A review by sunny76
The Beast: Riding the Rails and Dodging Narcos on the Migrant Trail by Óscar Martínez

4.0

This is journalism converted into book format, so it's not a story in that sense. It is the story of Central Americans and their trips through Mexico to get to the United States. There is a large section about riding the beast through Mexico, the migrant shelters along the routes, and how some people end up staying in certain areas. Later in the book, there is a section about northern Mexico border life over the years and how towns have changed over time. From when migrants began passing through, to when drug traffickers passed through, the impacts of the drug traffickers on the border towns and the migrants, and how sooner or later the small border towns become ghost towns. The author spent three years working the routes and telling the stories. There is a lot to learn in these pages, not the least of which is how bad it must be in Central America for people to endure the trip.