundbreaking new work of investigative journalism, he shows us this connection by following the market for guns in the Americas and how it has made the continent the most murderous on earth.
-
-
Another great book by Ioan Grillo.
- By Cody Bad on 03-01-21
By: Ioan Grillo
-
Confessions of a Cartel Hit Man
- By: Martin Corona, Tony Rafael
- Narrated by: Jacob Vargas
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Martin Corona, a US citizen, fell into the outlaw life at 12 and worked for a crew run by the Arellano brothers, founders of the Tijuana drug cartel that dominated the Southern California drug trade and much bloody gang warfare for decades. Corona's crew would cross into the United States from their luxurious hideout in Mexico, kill whomever needed to be killed north of the border, and return home in the afternoon. Martin Corona played a key role in the downfall of the cartel when he turned state's evidence.
-
-
Rather Disappointing
- By Betty Von Schnuuglestein on 08-03-17
By: Martin Corona, and others
-
Narconomics
- How to Run a Drug Cartel
- By: Tom Wainwright
- Narrated by: Brian Hutchison
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What drug lords learned from big business. How does a budding cartel boss succeed (and survive) in the $300 billion illegal drug business? By learning from the best, of course. From creating brand value to fine-tuning customer service, the folks running cartels have been attentive students of the strategy and tactics used by corporations such as Walmart, McDonald's, and Coca-Cola.
-
-
Worthy book in the "economics explains X" genre
- By A reader on 04-11-16
By: Tom Wainwright
-
The Dope
- The Real History of the Mexican Drug Trade
- By: Benjamin T. Smith
- Narrated by: John Curless
- Length: 17 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Mexican drug trade has inspired prejudiced narratives of a war between north and south, White and Brown; between noble cops and vicious kingpins, corrupt politicians and powerful cartels. In this first comprehensive history of the trade, historian Benjamin T. Smith tells the real story of how and why this one-peaceful industry turned violent. He uncovers its origins and explains how this illicit business essentially built modern Mexico, affecting everything from agriculture to medicine to economics - and the country’s all-important relationship with the United States.
-
-
Stuffy British Reader Abuses the Spanish Language
- By pilot on 03-19-22
-
Wolf Boys
- Two American Teenagers and Mexico's Most Dangerous Drug Cartel
- By: Dan Slater
- Narrated by: Pete Simonelli
- Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At first glance Gabriel Cardona is the poster-boy American teenager: great athlete, bright, handsome, and charismatic. But the streets of his border town of Laredo, Texas, are poor and dangerous, and it isn't long before Gabriel abandons his promising future for the allure of the Zetas, a drug cartel with roots in the Mexican military. His younger friend, Bart, as well as others from Gabriel's childhood join him in working for the Zetas, boosting cars and smuggling drugs, eventually catching the eye of the cartel's leadership.
-
-
Great book
- By pattiecakes on 09-20-16
By: Dan Slater
-
El Chapo
- The Untold Story of the World's Most Infamous Drug Lord
- By: Noah Hurowitz
- Narrated by: Shaun Taylor-Corbett
- Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the true story of how El Chapo built the world’s wealthiest and most powerful drug-trafficking operation, based on months’ worth of trial testimony and dozens of interviews with cartel gunmen, Mexican journalists and political figures, Chapo’s family members, and the DEA agents who brought him down.
-
-
Not really about EL Chapo
- By edward on 07-30-21
By: Noah Hurowitz
-
The Black Hand
- The Bloody Rise and Redemption of "Boxer" Enriquez, a Mexican Mob Killer
- By: Chris Blatchford
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 14 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rene "Boxer" Enriquez grew up on the violent streets of East L.A., where gang fights, robberies, and drive-by shootings were fueled by rage, drugs, and alcohol. When he finally landed in prison - at the age of 19 - Enriquez found an organization that brought him the respect he always wanted: the near-mythic and widely feared Mexican Mafia, La Eme. What the organization saw in Enriquez was a young man who knew no fear and would kill anyone - justifiably or not - in the blink of an eye.
