Once I started reading this book, I found it difficult to put down. Rusty Young writes with enthusiasm and generates so much interest you want to keep reading. Marching Powder largely documents Thomas Mcfadden's incarceration in San Pedro, but the real anti-star of the book turns out to be the prison itself. Some of the events and activities that take place within the prison walls defy belief, and it certainly becomes clear why San Pedro is regarded as one of the most notorious prisons in Bolivia, possibly in that part of the world as well. An excellent book, well worth buying!
Just read it & you still wont belive it! But things like this still happen today, not so much in britain but in places such as Bolivia where it is the norm for inmates and their wives & children to live in prison with them, where pure cocaine is manufactured in the prison, where inmates buy their own cells oh & if a prisoner doesnt want to cook for themselves they can pop into one of the on site prison restuarants owned & run by the inmates! Not to mention the heiracy in prison from the slums to the 5 & a half * cells owned by wealthy prisoners. If a tourist wants a tour they are truely welcome & they can even stay the night! Yes all very strange but very very true in the time when san pedro prison was open! Be prepared to be shocked & surprised, i still cant stop telling people to buy this amazing book!
Oh my god, this is an excellent book, and I havn't put it down since I started reading it! I have nearly finished it (so not completely qualified to give a review) and I have never read anything like it! I didn't know prisons like the one in San Pedro existed, we lead such sheltered lives here in the UK. VERY interesting, I have laughed through this book, been disgusted, and totally amazed by the content. If you ever only read one book in your life read this. x