Some fantastic titles there (and thanks for putting mine as well). Yep, I might have some more lists more specifically on the CIA angle. Terrence Poppa's drug lord is a classic. Real 80's border book that one.
BTW, another outstanding Border book which encouraged me to write about my federal law enforcement experience on the SW Border, was "Twilight On the Line: Underworlds and Politics at the Mexican Border" by Sebastian Rotella.
Actually, another book recommendation for you and your subscribers.
Drug War, by Peter Walsh, is a magisterial history of the UK’s war on drugs, and how HM Customs’ Investigation Department spearheaded attempts to prosecute it.
After all the comments and blurbs about CIA involvement with drugs by Paul Krassner, Mae Brussels, Robert Scheer, Al Goldstein and papers from the Black Panther Party, the bomb shell book of that era was published, The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia by Alfred McCoy. That book is what dragged me in this cauldron of massive political corruption using drugs to finance the political and economic destruction. Dark Alliance by Gary Webb was another bombshell, a confirmation of what my wife and I were seeing first hand in Los Angeles and San Diego. Chaos by Tom O'Neill was like a mirror into the 60's bringing all my memories back to life.
A book I am reading now again is Barry and the Boys: The CIA, the Mob and America's Secret History by Daniel Hopsicker detailing the life of Barry Seal and his connections. Excellent book.
Two landmark books Dark Alliance and Politics of Heroin and so important for understanding what happened. But as a pure work of literature I think Chaos is something else. I'll check out Barry and The Boys.
Thank you for sharing these, Ioan. Great list. Highly recommend Blood, Gun, Money to others here, if they haven’t already read it. Almost all the public discourse is on what and who is coming across the border into the U.S., with so little attention on what’s flowing in the opposite direction. This book is more timely now than ever.
An excellent list, although your books should be at the top. Another to add is Loving Pablo, Hating Escobar by Virginia Vallejo, his on-again, off-again mistress. A fascinating step inside the cartel lifestyle.
Thank you! I am always looking for more books. If you ever recommend documentaries, make sure your list includes Cocaine Cowboys. I'm pretty sure it was what sparked my interest in this whole thing a long time ago.
In the UK, I’d have to add to your list by suggesting the brilliant work of Michael Gillard, one of the bravest journalists working on the British scene.
His book Legacy, which exposed an East London crime lord the Met police said was “too big to take on”, is a terrific read:
Yeah, a great read there PoliticalGee. It reminds me a bit of the Guy Ritchie movie Rocknrolla in getting into the mix of gangsters and real estate. Thanks for the heads up on his Stack.
Thanks there PinHead. Bowden was a legend but I regret when I shared a panel with him in L.A. in 2012, I was being a bit cold, a younger guy (then!) wanting to carve my space. Methland was a very nice book. Meth is still such a problem in the U.S. but it hasn't been covered. Best there friend.
Outstanding Ioan! I'm right on it--I will have some time in April (in Wyoming) to catch up on these reads. As a true crime author, I'm always curious how other authors, especially outstanding ones, tell stories.
One a side note, I was on Newsmax a week or two ago and one of the topics was 'Trump's designation of the cartels as terrorist groups.' I recall telling the show's host about our 'complicated history with our southern neighbor.' I mentioned that despite the threat of tariffs, President Scheinbaum could be depended upon to help get the Border under control. I talked about my personal experience with the Merida Initiative in 2009 and how our Mexican federal counterparts were cooperating more and more in some of our drug cases (drug tunnels). I concluded by saying unilateral strikes by the American military would be extremely counterproductive in bilateral relations. Maybe that's not what they wanted to hear but oh well...
4/5 so far! Some others I've enjoyed reading: Whitewash (Strong), Hotel Scarface, Snow on the Atlantic. For the Mafia, Excellent Cadavers is hard to beat. A cool recent US Mafia one is The Hitmen about the Harlem purple gang.
I've posted a couple of Drug War-related book lists on my own Substack a while ago. The first list linked below is the one on the US-Mexico Drug War; one of your books has made it to the list. I've thought about doing reviews, but I feel sort of funny about that. Some of the material is so shocking that I don't want to give away any spoilers. How I wish that Readers would simply take my recommendations as a mandatory syllabus, without the requirement for me to telegraph the punches!
Thanks there DC. That is a great list, and very detailed going all the way back. (And thanks for including my work). A good reference for people to have.
Thank you and the other commenters for the list of books to check out. But one line got me curious….
What is your idea of “a fuck-off mug of coffee”? A half liter of espresso? A 12-cup Bialetti moka pot packed with 100% Vietnamese robusta? Do we need to get UK coffee geek James Hoffmann involved to investigate and create a “the ultimate fuck-off coffee recipe” video to document this for the world?