-
-
Intense, brutal, and informative
- By E on 07-08-15
By: Chris Blatchford
-
Borderland Beat
- Reporting on the Mexican Cartel Drug War
- By: Alejandro Marentes
- Narrated by: Andrew Rowe
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Borderland Beat project is collaboration from a group of people of different backgrounds located in the US and Mexico that gather information related to the Mexican drug cartels and presents it in English through the internet, publications, and presentations. The information in this audiobook is fast-paced, with a lot of drug trafficking organization (DTO) information thrown at you at once. It's filled with hit men activity and the Mexican government's attempt to intervene, but it also contains a lot of direct, behind-the-scenes information from the author.
-
-
Better narrator
- By Amazon Customer on 05-31-20
-
A Man of Honor
- The Autobiography of Joseph Bonanno
- By: Joseph Bonanno
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 14 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Born in Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, Joseph Bonanno found his future amid the whiskey-running, riotous streets of Prohibition America in 1924, when he illegally entered the United States to pursue his dreams. By the age of only 26, Bonanno became a don. He eventually took over the New York underworld, igniting the "Castellammarese War", one of the bloodiest Family battles ever to hit New York City.
-
-
A must read
- By E. Orlando on 05-03-17
By: Joseph Bonanno
-
Kings of Cocaine
- Inside the Medellin Cartel - An Astonishing True Story of Murder Money and International Corruption
- By: Guy Gugliotta, Jeff Leen
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 14 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the story of the most successful cocaine dealers in the world: Pablo Escobar Gaviria, Jorge Luis Ochoa Vasquez, Carlos Lehder Rivas, and Jose Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha. In the 1980s, they controlled more than 50 percent of the cocaine flowing into the United States. The cocaine trade is capitalism on overdrive - supply meeting demand on exponential levels. Here you'll find the story of how the modern cocaine business started and how it turned a ragtag group of hippies and sociopaths into regal kings.
-
-
Almost Perfect.
- By Nick on 10-31-18
By: Guy Gugliotta, and others
-
Dancing in the Glory of Monsters
- The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa
- By: Jason Stearns
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 15 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the heart of Africa is Congo, a country the size of Western Europe, bordering nine other nations, that since 1996 has been wracked by a brutal and unstaunchable war in which millions have died. And yet, despite its epic proportions, it has received little sustained media attention. In this deeply reported book, Jason K. Stearns vividly tells the story of this misunderstood conflict through the experiences of those who engineered and perpetrated it.
-
-
First book I've found that explains DRC
- By Amazon Customer on 09-09-17
By: Jason Stearns
-
Standard Deviations
- Flawed Assumptions, Tortured Data, and Other Ways to Lie with Statistics
- By: Gary Smith
- Narrated by: Tim Andres Pabon
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As Nobel Prize-winning economist Ronald Coase once cynically observed, "If you torture data long enough, it will confess." Lying with statistics is a time-honored con. In Standard Deviations, economics professor Gary Smith walks us through the various tricks and traps that people use to back up their own crackpot theories. Sometimes, the unscrupulous deliberately try to mislead us. Other times, the well-intentioned are blissfully unaware of the mischief they are committing.
-
-
Now, I can't talk to people.....
- By Andrew Dunbar on 09-28-21
By: Gary Smith
-
Paddy Whacked
- The Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster
- By: T. J. English
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 21 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Paddy Whacked, best-selling author and organized crime expert T. J. English brings to life nearly two centuries of Irish American gangsterism, which spawned such unforgettable characters as Mike "King Mike" McDonald, Chicago's subterranean godfather; Big Bill Dwyer, New York's most notorious rumrunner during Prohibition; Mickey Featherstone, troubled Vietnam vet turned Westies gang leader; and James "Whitey" Bulger, the ruthless and seemingly untouchable Southie legend.
-
-
First Half - 4 Stars - Second Half - 2 Stars
- By Lulu on 08-29-16
By: T. J. English
-
MS-13
- The Making of America's Most Notorious Gang
- By: Steven Dudley
- Narrated by: Christian Barillas
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Today, MS-13 is one of the most infamous street gangs on earth, with an estimated ten thousand members operating in dozens of states and linked to thousands of grisly murders each year in the US and abroad. But it is also misunderstood—less a drug cartel and more a hand-to-mouth organization whose criminal economy is based mostly on small-time extortion schemes and petty drug dealing. Steven Dudley brings listeners inside the nefarious group to tell a larger story of how a flawed US and Central American policy, and exploitative economic systems, helped foster the gang and sustain it.
