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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
Leitura cativante e informativa. Desnuda o submundo complexo e sombrio do tráfico de drogas nas favelas cariocas e como este possui uma relação simbiótica com a história das favelas e com setores políticos e militares. Os personagens são complexos e aqui não se entrega um retrato maniqueísta como é comum no pior jornalismo brasileiro. O que vemos aqui é a ação de poderosas forças sociais e como pessoas comuns fazem para reagir a elas. A trajetória de Nem da Rocinha é totalmente ditada dentro dessa relação. De jovem trabalhador a chefe do tráfico, a caminhada de Nem se liga de maneira orgânica com a história de desigualdade social e ausência estatal que assola todos os jovens do seu estrato social. Leitura obrigatória para entender o Brasil dos últimos 20 anos.
Being the head of a drug cartel seems exhausting. And not fun.
This is not a TV or Internet miniseries. Nor is it a tale of limitless wealth. This is an almost journalistic look at the rise of one man, who was a hard worker and honest (but not a savant/kingpin/omnipotent lord) and rose through the ranks to command a contingent of men under an actual drug lord (actually, a couple of them).
This is as much the story of the drug trade and its associated players in one favela as it is the story of a man. He does not reach the top, he does not order the slaughter of hundreds...this is a story of the "middle management" of the drug trade.
It is interesting and new to this American reader. If you enjoy other books by [a:Misha Glenny|50524|Misha Glenny|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1211320422p2/50524.jpg], you will probably enjoy this. It is more intimate than the global reach of some of his other works. However, it also shows how the drug trade, as it evolved, pulled in a much wider swath of people. For example, individuals - men, women, children - acting as mules would carry drugs on foot across the border from Bolivia and Colombia before the operations were scaled up and used trucks and wholesale corruption.
The book does a good job of showing how a cottage industry, when it turns out to be massively profitable, quickly transforms to an efficient body, dominated by those with the best ideas and resources.
This is as much the story of the drug trade and its associated players in one favela as it is the story of a man. He does not reach the top, he does not order the slaughter of hundreds...this is a story of the "middle management" of the drug trade.
It is interesting and new to this American reader. If you enjoy other books by [a:Misha Glenny|50524|Misha Glenny|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1211320422p2/50524.jpg], you will probably enjoy this. It is more intimate than the global reach of some of his other works. However, it also shows how the drug trade, as it evolved, pulled in a much wider swath of people. For example, individuals - men, women, children - acting as mules would carry drugs on foot across the border from Bolivia and Colombia before the operations were scaled up and used trucks and wholesale corruption.
The book does a good job of showing how a cottage industry, when it turns out to be massively profitable, quickly transforms to an efficient body, dominated by those with the best ideas and resources.
This one is a good book on organized crime that looks like it lost its direction somewhere in the middle of the story. Or maybe author just did not know how to present all of the information he came across.
Author tells a very frightening story of Rio's favelas, how they came to be and how they evolved into ghetto's used by politicians of Rio as nothing more than voting sources. As such they proved to be a very suitable areas for gangsters of all kinds - due to high turn over rate of various criminal kingpins it is expected that some of them would be socially aware, something like Robin-Hood-look-a-likes. And true some of them actually had social plans and assisted their own comunities. Of course they continue selling guns, drugs etc to other favelas and parts of Rio but not in their own. State has no footprint here and what presence is there it is heavily corrupted - they basically act as just another gang.
But then author loses a story direction a bit. By telling the story of Antonio, Nem of Rocinha favela, he tries to tell the story of a man who becomes gangster by turn of events and not by his own choice. He is the kingpin of Rocinha favela, one that helps his people but as story goes on it gets lost that he is for all intents and purposes a gangster, cartel kingpin heavily involved in drug and gun trade. And this is where book loses the momentum. If humane side of Nem could have been given differently with point on social effect favelas have on their inhabitants - due both the internal (basically wild west environment without presence of [true] law enforcement, extremely poor communities) and external factors (treatment by other, richer, parts of city as something to be destroyed and removed to get access to the land for building and expansion and left at mercy of corrupted state officials) - this would be a much better book.
