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zare_i's review
4.0
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.
hollyfcooper's review
3.0
An interesting biography addressing corruption in Brazilian politics and policing
comrademena's review
4.0
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.
danodog's review
4.0
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.
nealalex's review
4.0
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.
mathildestich's review against another edition
5.0
Incredible. The writers of Narcos should take notes.
lunaphorie's review against another edition
5.0
As a Brazilian who lived in Rio but also grew up in Germany, Ihave a bit of a different perspective on Rio - but I love that city to bits, even though it's one hell of a crazy dangerous place. I heard about this book on Brazilian websites when it was released in Brazil and I immediately ordered it. I still remember the night when Nem was caught in the back of a car, I as every other Brazilian watched it on TV and I remember how I felt really disgusted by the way the police and press treated Nem in that scene. It was so hypocritical because we all knew how many of the military police and civil police are involved in drug trafficking, how many politicians are part of the drug industry. How many rich kids take drugs and how many of the high society are happy to toss so much money on their cocaine.
So I felt really disgusted to see everyone bully one of the many many players in that huge game - as if all of them were in a place to point fingers since most of them were probably involved in the drug trade too. I didn't feel necessarily sorry for Nem, I knew he was a drug boss but I still felt cheap watching those stupid police man push him around in that way.
So when I heard of this book I was intrigued - interviews with Nem? I was sold.
This book turned out to be so much better than I imagined. Usually I am weary of anything a 'gringo' writes about Brazil - I have met many gringos who wanted to explain my own country to me. But Misha Glenny did a really good job on this documentary. In a way this kind of book probably couldn't have been written by a Brazilian because it needed a bit of detachment, a bit of neutrality to tell the whole story without judgement and without too many emotions. It's difficult to stay neutral when you think of the corrup politics of a place like Rio. I am already getting worked up just thinking about it. It's the epitome of unfairness, it's the perfect example of everything gone wrong. A vicious circle where no one wins in the end, except obviously the highest players.
This book tells the story of organized crime in Rio, focusing on Rocinha, the biggest favela (slum) in Brazil but also giving an insight of how the different gangs came to be, how favelas started getting involved with drugs, how police became so corrupt, and parallel to that you have Nem's story - which is equally fascinating than Rio's history with the drug business.
I can only recommend this book to everyone who is interested in learning more about how the drug industry works in South America and how it effects people's lives. But you will also get to know more about a very intelligent man who managed to become one of the most sucessful drug bosses of Rocinha in Rio.
So I felt really disgusted to see everyone bully one of the many many players in that huge game - as if all of them were in a place to point fingers since most of them were probably involved in the drug trade too. I didn't feel necessarily sorry for Nem, I knew he was a drug boss but I still felt cheap watching those stupid police man push him around in that way.
So when I heard of this book I was intrigued - interviews with Nem? I was sold.
This book turned out to be so much better than I imagined. Usually I am weary of anything a 'gringo' writes about Brazil - I have met many gringos who wanted to explain my own country to me. But Misha Glenny did a really good job on this documentary. In a way this kind of book probably couldn't have been written by a Brazilian because it needed a bit of detachment, a bit of neutrality to tell the whole story without judgement and without too many emotions. It's difficult to stay neutral when you think of the corrup politics of a place like Rio. I am already getting worked up just thinking about it. It's the epitome of unfairness, it's the perfect example of everything gone wrong. A vicious circle where no one wins in the end, except obviously the highest players.
This book tells the story of organized crime in Rio, focusing on Rocinha, the biggest favela (slum) in Brazil but also giving an insight of how the different gangs came to be, how favelas started getting involved with drugs, how police became so corrupt, and parallel to that you have Nem's story - which is equally fascinating than Rio's history with the drug business.
I can only recommend this book to everyone who is interested in learning more about how the drug industry works in South America and how it effects people's lives. But you will also get to know more about a very intelligent man who managed to become one of the most sucessful drug bosses of Rocinha in Rio.
lnatal's review against another edition
1.0
I won't waste my time with the story drug dealer killer treated as an hero!!
From BBC Radio 4 - Book of the Week:
His name was Antonio, but they would call him Nem meaning 'babe' as he was the youngest in his family. From the infamous favela of Rocinha in Rio, surrounded by the comfortable middle-class neighbourhoods of Brazil's party city, he was a hardworking young father forced to make a life-changing decision. If the only person who will lend you money in a crisis is a drug baron, then the only way you can repay him is by going to work for the gang.
Nemesis is the story of an ordinary man who became the 'don' of the largest slum in Rio. It is a story of fate and retribution, of the inevitable consequences of moral collapse and the blurred boundaries of the law. Brazil's most wanted criminal, Antonio (or 'Nem') tried to bring welfare and a crude kind of justice to a favela of over 100,000 citizens; a world governed by violence and destitution, existing beyond the rule of an equally corrupt state. But his period of ascendancy coincided with the nation's attempts to earn international respect first of all through hosting the football World Cup and then winning the right to stage the 2016 Olympics.
This is the story of how change came to Brazil. It begins with Misha Glenny meeting the eponymous Nem at a high security prison in 2012 , the account that follows is of a country's journey into the global spotlight, and the battle for the beautiful but damned city of Rio as it struggles to break free from a tangled web of corruption, violence, drugs and poverty.
Episode 1
It's 2012 and Misha Glenny travels to Brazil's top security jail to meet Antonio, known as Nem, who became one of the most feared yet respected crime lords in Rio.
Read by the author, Misha Glenny
Abridged and produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b069jf1z
From BBC Radio 4 - Book of the Week:
His name was Antonio, but they would call him Nem meaning 'babe' as he was the youngest in his family. From the infamous favela of Rocinha in Rio, surrounded by the comfortable middle-class neighbourhoods of Brazil's party city, he was a hardworking young father forced to make a life-changing decision. If the only person who will lend you money in a crisis is a drug baron, then the only way you can repay him is by going to work for the gang.
Nemesis is the story of an ordinary man who became the 'don' of the largest slum in Rio. It is a story of fate and retribution, of the inevitable consequences of moral collapse and the blurred boundaries of the law. Brazil's most wanted criminal, Antonio (or 'Nem') tried to bring welfare and a crude kind of justice to a favela of over 100,000 citizens; a world governed by violence and destitution, existing beyond the rule of an equally corrupt state. But his period of ascendancy coincided with the nation's attempts to earn international respect first of all through hosting the football World Cup and then winning the right to stage the 2016 Olympics.
This is the story of how change came to Brazil. It begins with Misha Glenny meeting the eponymous Nem at a high security prison in 2012 , the account that follows is of a country's journey into the global spotlight, and the battle for the beautiful but damned city of Rio as it struggles to break free from a tangled web of corruption, violence, drugs and poverty.
Episode 1
It's 2012 and Misha Glenny travels to Brazil's top security jail to meet Antonio, known as Nem, who became one of the most feared yet respected crime lords in Rio.
Read by the author, Misha Glenny
Abridged and produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b069jf1z
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