-
-
BLAME AMERICA
- By XIgnauta on 12-31-20
By: Steven Dudley
-
Kilo
- Inside the Deadliest Cocaine Cartels—from the Jungles to the Streets
- By: Toby Muse
- Narrated by: Alex Wyndham
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For fans of the Netflix show Narcos and readers of true crime, Kilo is a deeply reported account of life inside Colombia’s drug cartels, using unprecedented access in the cartels to trace a kilo of cocaine - from the fields where it is farmed, to the hit men who protect it, to the smuggling ships that bring it to American shores.
-
-
not as advertised
- By tim on 01-17-21
By: Toby Muse
-
The Forge of Christendom
- The End of Days and the Epic Rise of the West
- By: Tom Holland
- Narrated by: James A. Gillies
- Length: 15 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the approach of the first millennium, the Christians of Europe did not seem likely candidates for future greatness. They saw no future beyond the widely anticipated Second Coming of Christ. But when the world did not end, the peoples of Western Europe suddenly found themselves with no choice but to begin the heroic task of building a Jerusalem on Earth. In The Forge of Christendom, Tom Holland masterfully describes this remarkable new age, a time of caliphs and Viking sea kings, the spread of castles, and the invention of knighthood.
-
-
A Worthy Expansion to the Dark Ages
- By William Ratkus on 12-11-18
By: Tom Holland
-
African Kaiser
- General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck and the Great War in Africa, 1914-1918
- By: Robert Gaudi
- Narrated by: Paul Hodgson
- Length: 18 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the continent of Africa was a hotbed of international trade, colonialism, and political gamesmanship. So when World War I broke out, the European powers were forced to contend with each other not just in the bloody trenches - but in the treacherous jungle. And it was in that unforgiving land that General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck would make history.
-
-
Well Written, Well Read, Well Done!
- By Matthew on 02-25-17
By: Robert Gaudi
Publisher's summary
In a ranch south of Texas, the man known as The Executioner dumps 500 body parts in metal barrels.
In Brazil's biggest city, a mysterious prisoner orders hit men to gun down 41 police officers and prison guards in two days.
In Southern Mexico a meth maker is venerated as a saint while enforcing Old Testament justice on his enemies.
A new kind of criminal kingpin has arisen: part CEO, part terrorist, and part rock star, unleashing guerrilla attacks, strong-arming governments, and taking over much of the world's trade in narcotics, guns, and humans. What they do affects you now - from the gas in your car to the gold in your jewelry to the tens of thousands of Latin Americans calling for refugee status in the US.
Gangster Warlords is the first definitive account of the crime wars now wracking Central and South America and the Caribbean, regions largely abandoned by the US after the Cold War.
Author of the critically acclaimed El Narco, Ioan Grillo has covered Latin America since 2001 and gained access to every level of the cartel chain of command in what he calls the new battlefields of the Americas. Moving between militia-controlled ghettos and the halls of top policy makers, Grillo provides a disturbing new understanding of a war that has spiraled out of control - one that people across the political spectrum need to confront now.
Critic reviews
"Grillo is a breathtakingly intrepid reporter, diving in where police fear to tread, seeking out men who wouldn't hesitate to kill him.... A grim, gripping book." (Francis Wheen, Mail on Sunday)
More from the same
What listeners say about Gangster Warlords
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- James H. McDonald
- 10-30-19
Good analysis and interpretation, but...
I have worked for many years as a social scientist in Western Mexico. The description and analysis rings true with a few exceptions. Grillo centers narco activity in Michoacán as if it were only occurring in the tierra caliente (yet his cases jump around the state from the Chapala lowlands; the temperate region; and the tropical lowlands as if they were one in the same.
The narrator also manages to mangle Spanish. It’s remarkable to me that there wasn’t a great narrator available with a good working knowledge of Spanish pronunciation. Otherwise he does a sound job.
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
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sharon
- 08-05-16
The worst narrator for the book
The content of this book is fascinating, fabulously written and compelling. Providing a narrative for emerging economies that should be required reading for any politician wanting to make a change. BUT it is abysmally narrated. What possessed the producers to use this plummy, over the top British voice. It's sounds like it's been narrated by an outdated aristocrat and not a journalist familiar with current affairs. I should've rather bought the book!
