Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating, if not excellent
Review: This was truly a great book, written by a serious and talented author. I enjoyed "Black Hawk Down" immensly, reading in less than two days during a holiday in Florida two years ago. With "Killing Pablo" Mark Bowden does it again. I finished it almost as fast and are awaiting his next novel. Being a journalist, Bowden is skilled in the arts of investigation and discription. He also excells in writing to a degree that places the reader right into the story - whether it is a dusty alley in Mogadishu or a crime infested barrio in Medellín. Bowden is also good at presenting the facts in a way that makes it interesting and fascinating. Killing Pablo is fabulous and deserves to be read by virtally anyone, as it gives insight into a lot of the problems that faces the world (drugs, terrorism, crime). There is only one negative aspect with this book, probably created by Bowdens appraisal of the american Delta Force. He, like many american authors (like Tom Clancy), is so convinced by the skill and motivation of the US Armed Forces that it influences his writings. From the outset I got the impression that it was only thanks to Delta and Special Forces involvement that Pablo could be caught, and killed. But although they were of great help, the final act was a tribute to the Columbians and therir Army and Police units. I also find it difficult to see it as an axiom, that Delta Force is the worlds finest Special Forces unit - it is actually a less experienced clone of the British SAS (being a close copy in structure and tactics) Why do I write about this? It doesn't make the book bad, or even worse. But it's one situation which I'm referring to. At page 344 Bowden claims that Escobar may have been killed by Delta snipers, since being - like his bodyguard - shot in the head. This fact is built by the undisputed claim that Delta Force, as the finest Special Forces unit in the world also has the worlds best snipers. This may be so, but I would have liked Bowden to apply his analytical mind to the problem more accurately. Their is no evidence that the unit was actually involved in the fighting, especially during this last battle which was kind of a hasty operation. If Delta somehow managed to get to the place faster than its Columbian counterparts, I find it very unlikely that they could have placed snipers in the adjacent buildings. But this is beside the point, Bowden could easily have speculated this far if he had presented one crucial fact - namely was Escobar killed by a rifleshot or a pistolshot? Apparently their was enough evidence to conclude that there was no gunpowder-stains on the body - eliminating the theory of execution. But this means that the round that killed him was fired from at least four or five feet distance. And assuming that he was hit in the leg and back he would have been laying on the ground when the last bullet ended his life (unless they all hit him simultaneously). I'm interested in whether or not the last bullit was fired up-close or at a distance (ballistics could prove that). Because if it was the former, namely a coup de grace, it is difficult to administer with a rifle - since it would take a pretty tall shooter to hold a four-foot carbine (like a M16) four feet above Escobars head to avoid gunpowder residual. This way, if he had been killed by a pistolbullit the Deltas was not involved, and if it really was a rifle bullit it was with all probability shot from the assualt team. This is only a minor annoyance, this is truly a great book which I recommend warmly, and await his next project with great expectation.
Rating: 
Summary: A true story that reads like a movie
Review: I picked up this book recently after reading the book BLOW, which was made into the movie of the same name with Johnny Depp. It peaked my interest in Pablo and the Colombian Cartels. The book Killing Pablo reads like an exciting spy nove. Bowden does an excellent job of telling a brief account of the Druglord's life and in more detail the hunt for him. It was amazing to read about the corruption, murder, extortion and overall lawlessness of some of these people. And that was only the government!!! Then there was the efforts of all the differnet organizations and groups in the Colombian as well as the US systems. It gives a very good account of all the details without being bogged down in too much useless information. True a story like this does tell itself however Mark Bowden's style really brings the characters to life. It is a story that would also make a very interesting movie.
Rating:
Summary: Fasinating, Compelling Read
Review: Killing Pablo is a tightly written, well researched account
of Pablo Escobar's years in Columbia. I thought I knew the story of Columbia's war with Pablo Escobar and the extraditables
before starting the book, but found the whole story is more shocking than the murder of 20 judges and numerous politicians.
The story is enriched by excerpts from the numerous letters
written by Escobar, demonstrating how Escobar , like many other
gangsters, view themselves as almost heroic figures, living
in a narcissitic world, manipulating popular opinion and
public figures with bribes and threats- - demanding that
they take the silver or take the bullet. Not surprisingly,
Escobar saw himself at the end as a victim who only did what he
had to do. Arrogant to the end, he came to the end he probably
anticipated. There are enough stories here for 100 books-given the breadth of the story, I felt the book was excellent
Rating:
Summary: Sociopathic Mastermind
Review: The writing of Mark Bowden is truly astounding in his telling of a man who with little savvy but simple ruthlessness was able to mastermind his way to being the 7th richest man in the world according to Forbes in the late 80's. In all the mafia books that I have read and other true crime books,I have yet to understand how one man with so little business sense could have attained such a status. Escobar was truly a man with no conscience as is evidenced by Bowden's accounts of his money making strategy in the world of drug smuggling. The seemingly non existent value of human life is so tragically displayed in this account of one man's diabolocal hunger for power, money and social position is such a travesty to his country, to the US, and to the people of Columbia who tried to stop him. Couldn't put it down.
