Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

At least as good as, if not better than, the movie. Very well worth the read.

Those interested in learning about the disparate personalities largely responsible for the cocaine avalanche that washed over America need only read this excellent book and Mark Bowden's equally fascinating work of non-fiction titled "Killing Pablo."

In "Blow", we laugh at the ordeals of George Jung and company as they grow rich exploiting America's burgeoning drug market while being chased, indicted, and jailed by inept and unsophisticated law enforcement agencies and prosecutors. In "Killing Pablo", we shudder over the actions of the world's (formerly) most ruthless drug lord who held Colombia hostage through rewards and ruthless punishment aptly termed "plata o plomo" (silver or lead).

Porter and Bowden performed exhaustive research on their respective protagonists and produced rousing narratives. Two of the finest works of non-fiction - of any topic - I've ever read.

George Jung is widely acknowedged as the man who introduced cocaine for mass consumption to people in the United States, and this book tells us how he did it. Sort of a lesson in how to smuggle.

From his begginings as a high school football player, through his early days selling marijuana in Florida, right through to his career as the number one cocaine supplier in the US and ending up with him languishing in prison, every aspect of his life is covered here in all it's glory.

With a life as rich in detail as Jung's, the book could easily have become bogged down in detail, but it's to the writers credit that he never lets the pace flag.

Highly reccommended.

Ever wonder what would be your life if they made it a movie?
Awesome book! Well-written for a pop bio.

I fell asleep reading it, dreamt about about the Medellin cartel, picked it up again before getting out of bed.

This, the real story, was messier than the movie. The essence was the same, but the order was different. Details were moved around. George had a sister. His girlfriend didn't die of cancer. He didn't quit after breaking with Carlos.

That was interesting to me, but I found this story just amazing. . . and well put-together. Good work Porter.

Like I said, the movies better. This may be the tell-tale truth but you'll find that it is a complete 180 from the movie. If you've seen the movie, you're bound to get confused during the reading. A lot of this book is jumping back and forth, more fact than story-telling. George Jung was definitely a huge player in the cocaine business, though I think he is rather over-rated as a public star. I found myself during this book reading a paragraph three times over but finally going to the next with "this doesn't make sense". A good book in the aspect that it's the true account of the life of George young. If you really want to know about the business and others like it, search elsewhere for detail.

I enjoyed reading this book very much. The book starts out with a boy that decides he never wants to be poor. When the boy becomes a teenager he moves out and beigns to sell marijuana. Come to find out he could make a lot more money if he sells marijuana throughout the country. Later in the story he ends getting busted for selling narcotics. His mother disowns him, his wife divorces him, and his daughter hates him. The story is a very good story bit I personallly didn't enjoy the ending. I feel the part in the end when he is making his last deal, just to make some good money to retire with and go to California with his daughter, he should not get busted by the cops. I would have enjoyed the ending better if it would have had George Jung, the main character, in a big beautiful house in California with his daughter. Instead the ending is George in a prison.

Only in america could a middle class football star become a huge player in bringing cocaine to america. It was amazing the amounts of money that george jung was making to the point that he was placing money in the ventalation ducts he was makinging so much that he had fake ducts installed just to hide money.MAkes you wonder when enough money is enough.This is a good book to read

Saw this movie and had to read the book.
What a powerful work. George Jung is a genius in what he does, unfortunately his work is illegal. He outsmarted all of them in the beginning. You have to feel some sympathy for his financial loss. Would love to know what he is thinking now.
Great book. Must read.

This was one of the best books I've read - it's like reading about a trainwreck. The author does a wonderful job describing the events like a reporter would. I almost wish there was a sequel...

I really enjoyed reading this book. It is a true story of the rise & fall of George Jung. George became involved with smuggling pot in from Mexico in the 1960's & went on to become one of the founding members of the Colombian Cocaine Cartel led by Pablo Escobar. Geogre intially was Pablo's MAJOR U.S. cocaine distributor, was the one link Pablo had to the U.S. cocaine distribution network. Another Colombian, Carlos Ledher, stole George's U.S. connections, & cut him out of the business. George then basically married into a Colombian family, and started moving smaller cocaine contract loads through a relative by marriage-Humberto. Humberto was connected to Pablo Escobar.
This book is well written, and also tells a bit about drugs, their cultivation, the human physiology of drug interactions, and how basic smuggling operations are established. It is also just a plain good story. I thought the ending was a bit sad though.
To clear up the question of: "Is George free, or in Prison". George was free, and delivering seafood to restaurants in Massachusetts. He subsequently got busted smuggling pot from Mexico, and received a 22 year jail sentence in 1993-1994, and is currtely in prison at Otisville, New York.