- Hardcover: 304 pages
- Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; 1 edition (Feb 25 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0446178926
- ISBN-13: 978-0446178921
- Product Dimensions: 15.9 x 2.5 x 23.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 499 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#148,803 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #7 in Books > History > Americas > South America > Colombia
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Product Details |
Product Description
Product Description
"I have many scars. Some of them are physical, but many more are scars on my soul. A bomb sent to kill me while I was in a maximum security prison has made me blind, yet now I see the world more clearly than I have ever seen it before. I have lived an incredible adventure. I watched as my brother, Pablo Escobar, became the most successful criminal in history, but also a hero to many of the people of Colombia. My brother was loved and he was feared. Hundreds of thousands of people marched in his funeral procession, and certainly as many people celebrated his death."
These are the words of Roberto Escobar-the top accountant for the notorious and deadly Medellín Cartel, and brother of Pablo Escobar, the most famous drug lord in history. At the height of his reign, Pablo's multibillion-dollar operation smuggled tons of cocaine each week into countries all over the world. Roberto and his ten accountants kept track of all the money. Only Pablo and Roberto knew where it was stashed-and what it bought.
And the amounts of money were simply staggering. According to Roberto, it cost $2,500 every month just to purchase the rubber bands needed to wrap the stacks of cash. The biggest problem was finding a place to store it: from secret compartments in walls and beneath swimming pools to banks and warehouses everywhere. There was so much money that Roberto would sometimes write off ten percent as "spoilage," meaning either rats had chewed up the bills or dampness had ruined the cash.
Roberto writes about the incredible violence of the cartel, but he also writes of the humanitarian side of his brother. Pablo built entire towns, gave away thousands of houses, paid people's medical expenses, and built schools and hospitals. Yet he was responsible for the horrible deaths of thousands of people.
In short, this is the story of a world of riches almost beyond mortal imagination, and in his own words, Roberto Escobar tells all: building a magnificent zoo at Pablo's opulent home, the brothers' many escapes into the jungles of Colombia, devising ingenious methods to smuggle tons of cocaine into the United States, bribing officials with literally millions of dollars-and building a personal army to protect the Escobar family against an array of enemies sworn to kill them.
Few men in history have been more beloved-or despised-than Pablo Escobar. Now, for the first time, his story is told by the man who knew him best: his brother, Roberto.
These are the words of Roberto Escobar-the top accountant for the notorious and deadly Medellín Cartel, and brother of Pablo Escobar, the most famous drug lord in history. At the height of his reign, Pablo's multibillion-dollar operation smuggled tons of cocaine each week into countries all over the world. Roberto and his ten accountants kept track of all the money. Only Pablo and Roberto knew where it was stashed-and what it bought.
And the amounts of money were simply staggering. According to Roberto, it cost $2,500 every month just to purchase the rubber bands needed to wrap the stacks of cash. The biggest problem was finding a place to store it: from secret compartments in walls and beneath swimming pools to banks and warehouses everywhere. There was so much money that Roberto would sometimes write off ten percent as "spoilage," meaning either rats had chewed up the bills or dampness had ruined the cash.
Roberto writes about the incredible violence of the cartel, but he also writes of the humanitarian side of his brother. Pablo built entire towns, gave away thousands of houses, paid people's medical expenses, and built schools and hospitals. Yet he was responsible for the horrible deaths of thousands of people.
In short, this is the story of a world of riches almost beyond mortal imagination, and in his own words, Roberto Escobar tells all: building a magnificent zoo at Pablo's opulent home, the brothers' many escapes into the jungles of Colombia, devising ingenious methods to smuggle tons of cocaine into the United States, bribing officials with literally millions of dollars-and building a personal army to protect the Escobar family against an array of enemies sworn to kill them.
Few men in history have been more beloved-or despised-than Pablo Escobar. Now, for the first time, his story is told by the man who knew him best: his brother, Roberto.
