Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw

Rating:
Summary: Viva Columbia! Pablo is dead!
Review: Having just finished Mark Bowden's "Killing Pablo", I find myself somewhat a jumble of emotions. I think that my feelings most resemble those of DEA Agent Joe Toft, who wonders, when all is said and done, if killing Columbian drug lord Pablo Escobar was such a good thing. After reading Bowden's gripping, wonderfully written piece, I must confess to seeing Toft's point.

Bowen follows briefly Escobar's life, his rise to power as drug lord of Medallin in the 1980s, and his eventual fall from grace and into his role as public enemy number one. Through this, Bowden's tells us about the impact, both good an ill, Pablo had on Columbia, from murdering politicians and rivals, to building ballparks for his hometown. Bowden never makes any over pronouncements of Escobar's evil. He simply tells us what Pablo did, and lets those appalling actions speak for themselves.

Bowden's examination of the internal politics of Columbia, first attempting to appease Pablo, then resolving to kill him, is also fascinating. The injection of the United States is even more so. In the perfect world, killing men like Pablo would be the common solution.

However, it's not a perfect world. Bowden makes points of just how down and dirty the forces out to kill Pablo got, including making use of former associates and rival drug lords. Further, the removal of Pablo did nothing to stem the flow of drugs into the US, and other drug lords filled the void.

"Killing Pablo" alternatively appalled, amused, and angered me. Anyone wanting insight into the drug war, cover operations, and simply good recounting of history would enjoy this immensely.

Rating:
Summary: Evil man down
Review: Of course, after reading Black Hawk Down, you naturally have to go look for more books by Bowden. He has a way of writing that isn't totally neutral but not biased, it's intriguing and clear. There's no flowery prose in his writing but it's certainly not dry, it's exciting and real. The story of a thug who terrorized a country is amazing, how does a guy get a country to live in fear? well, simple. Be ruthless. Someone giving you a problem? Kill his sister. Still bothering you, blow up his house. Still? Kill him. Government? Kill the judges. Not giving up? random car bombs. Still after you? bribes... just wow. anyways, not telling all here, but this guy was something, and it's not surprising that he lasted for so long. I thought the book was really engrossing, eye opening and exciting. Though I did think the end was a little dragged out, it was a very good read.

Rating:
Summary: Another great book from Mark Bowden.
Review: Bowden is a great writer. I like his style. I read Black Hawk Down in two days, and I read this book in the same time. If someone wants an intensive read, these are both great reads. Anybody will realize the outcome of this book. It is the killing of an evil man. In this book though, you also see the debate between people about the methods used in the killing of this evil man. There are some that will only use civilized, lawful means. Others will use means that will destroy the evil using the methods used by the evil men. I think we face the same problem today with Osama. How do we destroy evil using the methods of the civilized world. Bowden relates the stories of Los Pepes, and the use of methods to take apart the infrastructure of Pablo Escobar's empire.
This is a great book. For those wanting a great read for several days, this would be a great read and a great addition to your library.

Rating:
Summary: Glad he is dead
Review: I finished this book in just under 2 days. If you want an easy "disturbing" read about an evil guy, this is the one. The end of the book is given away in the title, but its still good.