In any case for anyone interested in urban crime, urban development and social seggregation in modern metropolis this is highly recommended.
Author tells a very frightening story of Rio's favelas, how they came to be and how they evolved into ghetto's used by politicians of Rio as nothing more than voting sources. As such they proved to be a very suitable areas for gangsters of all kinds - due to high turn over rate of various criminal kingpins it is expected that some of them would be socially aware, something like Robin-Hood-look-a-likes. And true some of them actually had social plans and assisted their own comunities. Of course they continue selling guns, drugs etc to other favelas and parts of Rio but not in their own. State has no footprint here and what presence is there it is heavily corrupted - they basically act as just another gang.
But then author loses a story direction a bit. By telling the story of Antonio, Nem of Rocinha favela, he tries to tell the story of a man who becomes gangster by turn of events and not by his own choice. He is the kingpin of Rocinha favela, one that helps his people but as story goes on it gets lost that he is for all intents and purposes a gangster, cartel kingpin heavily involved in drug and gun trade. And this is where book loses the momentum. If humane side of Nem could have been given differently with point on social effect favelas have on their inhabitants - due both the internal (basically wild west environment without presence of [true] law enforcement, extremely poor communities) and external factors (treatment by other, richer, parts of city as something to be destroyed and removed to get access to the land for building and expansion and left at mercy of corrupted state officials) - this would be a much better book.
In any case for anyone interested in urban crime, urban development and social seggregation in modern metropolis this is highly recommended.
An interesting biography addressing corruption in Brazilian politics and policing
3.5/5 rounded up because i liked it
really interesting account of the factors that led to the rise and fall of a notorious drug lord in rio. my favorite parts were the descriptions of life in the favelas and how ordinary residents adapted to the violence of their surroundings. i think this book does a really good job of showing how they were abandoned by the state and basically everyone except other favela residents, which is why they trusted the traffickers from the favelas marginally more than police.
this book's biggest flaw is that it sympathizes too much with its main character. the author skips over nem's abuse of the women in his life and paints him as reluctant to kill. there's no doubt that he did try to reduce violence against civilians in the favela but acting like he wouldn't kill others involved in trafficking is ridiculous. i wouldn't say that it glorifies nem and especially doesn't glorify the business of trafficking but its a little too forgiving. it was also hard to understand at times because it jumps around quite a bit but once you get used to the writing style it's fairly clear.
really interesting account of the factors that led to the rise and fall of a notorious drug lord in rio. my favorite parts were the descriptions of life in the favelas and how ordinary residents adapted to the violence of their surroundings. i think this book does a really good job of showing how they were abandoned by the state and basically everyone except other favela residents, which is why they trusted the traffickers from the favelas marginally more than police.
this book's biggest flaw is that it sympathizes too much with its main character. the author skips over nem's abuse of the women in his life and paints him as reluctant to kill. there's no doubt that he did try to reduce violence against civilians in the favela but acting like he wouldn't kill others involved in trafficking is ridiculous. i wouldn't say that it glorifies nem and especially doesn't glorify the business of trafficking but its a little too forgiving. it was also hard to understand at times because it jumps around quite a bit but once you get used to the writing style it's fairly clear.
informative
Described as Breaking Bad meet City of God. Interesting journalistic account of how Rio is split into favela's (slums) and in this case a bandito with a social conscience who takes care of the people in his slum. As a westerner it is so hard to understand all of the political and social machinations that make up Brazil and this book confounds us even more.
Biography of a drug trafficker and de facto mayor, bank manager, police chief and head of social services for a town of 100,000, namely the favela of Rocinha in Rio. Despite the title, the Nem nickname means ‘baby’ (neném): he started off in the criminal organization so he could pay his daughter’s medical bills. His rise and fall is followed through the context of Brazilian politics and overlapping police forces. I remember Misha Glenny on the radio as a war correspondent in the 1990s, and this book has the same intelligent unflinching yet human voice.
Incredible. The writers of Narcos should take notes.