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
-
Performance
-
Story
- RUBEN AGUILAR
- 08-25-20
hard to keep up with story line
it was and ok listen jumped from on gang to the next couldn't really tell when he started talking about a new gang
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
-
Performance
-
Story
- Rod
- 02-08-20
A Framework for Drug Work
Easy to follow explaination of how and why drug organizations of the western hemisphere rise to power, using a handful of rich examples from latin america and the carribean, most notably the usually neglected Jamaica and Brazil.
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
-
Performance
-
Story
- JRA
- 02-10-19
Disappointed—not his best
His Narco book was WAYY better but the narrator absolutely does NOT fit the subject or topic of the book (British accent man). It was severely monotone and made me tired. Also the story itself was a little all over the place. Not his best book by far. But his El Narco book he wrote earlier was fantastic!
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
-
Performance
-
Story
- DAMIAN
- 07-10-18
Interesting Twist And Turns
The narrator was awesome the insight into other worlds poverty stricken environment was eye opening this is a mist have to make other cultures and races know the world is not flat its round just because you ate dinner last night doesn't mean everyone else did ....
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
-
Performance
-
Story
- taylorp.eod
- 04-28-22
Overall great listen
Its a great book full of interesting stories. Narrator is kinda bland but doesn't ruin anything from the content of the book cause it's fascinating. But probably not something you'd wanna listen to if you were trying to stay awake on a long car ride. I'd reccomend it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jeremy
- 06-20-20
Wow! Incredible!
Well researched and well written. Learned quite a bit and I have been in this field for many years. Great work.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Casper Larsen
- 10-02-19
amazing book by ioan grillo!
Grillo continues his perfect explanation of these gangs and how we got in this situation
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ms C
- 06-08-19
Love it!
loved the story but I didn't like the fake Jamaican accent. but other than that I loved it!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Nick Anderson
- 01-26-17
the greatest insight you could have!
phenomenal delivery and more depth into a secret world that would be impenetrable to the normal person
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
10 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Mr
- 10-02-17
Intriguing, enlightening and horrifying.
I honesty thought Grillo might have been pulling my leg at some points in this book. Such as when he described the written litanies of prayer members of one Mexican drug cartel say to their founder, or the fervent socialist selling rocks of crack to the people he claims to be fighting for. But a few minutes on google confirms all these to be true, adding surreal colour to the doleful litany of murder and torture that forms the backdrop to all the people and groups he profiles, and is careful not to glamorize.
He also does an excellent job of conveying to someone who comes from a completely different world, why these loathsome bands of thugs and predators often enjoy a surprising degree of support in the communities they blight. Thriving not only through fear, but by offering a ghastly alternative government to impoverished people who feel utterly abandoned and betrayed by the authorities.
This book is well researched (at obvious risk to the author and many of his sources), well told, and opened my eyes to a world I knew little about. It's a depressing commentary on the western media that we hear almost nothing about a whole slew of countries that are in a state of de-facto civil war between gangsters and government.
The one slight criticism I have is that I would have liked a smattering of global context to get a better idea of whether this is a phenomenon more pronounced in Latin America than elsewhere.
Narrator is also very good.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Anonymous User
- 12-16-21
absolutely shite
my daughter could have narrated this better. I honestly turned it off after 60 seconds
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
-
Performance
-
Story

- Clive
- 02-06-22
A worrying picture
A real insight into drugs, gangs, killings, criminals etc
A shame that it is a few years old.
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
-
Performance
-
Story

- "supersapper"
- 03-30-21
Brilliant!!
I absolutely loved this book! The narration is awesome too! This book is exceptional in subject matter! Some of the descriptions of the violence and gun fights are fantastic. Superb 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
-
Performance
-
Story

- Richard S
- 03-05-23
Sincere and Thoughtful Exploration of the Horror
This book picks up and expands upon the theme explored in the chapter "Insurgency" from Ioan Grillo's previous book, El Narco. It sits nicely in between this first book, about the rise of Mexican cartels specifically, and his most recent one about the not-so-well-hidden role of American guns in perpetuating the chaos.