About the Author
Roberto Escobar resides in Colombia. Under the rules of his parole, he cannot leave the country.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
One side of the story...the AWESOME side,
This review is from: The Accountant's Story: Inside the Violent World of the Medellín Cartel (Hardcover)
This book makes you grip to the edge of your seat. It is somewhat biased by the story teller, Pablos brother. Nonetheless there are stories that I found hard not to believe. Trust me, I got people ;)
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
The book is of low quality.,
This review is from: The Accountant's Story: Inside the Violent World of the Medellín Cartel (Paperback)
This book essentially offers more insight into the world of Pablo Escobar and how he came to be one of the most infamous drug lords of our time. The books point of view is told from Pablo's' very own brother Roberto Escobar. Being the story is told by a close family member who would have known Pablo better than anyone the accounts in the story should than because of this be as good as if it were written by Pablo himself. Unfortunately what you get instead with "The Accountants Story" is a very unsatisfying novel for many reasons. There is no remorse from Roberto throughout the story, he doesn't seem to grasp the extent of how much damage Pablo brought to so many lives or he just doesn't really care, he claims to be completely innocent of no other crime other than being the brother of Pablo Escobar, so he clearly must have forgotten he was the accountant who hid and organized the funds that fueled an evil dictator who had thousands of people murdered. He claims to know the kind hearted side of Pablo who gave back to the people of Columbia with his millions but when it comes to the evil Pablo, he doesn't seem to know this man very well, he will tell of the evil story with sentences like "I was not there so I cannot say for sure" or "I cannot say if this is true and I doubt it is". He seems to represent Pablo as a product of his environment and that the violence was in Columbia before Pablo, not realizing that adding to it didn't help his country much. It just seems like he is brushing off the bad and exploiting the good, when it comes to his brother. The worst thing about the book for me was there are so many contradictions and mistakes.The book is alright for getting a deeper look at Pablo's' life. There are interesting parts like the stories of the escapes into the jungle, but most of the stories comes off as sympathetic to a man who was responsible for so many deaths, it can be believed like Roberto says that it is not all on Pablo's hands but a hell of a lot of it was and he doesn't own up to being a part of those responsible. He is just along for the ride, enjoys the money, actually organizes it too, helps Pablo escape the police and government many times but he's not guilty of any crime and the crimes Pablo committed were bad yes, but hey it's not that bad because they built some soccer fields and houses for some poor people...this after they built a zoo and about a 100 mansions all over the country for themselves first of course. You start to wonder in the end if maybe the guy isn't all there in the head, I mean before someone sent him a bomb in the mail while he was imprisoned.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.7 out of 5 stars (22 customer reviews) 5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pablo, according to Roberto,
By rry007 - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Accountant's Story: Inside the Violent World of the Medellín Cartel (Hardcover)
The Accountant's Story is the story of Pablo Escobar and the Medellin cartel, as told by Pablo's older brother, Roberto. It starts with their meager beginnings, and how growing up in poverty gave Pablo the drive and ambition needed to rule. Unlike published reports and accounts of Pablo, however, Roberto paints a starkly different picture of his brother. In his eyes, Pablo was smart and compassionate, always helping those in poverty. He took care of his friends and family, and many many people who worked for Pablo made more than enough to support their own families. Roberto even talks about how his life turned out as a consequence of being associated with Pablo.I was fascinated to read about how much money cocaine brought in-for the pilots, guards, customs agents, and drivers that worked for Escobar. The staggering amount of money, and finding places to hide it all was really interesting. As Pablo's accountant, Roberto had to figure out ways to hide the money, partially by investing in real estate, and partially by hiding stacks of bills in between walls. The fact that drugs routinely got seized and hundreds of thousands of dollars were lost each month was inconsequential. They wrote off a lot of money each month just because of water damage it sustained hiding in walls, or because they couldn't remember where they hid some of the money. Remember, since all this was illegal, they couldn't just deposit the money in bank accounts. The amounts were truly staggering. Roberto also goes into great detail about the fall of the Medellin cartel: the days spent in hiding, plans for escaping, negotiations regarding the extradition laws, and also Pablo's death. While I don't hold Pablo in any high regard or think he is a hero, this book is a fascinating account of Pablo, from the eyes of people in Colombia and all those that he helped. I understand that back then, cocaine didn't have the stigma it has in recent years, but the fact that Roberto seemed so cavalier about the consequences of drug use irritated me. In addition, a few times in the book he talks about things that happened to him solely because he was Pablo's brother. I think he is a bit delusional, since, as accountant, he knew intimately about many of Pablo's activities. Overall, though, this story was fascinating and a riveting read. 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good read but full of mistakes.,
By Philippe Bourgoin - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Accountant's Story: Inside the Violent World of the Medellín Cartel (Hardcover)
The book does give the reader a great amount of information on the life of pablo etc.While i was reading the book i came across far to many spelling mistakes and inconsistencies . its a shame because the content is good, however untrue it might be (considering its his brother who wrote the book). I would recommend it, just dont take everything it says as a 100% fact! 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
somewhat disappointed,
By Gerard D. Fritz - Published on Amazon.com
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This review is from: The Accountant's Story: Inside the Violent World of the Medellín Cartel (Hardcover)
I bought this book because it seemed interesting and I liked the movie "American Gangster". The story is interesting, but the book was disappointing. It is rambling and not that well-written. The story romanticizes Pablo Escobar emphasizing what he did for Colombia's poor and downplays the fact that he was a ruthless drug trafficker whom people feared. But then again, it is written by his brother.
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