Marching Powder

A True Story of Friendship, Cocaine, and South America's Strangest Jail

Nonfiction, Travel, Caribbean & Latin America, South America, Biography & Memoir
Cover of the book Marching Powder by Thomas McFadden, Rusty Young, St. Martin's Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Thomas McFadden, Rusty Young ISBN: 9781466817326
Publisher: St. Martin's Press Publication: May 1, 2004
Imprint: St. Martin's Griffin Language: English
Author: Thomas McFadden, Rusty Young
ISBN: 9781466817326
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication: May 1, 2004
Imprint: St. Martin's Griffin
Language: English

Rusty Young was backpacking in South America when he heard about Thomas McFadden, a convicted English drug trafficker who ran tours inside Bolivia's notorious San Pedro prison. Intrigued, the young Australian journalist went to La Paz and joined one of Thomas's illegal tours. They formed an instant friendship and then became partners in an attempt to record Thomas's experiences in the jail. Rusty bribed the guards to allow him to stay and for the next three months he lived inside the prison, sharing a cell with Thomas and recording one of the strangest and most compelling prison stories of all time. The result is Marching Powder.

This book establishes that San Pedro is not your average prison. Inmates are expected to buy their cells from real estate agents. Others run shops and restaurants. Women and children live with imprisoned family members. It is a place where corrupt politicians and drug lords live in luxury apartments, while the poorest prisoners are subjected to squalor and deprivation. Violence is a constant threat, and sections of San Pedro that echo with the sound of children by day house some of Bolivia's busiest cocaine laboratories by night. In San Pedro, cocaine--"Bolivian marching powder"--makes life bearable. Even the prison cat is addicted.

Yet Marching Powder is also the tale of friendship, a place where horror is countered by humor and cruelty and compassion can inhabit the same cell. This is cutting-edge travel-writing and a fascinating account of infiltration into the South American drug culture.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Rusty Young was backpacking in South America when he heard about Thomas McFadden, a convicted English drug trafficker who ran tours inside Bolivia's notorious San Pedro prison. Intrigued, the young Australian journalist went to La Paz and joined one of Thomas's illegal tours. They formed an instant friendship and then became partners in an attempt to record Thomas's experiences in the jail. Rusty bribed the guards to allow him to stay and for the next three months he lived inside the prison, sharing a cell with Thomas and recording one of the strangest and most compelling prison stories of all time. The result is Marching Powder.

This book establishes that San Pedro is not your average prison. Inmates are expected to buy their cells from real estate agents. Others run shops and restaurants. Women and children live with imprisoned family members. It is a place where corrupt politicians and drug lords live in luxury apartments, while the poorest prisoners are subjected to squalor and deprivation. Violence is a constant threat, and sections of San Pedro that echo with the sound of children by day house some of Bolivia's busiest cocaine laboratories by night. In San Pedro, cocaine--"Bolivian marching powder"--makes life bearable. Even the prison cat is addicted.

Yet Marching Powder is also the tale of friendship, a place where horror is countered by humor and cruelty and compassion can inhabit the same cell. This is cutting-edge travel-writing and a fascinating account of infiltration into the South American drug culture.

More books from St. Martin's Press

Cover of the book Edward VI by Thomas McFadden, Rusty Young
Cover of the book SPQR VIII: The River God's Vengeance by Thomas McFadden, Rusty Young
Cover of the book Rising by Thomas McFadden, Rusty Young
Cover of the book Brutal Simplicity of Thought by Thomas McFadden, Rusty Young
Cover of the book Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits by Thomas McFadden, Rusty Young
Cover of the book The Hand That Trembles by Thomas McFadden, Rusty Young
Cover of the book The Future of Terrorism by Thomas McFadden, Rusty Young
Cover of the book Keeper of the House by Thomas McFadden, Rusty Young
Cover of the book The Smart Girl's Guide to Tarot by Thomas McFadden, Rusty Young
Cover of the book Shades of Murder by Thomas McFadden, Rusty Young
Cover of the book City of Fire by Thomas McFadden, Rusty Young
Cover of the book The Playboy Prince and the Nanny by Thomas McFadden, Rusty Young
Cover of the book The Second Home Book by Thomas McFadden, Rusty Young
Cover of the book Deadline Y2K by Thomas McFadden, Rusty Young
Cover of the book In Sight of Stars by Thomas McFadden, Rusty Young
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy