God's Middle Finger: Into The Lawless Heart Of The Sierra Madre (2008)

Book Info

Author

Richard Grant

Genre

Memoir & Autobiography

Rating

3.95 of 5 Votes: 5

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ISBN

1416534407 (ISBN13: 9781416534402)

Language

English

Publisher

Free Press

Shops

Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble

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About book God's Middle Finger: Into The Lawless Heart Of The Sierra Madre (2008)

What a great book...Richard Grant is crazy! He travels to parts of the world that most people would avoid and gives you the street-level (or gutter-level) view of a place. This book is a sometimes gut-wrenching immersion in the underbelly of the Sierra Madres and will educate while it entertains and amazes. I have a better understanding of the historic, economic, and social forces in this dysfunctional part of the world. Gringos that read this will sympathize more with the reasons immigrants seek a better life in the US. It shows that the idiosyncratic 'Mexican' culture of guns, drugs, machismo, and lawlessness is very real and pervasive, while also balancing with redeeming human connections Grant makes along the way. I found this book fascinating to read but it made me very uncomfortable at times. The book is about a world of men and men who do not have any respect for females and are completely ruled by their own peacock vanities.I had a hard time staying with Richard as it felt like he vacillated between being accepted by this hard drinking,coke snorting murderous bunch of bullies and moments of clarity when he recognizes the machismo culture as the very dangerous element it is.A very interesting book.