Jay Weaver

Definitely a remarkable work of journalism covering a very complex topic. This is an issue I knew nothing about but I found this book at my library and it seemed interesting. I appreciate the way the authors discussed the complex issues around illegal gold mining by focusing in on this one specific issue. I would recommend this book for people interested in this topic or environmental issues in general.

Expanding on investigative reporting in the Miami Herald, this is a lucid, comprehensive and entertaining account of the the market in illegally-mined gold and its congruence with narcotrafficking and money-laundering. The dramatis personae are as outlandish as you'd expect: my favourite being undergrad Chilean gold kingpin Harold Vilches who gets himself into a tight spot (and comically ripped off) on an ill-advised trip to Tanzania.