Killing Pablo

Rating:
Summary: Second to Black Hawk Down
Review: Killing Pablo is a book that should have been made into a movie. It had every aspect of a good movie needed to succeed. Pablo Escobar, who was at the time, the single most powerful drug trafficker in the world. As he became more powerful, he believed the more people needed to be taken out. Little did he know this was the beginning of his long and violent downfall. Mark Bowden again delivers a book that reads very easy. Full of information about hundreds of people involved with either Pablo's rise or Pablo's fall, Killing Pablo is one of the most informitive books I have read about beginning of the drug wars that have consumed the United States of America for now well over 10 years. With the current escalating situation in South America, Killing Pablo is a great book to gain a better understanding of why exactly there are American soldiers down there. I would recomend this book to anybody who enjoys furthering their knowledge of modern day wars, or who has enjoyed books like this, for example Black Hawk Down, in the past. I give it 4 stars because it is not as good as Black Hawk Down, and doesnt deserve to be given and equal rating. A very well done book though.

Rating:
Summary: Colombia's Drug War Heats Up
Review: Killing Pablo, Mark Bowden's can't-put-it-down account of the rise and fall of Pablo Escobar, chronicles not only one of history's most famous manhunts, but also exposes the futility of America's war on drugs. It is a story as old as mankind: as long as there are chemicals that can enhance or distort moods, there will always be a market for the wares offered by men like Pablo Escobar.

The book is excellently written and covers a 45 year period in Colombian history. It puts into perspective how social and historical upheavals both in Colombia and the United States converged to allow men (and women) to become involved in the illegal drug trade. It exposes the social lines in Colombian society and how the friction between classes gave Pablo the impetus to become the most powerful criminal in the country.

Ultimately, Bowden's book is an eye-opener, and anyone interested in finding out the truth about the deadly embrace between America and the illegal drug trade should read Killing Pablo.

Rating:
Summary: Good book
Review: This is a good book that details the rise and fall of Pablo Escobar. Despite it having moments when it gets dull and monotonous especially when it bogs itself down with many technical terms and explanations used to describe the equipment used to capture El Doctor, it is overall a good book with the best bit being the beginning highlighting Pablo's exploits.

Rating:
Summary: Spellbinding Narrative
Review: I heard the unabridged audio version of this book and it it fabulous. Wonderfully told, this story of Pablo Escobar is a grand insight into the world of cocaine trafficing and the drug cartels. Pablo would have indeed succeeded in owning Colombia legitimately had he been a bit withdrawn in projecting himself as the hero and as the victim.
Overall, this book provides a great insight into the poor state of affairs of a typical third-world country, which like so many others, has a great potential that is undermined by massive corruption.

Rating:
Summary: From my own experience in Colombia...
Review: Having deployed to Colombia 9 times in counter-narcotics operations, I found Bowden's text extremely enlightening. His sources were very high-up and incredibly generous with their information. I found no point where Bowden's information and analysis contradicted my experience in Colombia. I learned more about our operations in Colombia from Bowden than I did from reading the daily CIA/DEA situation reports.

I found Bowden's writing style to be well paced and properly revealing. I enjoyed following the story he allowed to unfold.
If you think that Bowden is giving away Operational secrets, it's probably not as dire as one would think. There was very little that we did that the locals and hence, the narco-trafickers were not aware of. National Geographic reporters were publishing classified locations and special ops flight schedules in their magazine during our operations. Bowden reveals tactics well after their utility has extinguished.

Bowden does a great job of exposing what is a nearly incredible story of unbridled power and perverted politik. It is a great story and thanks to Bowden, a great read.

Rating:
Summary: Masterful account of the life of the famous Kingpin
Review: Bowden wrote an excellent book about life of Pablo Escobar. The book reads like fiction, it is dynamic and grabbing. The events of Escobar's life: his rise, political struggle, fights with government, imprisonment, hiding and death are detailed in chronological order. Bowden paints terrifying picture of the war between Columbian people, government, US intelligence and notorious drug cartels. If you do not know much about this fight and Pablo you are likely to be troubled if not shocked by what went on.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing after "Blackhawk Down"
Review: After reading and thoroughly enjoying Bowden's "Blackhawk Down", I expected the same level of gripping human drama and military intrigue. I was disappointed! Bowden took too little real information, stretched it too thin, and made a short story into a full-length book. The story got very tedious, with repetitious-sounding "we almost got him" stories. It was worth reading just to learn more about Pablo, but the real content of the book could have been wrapped up in less than one hundred pages.

Rating:
Summary: Another top notch reporting job
Review: Bowden's ability to document accounts from people who were actually there is second to none in these muddled stories.
Once again he shous there is no substitute for a first hand account. His reporting on Delta Force continues to be the best you can find anywhere. He is one of the few that doesn't resort to writing a book based on magazine stories from other people, as is usually the case in war books. And this was a war, no doubt.

Keep 'em comming Mark.

Rating:
Summary: A fantastic book
Review: Mark Bowden has hit a home run with Killing Pablo. His account of the rise and fall of Pablo Escobar is not only gripping, but it is clear that Bowden's research is thorough and unbiased. I found myself absolutely unable to put this book down. Bowden has a unique ability to bring the reader right into the action. That being said, don't read this book if you can't stomach a little violence. Otherwise, don't hesitate to pick this one up today.

Rating:
Summary: Better than I expected.
Review: When I first purchased 'Killing Pablo' I expectedit to be one of those stories that make the bad guy look good, and Pablo was BAD. Mark Bowden strips the romanticism from Pablo Escobar's name, and with that gone what is left? The fact that Pablo killed thousands of his own countrymen in terrorist attacks, the fact that he fed the addictions of a very dangerous drug to the waiting american public, and the fact that he basically held siege over the entire country of Colombia.

He also showed many parallels to many of the events going on today. I doubt that was his intentons, but after reading this book you can better understand some of the things going on in the middle east.

One downside was that I thought it was going to be a book on Pablo's day to day life, but rather a general documentary on the entire event. But that wasn't too bad, it was still an interesting book, anyone interested in military actions, or organized crime should read it.