Don Winslow's latest book (after _California Fire and Life_),
_The Power of the Dog_, is an epic look at the US war on
drugs from its earliest beginnings to more recent times. The
book is violent and thrilling and heart-breaking, as it
follows a large cast of characters from the early 1970s
through 2004, showing how the competing interests and agendas
of various government agencies (the CIA, the DEA, etc.) often
got in the way of successfully combatting the problem, and
often only served to make things much worse. Art Keller, the
book's protagonist, is a half-Hispanic DEA agent who grew up
in the San Diego barrio and saw the effects of drugs on his
friends and family firsthand. As a rookie agent, he makes the
mistake of befriending Don Miguel Angel Barrera, one of the
top Mexican policemen, in an effort to topple the reigning
drug kingpin. Barrera proceeds to move into the subsequent
power vacuum and sets up La Federaccion, a much more
well-organized and deadly organization than previously
existed, and run by his two nephews, the intelligent and
sensitive Adan, and the flashy and violent Raul. This sets in
motion a 30-year vendetta on Keller's part, as he attempts to
take down the Barreras and atone for his mistake, a vendetta
that will lead to the deaths of numerous innocent parties
along the way, and to Keller's estrangement from his own wife
and children.
The book was a fast-moving, though extremely violent novel.
In a little over 500 pages, Winslow does an amazing job of
encapsulating a lot of recent history, including the Camarena
murder, the Iran-Contra scandal, and other events, into a
very readable and entertaining novel, one of the best I've
read recently.
Craig Larson Plymouth, MN
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