Grillo is an authentic and sincere journalist, the real deal. His thesis is that modern drug gangs are a new type of organisation that defy existing categories we typically use to understand them. He draws commonalities from the stories of the Red Commando in Brazil, the Shower Posse in Jamaica, MS-13 in the Northern Triangle and the Knights Templar in Michoacán, Mexico. I found this thesis to be well argued and persuasive.
They are criminal gangs, but on such an unprecedented scale that they have thoroughly corrupted the nation state. Once convicted and imprisoned, their influence grows rather than shrinks. The leaders are warlords, seeking to control the local territory and replacing the functions of government, but only to clear space for their operations. They use terrorist violence, but without any real political ambitions. They are not armies, but they are better armed than most, and it's not a war although the body count and normalisation of extreme violence is the same.
The drug wars have become so normalised now, reduced to a type of ghoulish entertainment to binge on Netflix. I was about halfway through watching Narcos Mexico when I realised it was little more than glamourised narco violence porn and another type of profiteering from the misery of real people who live in the middle of all this depravity.
In looking for more information on the drug wars, I've discovered the reality is far, far more disturbing than we generally see on screen. There has been a vicious circle of desensitisation to violence, leading to ever increasing levels of it to control, terrorise and act as a perverse currency of status. For some of these gangsters, they have fallen back to a medieval indifference to suffering, and the violence they perpetrate is by civilised standards - whatever that might mean - simply batsh*t insane.
What's happening in Latin America is a humanitarian disaster, and a source of global destabilisation. This book explores the pervasive rot across the region, the necessity of a new approach, and what that might be. I believe it to be an important contribution to the debate.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Fiona S
- 09-29-22
Good Book but Same Old Same Old
Very comprehensive book but depressing in that there seems to be a lot of books all saying the same thing, but the problem has been going on for decades and nothing changes. I feel like I've read enough about the drug trade in South America. I greatly admire the author for getting so involved & living in Mexico - I wonder why a journalist would risk his life to report on it. Time for legalisation or at least de-criminalisation of drugs otherwise tens of thousands will continue to be killed.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- ASHISH SINHA
- 05-17-22
Shocking facts about the drug wars in LATAM
I have been on several trips to Latin America and crossed the border from Texas to Mexico multiple times to work with my customers there. I had seen things on the street that were unbelievable and safety was always on my mind. I thought I knew the stories. However this book really shook me on the scale and hopelessness of the violence. Its a well researched book and well narrated. Unfortunately there are no heroes in this story
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Andre Anthony
- 06-28-21
Mixed feelings
The content was great, highly informative and detailed.
The narrator themselves and very good too. However, occasionally the juxtaposition between the two is insurmountable. I think a better narrator could have been picked for this topic.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Amazon Customer
- 05-05-21
Great read
Very interesting full of lots of information over 3 different place in South America brilliant
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
El Narco
- The Bloody Rise of Mexican Drug Cartels
- By: Ioan Grillo
- Narrated by: Paul Thornley
- Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The world has watched stunned at the bloodshed in Mexico. Thirty thousand murdered since 2006; police chiefs shot within hours of taking office; mass graves comparable to those of civil wars; car bombs shattering storefronts; headless corpses heaped in town squares. The United States throws Black Hawk helicopters and drug agents at the problem. But in secret, Washington is confused and divided about what to do. "Who are these mysterious figures tearing Mexico apart?" they wonder.
-
-
Great book ruined by bad narration
- By Robert Pitman on 08-17-12
By: Ioan Grillo
-
Blood Gun Money
- How America Arms Gangs and Cartels
- By: Ioan Grillo
- Narrated by: Shawn Compton
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The gun control debate is revived with every mass shooting. But far more people die from gun deaths on the street corners of inner city America and across the border as Mexico’s powerful cartels battle to control the drug trade. Guns and drugs aren’t often connected in our heated discussions of gun control - but they should be. In Ioan Grillo’s groundbreaking new work of investigative journalism, he shows us this connection by following the market for guns in the Americas and how it has made the continent the most murderous on earth.
-
-
Another great book by Ioan Grillo.
