absolutely rivetting. If this was fiction, it would be un-put-downable

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1238916...

The book is an excellent run through the pervasive infiltration of organised crime around the world, which Glenny attributes largely to the collapse of the Soviet Union (though with a nod also to the US War on Drugs). He takes us on a breathless tour of the underworld in the Balkans, Russia, Ukraine, Israel, India, Dubai, Nigeria, South Africa, North America, Colombia, Brazil, Japan and finally China - which will have a key role in the future of crime, for good or ill. As always, he mixes deft character sketches of the personalities with gobsmacked horror at what is going on.

I must say that in general his account reinforces my libertarian instincts - criminalising drug use has little effect other than to empower and enrich criminals; stringent immigration laws enable and reward human trafficking; prohibiting prostitution makes vulnerable women even more vulnerable. The one area where this doesn't work of course is in the exploitation of scarce natural resources - the account of what is happening to the Caspian Sea's caviar is very depressing.

An excellent book, and an easy if sometimes wrenching read. ( )

Glenny is no prose stylist, but, as with his best work on the Balkans, this book is compulsively readable and plenty scary. ( )

Pros: very informative; good writing
Cons: uneven in various parts; some are very cursory. Some information is old; the part on cyber-crime is poor quality which led me to suspect the quality of other parts. (I am working in IT. So if I happen to find the topic which I am slightly familiar with has such low quality, maybe I just find other parts interesting because I am ignorant). ( )