William C. Rempel

Very fast paced book about a man who starts cooperation with Cali narco cartel in order to defeat Escobar only to be pulled ever deeper into crime life.

When he becomes aware that he no longer can leave the cartel alive he decides it is time to survive - and as a consequence decides to bring the cartel down.

Story is very fast paced and if it weren't for all the actual deaths and atrocities it would make a fantastic fiction thriller.

Recommended to everyone interested in criminal organizations and thrillers.… (meer)

Jorge Salcedo has big brass balls. Salcedo became the head of security for the Cali cocaine cartel and gradually was drawn deeper and deeper into the dark, violent side of the cartel. His only possible escape was to bargain with the DEA and betray his cartel bosses. William C. Rempel does a remarkable job in telling this story. He doesn't make Salcedo out to be a hero, but a person who bargained with the devil and lost. I highly recommend this book to anyone wishing to understand the turmoil in Columbia over the past several decades due to the drug trade.

Thanks to Good Reads First Reads program for an early chance to read this book.… (meer)

A fascinating biography of one of the most successful entrepreneurs and financial capitalists. I began to think the author was bordering on hagiography but it turned out Kerkorian's nature was such that he did not project a lot of negatives unlike similar moguls.

Coming from humble origins he simply took on risk that most would cringe from to stair step his was to an incredible fortune. Amazingly shy and withdrawn for someone on the glare of the spotlight of success. Evidence of this was that not a single picture posted in the book, a disappointment, as pictures add so much more to a biographical work.

Yet the story was intriguing nonetheless. The twists and turns of high finance, the squaring off against Howard Hughes and later Steve Wynne in Las Vegas, and the revolving door of his personal relationships and the exploitation of against him by one of those partners.

In most respects Kerkorian never flaunted his wealth, and certainly not his celebrity as a billionaire in high profile Vegas. Unlike most others he always chose to remain in the shadows of anonymity.

He did channel some of the wealth into Armenia his ancestral homeland of tragic history. Yet he was quick to pull the plug on that near his end leaving many in the lurch. The wealth in itself became a monument unto itself. It left me wondering how much is enough, or is it even a consideration for these types. For some, like Kerkorian, it seems to become simply a game. A scorecard of numbers and accomplishments.… (meer)

This should have been a fast-paced popular history book on the Cali Cartel side of the Colombian drug wars and I suppose it must have been, although it wasn't fast-paced enough to keep my attention. It's decent narrative, but it sort of plods along and definitely suffers from being nowhere near as good as News of a Kidnapping by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It's probably not fair to compare the two, but I've decided that for me, News of a Kidnapping is the definitive word on the predations and destructiveness of the Colombian drug war. Just not the book for me.… (meer)