Ha ha. In Mexico they serve Americano, which is of course expresso with water, and yeah, the fuck-off version is indeed the half liter. I had a dozen expressos in 40 minutes at an expo once, and "boom" - I was in a bit of a state...
The other possibility given you’re in México would be a 1:1 mix by volume of Nescafé powder and water. 😆 Your “bit of a state” sounds like what was a normal morning for Voltaire.
(Maybe someday I can some stamps in my DF coffee passport…oh well)
Ha ha. Nescafe is the last resort, is there nothing else available, this will ward off my coffee addiction for an hour. But still, huevos a la mexicana with nescafe is still pretty tasty.
It’s what the guys with the cordless drills and whisks mix up every morning at their puestos. Not fancy, but it hits the spot and helps wake you up. Have a good day!
Yep. The best I’ve had of that so far was at Hotel Geneve. The stands and restaurants in Oaxaca have some good stuff too, but most of the time it has too much sugar for me. I have to avoid cafe cubano for the same reason. 😕
Some other notable additions are:
Underground Empire by James Mills
Desperados by Elaine Shannon
The Strength of the Wolf by Douglas Valentine
The Strength of the Pack by Douglas valentine
Drug Lord: A True Story by Terrence E. Poppa
El Narco: Inside Mexico's Criminal Insurgency by Ioan Grillo
Some fantastic titles there (and thanks for putting mine as well). Yep, I might have some more lists more specifically on the CIA angle. Terrence Poppa's drug lord is a classic. Real 80's border book that one.
BTW, another outstanding Border book which encouraged me to write about my federal law enforcement experience on the SW Border, was "Twilight On the Line: Underworlds and Politics at the Mexican Border" by Sebastian Rotella.
I loved Drug Lord about Pablo Acosta. If only we could go back to that era concerning the activities of the cartels
Absolutely. Good ol' days compared to the psychos around today.
The great journalist Selwyn Raab just died. His book 5 families is definitive w.r.t. the American mafia
I havent read that one but, bang, higher up on the to-read list. Thanks John.
Actually, another book recommendation for you and your subscribers.
Drug War, by Peter Walsh, is a magisterial history of the UK’s war on drugs, and how HM Customs’ Investigation Department spearheaded attempts to prosecute it.
https://milobooks.com/milo-books/drug-war-2/
I have heard of that but havent read it. I'll have to check it out and he sounds interesting.
After all the comments and blurbs about CIA involvement with drugs by Paul Krassner, Mae Brussels, Robert Scheer, Al Goldstein and papers from the Black Panther Party, the bomb shell book of that era was published, The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia by Alfred McCoy. That book is what dragged me in this cauldron of massive political corruption using drugs to finance the political and economic destruction. Dark Alliance by Gary Webb was another bombshell, a confirmation of what my wife and I were seeing first hand in Los Angeles and San Diego. Chaos by Tom O'Neill was like a mirror into the 60's bringing all my memories back to life.
A book I am reading now again is Barry and the Boys: The CIA, the Mob and America's Secret History by Daniel Hopsicker detailing the life of Barry Seal and his connections. Excellent book.
Two landmark books Dark Alliance and Politics of Heroin and so important for understanding what happened. But as a pure work of literature I think Chaos is something else. I'll check out Barry and The Boys.
Thank you for sharing these, Ioan. Great list. Highly recommend Blood, Gun, Money to others here, if they haven’t already read it. Almost all the public discourse is on what and who is coming across the border into the U.S., with so little attention on what’s flowing in the opposite direction. This book is more timely now than ever.
Well appreciated there David. Your question set off a great thread and discussion here. All best there friend and great to have you on board.
An excellent list, although your books should be at the top. Another to add is Loving Pablo, Hating Escobar by Virginia Vallejo, his on-again, off-again mistress. A fascinating step inside the cartel lifestyle.
Well appreciated Carmen. I havent read Virginia Vallejo's but thanks for the top. That sounds very interesting.
Thank you! I am always looking for more books. If you ever recommend documentaries, make sure your list includes Cocaine Cowboys. I'm pretty sure it was what sparked my interest in this whole thing a long time ago.
Good idea. I could do a documentary list in a future post.
Jon Roberts, the guy who was the main focus of Cocaine Cowboys, wrote a book with the journalist Evan Wright, which is also well worth a read
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/413354/american-desperado-by-jon-roberts-and-evan-wright/9780091949419
Evan Wright was a great writer, he died recently which was sad.
Oh no, didn’t know that. Yeah, he was a terrific journalist
In the UK, I’d have to add to your list by suggesting the brilliant work of Michael Gillard, one of the bravest journalists working on the British scene.
