Blow: How a Small-Town Boy Made $100 Million with the Medellin Cocaine Cartel and Lost It All

I read a lot of true crime just for it being in that genre. This one, specifically, I thought to read while doing a re-watch of the Depp movie. Of course, more goes on in the book and more than could have been in the movie. The extremity of Jung's drug use and the kinkiness of sex life could have been more underscored, both for drama and humor. Interestingly, Barile of the Tonsorial Parlor does not come across as colorful as the Reubens portrayal so I wonder how much there was to that, maybe just script and/or improv. (Reubens did need to show what he could do as an actor at that time.)

This is fast-paced and a good read, really amazing to what heights Jung went to as the American rep for the Medellín Cartel generally and Pablo Escobar show more specifically.

Something this book does not answer, and maybe cannot be answered, is why while accumulating millions of dollars and years of incarceration did not Jung stop on his own, sooner?

The excess and success of Carlos Lehder is as intertwined with the rise and downfall of Jung here as in the movie and it would seem a movie or book length treatment of that mad criminal's own arc is worth doing. show less

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.

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 show more 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... show less

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

Saw the film....4 stars just for Depp (superficial I know, but hey!). Should read the book.