≡ [PDF] Bandit Roads Into the Lawless Heart of the Sierra Madre grantrichard 9780316729369 Books

Bandit Roads Into the Lawless Heart of the Sierra Madre grantrichard 9780316729369 Books

Download As PDF : Bandit Roads Into the Lawless Heart of the Sierra Madre grantrichard 9780316729369 Books

Bandit Roads Into the Lawless Heart of the Sierra Madre grantrichard 9780316729369 Books

Wonderful read, if you speak Spanish and love the mountains and adventure, this book is for you. My mind is made up, I'm never going to Sierra Madre myself but I'm glad Richard Grant did and told his tale.


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Bandit Roads Into the Lawless Heart of the Sierra Madre grantrichard 9780316729369 Books Reviews

This is a book that is a really quick read, but has considerable depth as the author seems to have grasped tenets of Mexican narco-culture which all the King's policy makers can't begin to understand. It also humorously points out that major destabilization is just south of the US border, with lawlessness and brutality that rivaling that of the Afghan/Pakistan region--a geographically far off region where the US has many more troops deployed!

Pick it up if you're at Heathrow, you won't be disappointed. I read 90% it on a flight from London to Washington.
In America this book is entitled "Gods Middle Finger" (isbn 978146534402) but the title was changed in the UK for obvious reasons.
This is the story of a young man with an obsession to travel the 900 mile length of the Sierra Madre rang in northern Mexico despite the warnings of the evident dangers in this lawless part of Mexico.
He recounts his dealings with drug dealers,drunks,murderers,the mafia, wild Indians and decent people in a most fascinating manner .
That he succeds in his jouirney is more by good luck than anything else.
A ver good account of a little known part of the world.
Richard Grant is a remarkable writer and he holds my attention throughout this account. The only other book of his that I have read is the outstanding "Ghost Riders"("American Nomads"), so perhaps it is only to be expected that, for me, this suffers in comparison. Ghost Riders (as I remember it) is suffused with a sense of awe at the wide open spaces and the humans that wander in them. This book does touch into the same motherlode transcendence in its portrayal of the immensity and wonder of the Sierra Madre, but in my reading this gets submerged under the continual alcohol, violence, macho posturing and drug trafficking of almost everyone the author encounters.

True there is also great warmth and humanity, and there is much that is interesting for me. I particularly appreciated his accounts of the Apache, Tarahumaras and Guarijos. I have never been to Mexico but, for me, Richard credibly conveys the magical realism that he always found just beneath the surface wherever he went. The only other writer that I have read who journeyed as interestingly in this part of the world was Frank Waters, but then I have yet to follow up some of Richard's listed references. (A "Thank you" here for the list of references, and for those in "Ghost Riders" also).

I was puzzled by Richard's need to continue to take risks. For much of the last third of the book I found myself saying "What are you doing there?" "Why are you staying there?" "Why not hang out with some other people?" So many of these encounters seem fraught with danger and essentially unrewarding unless you're in the local business that I'm reminded of seeing how far you can bend a ruler before it snaps.

All in all, well worth reading. At the same time I am sure there must be other Mexicos and other Sierra Madres co-existing in this same universe.
Fast read. Author seems to be oblivious to danger he was in
Lackluster description of towns and area visited

Clearly not a 5 star book
This is the second Richard Grant book I've read. He is a neutral and likable character in his own narrative, he does a good job mixing interesting historic detail with the experiences he has. Kind of like a more fun, faster paced, less negative Paul Theroux.
I have enjoyed every one of Richard Grants books though I will never understand his need to put himself in jeopardy but it does make for a good book to read
buy this for yourself or for anyone you know who loves a good, non-fiction historical yarn. the author is a natural storyteller.
Wonderful read, if you speak Spanish and love the mountains and adventure, this book is for you. My mind is made up, I'm never going to Sierra Madre myself but I'm glad Richard Grant did and told his tale.