His book Legacy, which exposed an East London crime lord the Met police said was “too big to take on”, is a terrific read:
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/legacy-9781448217434/
Similarly, I’d recommend his Substack to your subscribers:
https://open.substack.com/pub/theupsetterstrikes?r=2co3n&utm_medium=ios
Yeah, a great read there PoliticalGee. It reminds me a bit of the Guy Ritchie movie Rocknrolla in getting into the mix of gangsters and real estate. Thanks for the heads up on his Stack.
Nice seeing Charles Bowdens book on your shelf.
Methland: The Death and Life of an American Small Town,
Had a profound impact on me, a real eye opener.
Thanks there PinHead. Bowden was a legend but I regret when I shared a panel with him in L.A. in 2012, I was being a bit cold, a younger guy (then!) wanting to carve my space. Methland was a very nice book. Meth is still such a problem in the U.S. but it hasn't been covered. Best there friend.
Thought "This Love Was Not For Cowards", shown in the main image, was going to make the list as well. Fantastic book!
Yeah, great read. It was hard to select just five bangers - but you can see I have that classic on the book shelf.
Outstanding Ioan! I'm right on it--I will have some time in April (in Wyoming) to catch up on these reads. As a true crime author, I'm always curious how other authors, especially outstanding ones, tell stories.
One a side note, I was on Newsmax a week or two ago and one of the topics was 'Trump's designation of the cartels as terrorist groups.' I recall telling the show's host about our 'complicated history with our southern neighbor.' I mentioned that despite the threat of tariffs, President Scheinbaum could be depended upon to help get the Border under control. I talked about my personal experience with the Merida Initiative in 2009 and how our Mexican federal counterparts were cooperating more and more in some of our drug cases (drug tunnels). I concluded by saying unilateral strikes by the American military would be extremely counterproductive in bilateral relations. Maybe that's not what they wanted to hear but oh well...
Thanks there Kenneth and I'll have to check out that Newsmax interview. Sounds good.
4/5 so far! Some others I've enjoyed reading: Whitewash (Strong), Hotel Scarface, Snow on the Atlantic. For the Mafia, Excellent Cadavers is hard to beat. A cool recent US Mafia one is The Hitmen about the Harlem purple gang.
Thanks for the recomendations there friend and great to have your voice here.
Thanks for that list. Your interviews have given me some great reading material as well. Looking forward to your next book.
Well appreciated there Daniel. If you come across any gems in your reading I'm always interested to hear.
I've posted a couple of Drug War-related book lists on my own Substack a while ago. The first list linked below is the one on the US-Mexico Drug War; one of your books has made it to the list. I've thought about doing reviews, but I feel sort of funny about that. Some of the material is so shocking that I don't want to give away any spoilers. How I wish that Readers would simply take my recommendations as a mandatory syllabus, without the requirement for me to telegraph the punches!
https://adwjeditor.substack.com/p/book-list-of-mexican-drug-war-history
Here's the wider syllabus for American Drug War history https://adwjeditor.substack.com/p/american-drug-war-journal-syllabus
Thanks there DC. That is a great list, and very detailed going all the way back. (And thanks for including my work). A good reference for people to have.
Thank you and the other commenters for the list of books to check out. But one line got me curious….
What is your idea of “a fuck-off mug of coffee”? A half liter of espresso? A 12-cup Bialetti moka pot packed with 100% Vietnamese robusta? Do we need to get UK coffee geek James Hoffmann involved to investigate and create a “the ultimate fuck-off coffee recipe” video to document this for the world?
Ha ha. In Mexico they serve Americano, which is of course expresso with water, and yeah, the fuck-off version is indeed the half liter. I had a dozen expressos in 40 minutes at an expo once, and "boom" - I was in a bit of a state...
The other possibility given you’re in México would be a 1:1 mix by volume of Nescafé powder and water. 😆 Your “bit of a state” sounds like what was a normal morning for Voltaire.
(Maybe someday I can some stamps in my DF coffee passport…oh well)
Ha ha. Nescafe is the last resort, is there nothing else available, this will ward off my coffee addiction for an hour. But still, huevos a la mexicana with nescafe is still pretty tasty.
It’s what the guys with the cordless drills and whisks mix up every morning at their puestos. Not fancy, but it hits the spot and helps wake you up. Have a good day!
Cafe de la olla is a classic as well...
Yep. The best I’ve had of that so far was at Hotel Geneve. The stands and restaurants in Oaxaca have some good stuff too, but most of the time it has too much sugar for me. I have to avoid cafe cubano for the same reason. 😕
Thanks for the list!
Thanks for reading and great to have your voice here. Best there Jeanine.
Very welcome. Enjoying your posts.