- By Cody Bad on 03-01-21
By: Ioan Grillo
-
Narconomics
- How to Run a Drug Cartel
- By: Tom Wainwright
- Narrated by: Brian Hutchison
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What drug lords learned from big business. How does a budding cartel boss succeed (and survive) in the $300 billion illegal drug business? By learning from the best, of course. From creating brand value to fine-tuning customer service, the folks running cartels have been attentive students of the strategy and tactics used by corporations such as Walmart, McDonald's, and Coca-Cola.
-
-
Worthy book in the "economics explains X" genre
- By A reader on 04-11-16
By: Tom Wainwright
-
Confessions of a Cartel Hit Man
- By: Martin Corona, Tony Rafael
- Narrated by: Jacob Vargas
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Martin Corona, a US citizen, fell into the outlaw life at 12 and worked for a crew run by the Arellano brothers, founders of the Tijuana drug cartel that dominated the Southern California drug trade and much bloody gang warfare for decades. Corona's crew would cross into the United States from their luxurious hideout in Mexico, kill whomever needed to be killed north of the border, and return home in the afternoon. Martin Corona played a key role in the downfall of the cartel when he turned state's evidence.
-
-
Rather Disappointing
- By Betty Von Schnuuglestein on 08-03-17
By: Martin Corona, and others
-
Pure Narco
- One Man's True Story of 25 Years Inside the Cartels
- By: Jesse Fink, Luis Navia
- Narrated by: Keith Scott
- Length: 15 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For a quarter century, Luis Antonio Navia worked as a high-level cocaine transporter for all of the major Colombian and Mexican drug cartels, including Pablo Escobar’s Medellín Cartel, and flooded the United States and Europe with cocaine before his dramatic arrest in Venezuela in 2000 during the 12-nation Operation Journey. The story of Navia’s rise, fall, takedown, imprisonment, and redemption is expertly researched and told by acclaimed biographer Jesse Fink.
-
-
What a life!
- By steven on 07-07-22
By: Jesse Fink, and others
-
The Dope
- The Real History of the Mexican Drug Trade
- By: Benjamin T. Smith
- Narrated by: John Curless
- Length: 17 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Mexican drug trade has inspired prejudiced narratives of a war between north and south, White and Brown; between noble cops and vicious kingpins, corrupt politicians and powerful cartels. In this first comprehensive history of the trade, historian Benjamin T. Smith tells the real story of how and why this one-peaceful industry turned violent. He uncovers its origins and explains how this illicit business essentially built modern Mexico, affecting everything from agriculture to medicine to economics - and the country’s all-important relationship with the United States.
-
-
Stuffy British Reader Abuses the Spanish Language
- By pilot on 03-19-22
-
El Narco
- The Bloody Rise of Mexican Drug Cartels
- By: Ioan Grillo
- Narrated by: Paul Thornley
- Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The world has watched stunned at the bloodshed in Mexico. Thirty thousand murdered since 2006; police chiefs shot within hours of taking office; mass graves comparable to those of civil wars; car bombs shattering storefronts; headless corpses heaped in town squares. The United States throws Black Hawk helicopters and drug agents at the problem. But in secret, Washington is confused and divided about what to do. "Who are these mysterious figures tearing Mexico apart?" they wonder.
-
-
Great book ruined by bad narration
- By Robert Pitman on 08-17-12
By: Ioan Grillo
-
Blood Gun Money
- How America Arms Gangs and Cartels
- By: Ioan Grillo
- Narrated by: Shawn Compton
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The gun control debate is revived with every mass shooting. But far more people die from gun deaths on the street corners of inner city America and across the border as Mexico’s powerful cartels battle to control the drug trade. Guns and drugs aren’t often connected in our heated discussions of gun control - but they should be. In Ioan Grillo’s groundbreaking new work of investigative journalism, he shows us this connection by following the market for guns in the Americas and how it has made the continent the most murderous on earth.
-
-
Another great book by Ioan Grillo.
- By Cody Bad on 03-01-21
By: Ioan Grillo
-
Narconomics
- How to Run a Drug Cartel
- By: Tom Wainwright
- Narrated by: Brian Hutchison
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What drug lords learned from big business. How does a budding cartel boss succeed (and survive) in the $300 billion illegal drug business? By learning from the best, of course. From creating brand value to fine-tuning customer service, the folks running cartels have been attentive students of the strategy and tactics used by corporations such as Walmart, McDonald's, and Coca-Cola.