Rating: 
Summary: Was Expecting More...
Review: I was expecting more out of this one. It wasn't bad, but it really dragged on through the middle and I was a bit of a strain to finish it. I think the main problem was the main players in the story just weren't very interesting enough, even Pablo. There also didn't seem to be enough of a book here. It would have added more to the story if Bowden went deeper into the CIAs involvement in the Drug War.
Rating:
Summary: An engaging read
Review: Slows down in patches but overall quite enjoyable and a fascinating glimpse into Columbia politics and the drug business.
Rating:
Summary: Killing Pablo
Review: Mark Bowden is probably best known for his documentary (which is now a major motion picture) Blackhawk Down. However, his newest book, Killing Pablo deserves the same recognition as its predecessor. Killing Pablo gives one of the most detailed and well-researched accounts of the war on drugs ever written. The book focuses on the leader of the Medellin Cartel, Pablo Escobar, whose Colombian cocaine empire infiltrated deeper into the United States than any other. At its height, Pablo's empire supplied 80% of all the cocaine in the United States. Pablo was mercilessly hunted by both US and Colombian military forces, but the focus on the book is not on the military actions against Pablo Escobar, but on the Pablo himself. Bowden discusses Pablo's social stature, influence, but above all his beliefs and justifications for his less than law-abiding acts. The book also introduces Pablo's opposition and their attempts to silence him. The book, however, does not limit itself to the more publicized military events that composed the war on drugs, but also the political reasoning and personal motivations for eliminating the powerful drug lord. In Bowden's book, he recalls Escobar's rise to power, his fall, and the hunt for him that would make the Mexican outlaw Pancho Villa proud. Killing Pablo reads like a Clancy novel. Not once did Bowden lose my interest or waste my time with events that were not important to the story. Bowden writes non-fiction like a novelist, always working to a well developed end. I believe this is what makes Killing Pablo so entertaining. Despite the frequent accounts of scenes that would make action movie producers cringe, Bowden is still able to tell a story that is not only accurate, but worth hearing.
Bowden managed to keep my attention, fulfill my needs for action, and satisfy me intellectually. I have not been so satisfied with a non-fiction book since his last, and I hope he continues to publish works of this caliber. It is my opinion that Bowden has constructed one of the greatest works in non-fiction of all time.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous work reconstructing a complex story
Review: This book runs 275 pages. When you start, you think: no problem, I'll blitz through this in a day or two. But, ah: this is Mark Bowden. So the story is fascinating; the subject complex; the writing precise and intricate. I found myself reading and re-reading entire sections of the book, just to make sure I really understood the implications of what Bowden was reporting. It's not that it was hard to understand or follow. Rather, it's that the events he reports are so dramatic, tense, and eye-popping, you often want to go back and read the details again. One example: in the paperback book, there's a brilliant passage on p. 194. It took me three to four readings to catch all the intracacies of Bowden's summation of the relationship circa April 1993 between Search Bloc, Los Pepes, Centra Spike, Delta Force and the CIA. Got that? Seminal reading. Can't be recommended highly enough.
Rating:
Summary: Didn't hold my interest
Review: After reading the enthralling "Black Hawk Down", I was very much looking forward to Mark Bowden's next book. Unfortunately, "Killing Pablo" was a disappointment. "Pablo" is similar in style, and is well researched journalism like "Black Hawk", but the story jumps around quite a bit and it did not kindle my interest. Perhaps the travails of the bad guys are not as absorbing as those of the good guys.
Rating:
Summary: An Amazing Story of Modern Crime
Review: I bought this book and read it last year after hearing an interview with Mark Bowden on a radio program- I was instantly hooked. What makes the book so fascinating is the Character of Pablo Escobar- You will be stunned to read about the great extent of his lifestyle and his power. What keeps you reading are the questions you find yourself asking: How do you catch a criminal who owns the police? To publicly anounce that you are after Pablo is to essentially sign away your life, because sooner or later Pablo will see to it that you are killed or kidnapped!
This book is a quick read on an amazing character- This book is a winner.
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