Bruce Porter (1) (1938–)

This is one of the better books about the drug trade that I have read. The level of detail that Porter provides about the smuggling operations is excellent. He devotes a good portion of the book to discussion of this and that's the main reason why this book is so interesting. On the other hand, George Jung's story is a typical story of the drug dealer who doesn't know when to stop. I did think that discussing Jung's childhood did not really help the book in any way. It simply gave us background that really was not required to understand the rest of his life. Porter might have been better served by focusing less on Jung and more on the smuggling. Overall, however, I would recommend this book.… (more)

After watching the film of the same name in which Johnny Depp depicts drug smuggler George Jung, I found myself wondering if I too should put together a high-scale cocaine smuggling operation. After all, it seemed like fun. All those parties, traveling to exotic locations, marrying Penelope Cruz. What is there not to like about it?! Okay, there is the small case of incarceration in one of America’s most notorious prisons, so before I jump at setting myself up with some unsavory Colombian friends, maybe I should explore this little venture in a bit more detail.

And that has how I found myself reading Bruce Porter’s account of How a Small-Town Boy Made $100 Million with the Medellin Cocaine Cartel and Lost It All and here is a quick spoiler – I won’t be following up on any of those dreams of starting up my own magic Charlie (minus the chocolate) Factory.

To read the rest of this review please click here:
http://stevenscaffardi.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/blow-by-bruce-porter-book-review.h...… (more)

There was a movie based on this book, which was written about the life of a marijuana and cocaine smuggler. George Jung married into what was eventually known as the Medellìn Cartel, made hundreds of millions of dollars, and supposedly lost it all.The book provides a lot of interesting information and accounts of drug production, smuggling, and dealing since the 1960s. It occasionally attempts to romaticize the lifestyle of George Jung, but the realities of his life–addiction, a daughter he hardly knows, parents who disowned him, and many years behind bars–are more sad than attractive. Entertaining, but not impressive… (more)