Rating: Summary: Infinity Review: Fellow's written experience has taken me beyond my human capacity to imagine if I wasn't told. The book was very descript,interesting and well written for a novice reader of prisons,crime and third world differences . I recommend this book to women and men. My son is only 10 years old .I am saving it for when he gets older. Fellows has touched my mind. I can't stop thinking of the book,the characters and the setting. I recommended and will pass the book on ,only to sensitive,well deserving people. It is a fantastic story. Bravo Warren to survive. Its a reader --perserverence,humbleness and integrity is behind every page. I read it in three days.
Rating: Summary: A Rollercoaster Review: I was reading other reveiws of this book and found it somewhat misleading how other people who reveiwed this book were complaining about "no character depth" and "Poorly written". Did these people evn read the book. If you want nicely written and flawless writting I'm sure you could find a host of books out there. If you want a story told from the heart about a person called Warren Fellows who lived in horendous conditions and saw atrosities that no person should see let alone experience.Everyone is responsible for there own destiny. Warren Fellows took a risk and paid for it. A heroin user choses to have there first hit. Warren Fellows was no more a criminal than a person who sells illegally copied games. Many people would disagree with this but Ibeleive it. It is up to the individual to live there own life, to take risks where they see fit, they do not think how there actions will hurt someone down the track, even if they did they would realize that if they didn't do this then somebody else would, causing the same outcome. The only difference would be that they would have more money. Anyway I found it to be a very good book, infact It was the first book I have read in nearly a year. And for lack of a better phrase "I couldn't put it down". Very Insightful
Rating: Summary: No Sympathy Review: If all the incidents related are true - Fellows only received about a quarter of the punishment he so richly deserves. I found no reason to feel sorry for an individual who considered his actions to be little more than a game - with no regard to the suffering and pain he was helping others inflict. Westerners are too spoiled and the harsh realities of true punishment by countries that aren't ruled by liberal politicians is often a rude awakening. Why should Thai society incur the unnecessary expense of making life easy for criminals? He is alive and making a profit from his book. That is more than enough compensation for the untold horror and pain he helped inflict on others. This book should be required reading for anyone even contemplating such activities overseas
Rating: Summary: A shocking story Review: 4000 days is extremely shocking. It shows us how amazingly low human being can get. While reading the lines, you feel that you are trapped in the jail along with a criminal that becomes a friend. At first I wanted to stop reading because it was too horrible. But I had to keep reading. I was always hoping something good would happen. A 4000 day nightmare.
Rating: Summary: Gave it 2 stars only because it is about Bangkok-deserves 1 Review: I wish that I could say that I found this book to be intelligent and insightful, however, I can't. It does not take a rocket scientist to recognize that drug trafficking is a risky business that in all probability will result in imprisonment for the participants. Fellows does not attempt to argue that what he did was wrong. Quite the contrary, he owns up to the fact HE committed a serious crime, then goes on to fill the rest of his 204 pages with a lot finger-pointing. Too bad the finger is never pointed at himself. As far as mechanics are concerned, Fellows' writing style is underdeveloped and his descriptions are vague at best. This subject is one that fascinates a lot of people and he has had a first-hand experience (horrible though it was) that the majority of the population will never, ever know. Had he taken some time, or sought some assistance with his writing, he could have really delivered a powerful account of his time in Thai prison. He never develops any of the vignettes in his book. All of them read as though they are after-thoughts and not important in what is without a doubt the most substantial occurrence in his life. Reading this book was like opening your eyes when you are face down in the Mississippi. You know there is something there, you just can't see it through the muck. Could be some artsy way of reflecting his heroin problem but I am probably giving him too much credit. Writing style aside, Fellows goes on and on about his situation and how awful it is--no argument there-- but does so in a way that is vacuous and contrite. He doesn't build any sense of character for himself or anyone else in the book. Who the heck is Warren Fellows really, and why should anyone care that he got tossed in Bang Kwang like any other drug smuggler? He is a mere shell of a person in the book and perhaps that is why I could not summon up any sympathy or emotion for him. Where he did succeed in creating emotion was his many insulting comments about Thailand and Thai culture. In his arrogant style he manages to lash out and blame everyone but himself for his situtation. The book is one-sided and does not give the reader the chance to form an opinion. This is the absolute right of any author, but is so unfortunate, because Thailand is one of the most fantastic, friendly countries in the world to those who can manage to conduct themselves with respect when they visit. I have traveled to Thailand twice in the last 8 months, have many Thai friends and to say that I adore the country would be an understatement. Then again, I am NOT A HEROIN SMUGGLER! Fellows wastes many pages blaming his predicament on the corrupt police force of the "messed-up" country that is Thailand and says he "won't travel to Thailand again for anything in this life." That's good because I doubt anyone in the "Land of Smiles" wants him back.
Rating: Summary: Lacking detail and substance Review: What makes for a good book dealing with true accounts are the vivid descriptions and details of the story, which I found lacking in this book. Very little information on the friend he shared time with, or the details of his life. Somewhat of a let down.
Rating: Summary: Account of Thai prison life leaves question marks Review: Australian Warren Fellows was arrested in Bangkok in 1978 with a suitcase full of heroin destined for Sydney. This wasn't the first such shipment Fellows had made, but this time he got caught, having been under surveillance since an earlier trip. The book tells his version of events that led to his arrest and conviction and how he spent almost 12 years in Thai prisons. Fellows isn't a great writer, but that can be forgiven if an author has something important to say. Fellows does, but perhaps not always in the way intended. That Thai prisons are hell-holes is hardly news. And while Fellows admits his heroin trafficking crimes, even to the point of boasting about how good he was at it, there isn't much regret or soul-searching in this book. What there is, however, is hardship, self-pity and bizarre, brutal episodes from prison life, some of which are hard to believe. This may have to do with the fact that Fellows became addicted to heroin himself while in Thai prisons - an ironic, almost karmic turn of events. I kept reading because the book gives insight in how a man with much to answer for, answers for it. The rationalisations and the filtering one suspects when events are retold, and the character the writers voice hints of, gives the book an unusual feel. And the violence is so graphic that I had to skip some parts. Someone once said that you can judge a country by how it treats its inmates. On this account, Thailand does not do well. So if you are interested in this issue, read the book, and make up your own mind about Fellows' story. Other books in the same genre: If you want a more sober account of the Thai prison system, "The poison river" by Steve Raymond is recommended. Or, if you if you simply want to read the greatest prison autobiography of all time, try "Papillon", the 1969 classic by Henri Charriere.
Rating: Summary: Profoundly moving story. Review: Last year I spent time in prison in a foreign country. A friend gave me this book about six months after I returned home. Fellows's story moved me deeply. It made me re-appreciate my freedom and my life. It's hard to believe that anyone could endure the tortures he did and live to tell about it. Fellows manages to communicate the lonliness and desparation of prison-life in a foreign land.
Rating: Summary: an excellent true harrowing story Review: I bought this book whilst waiting for a flight to London from Bangok Airport the very place Fellows was caught. I could not put the book down and read it completley in about 5 hours. Not many times in my life has reading a book left me almost physically sick. The incident with the Frenchman who had a lump in his neck is something I will never forget. Any body who ever thinks about trafficking drugs should read this book and I am certain most will think very hard about the consequences of their actions. Tony Kirkham Manchester England
Rating: Summary: very descriptive and quite shaking. Review: one of the most shocking books i have ever read i feel that no person should ever be thrown into a situation like the one Fellows was placed.
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