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God's Middle Finger: Into the Lawless Heart of the Sierra Madre
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God's Middle Finger: Into the Lawless Heart of the Sierra Madre Paperback - 2008

by Richard Grant

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Part gonzo misadventure, part cultural history, "God's Middle Finger" explores a fascinating land--the Sierra Madre mountains of Mexico--where few outsiders are foolish enough to venture.

Summary

Twenty miles south of the Arizona-Mexico border, the rugged, beautiful Sierra Madre mountains begin their dramatic ascent. Almost 900 miles long, the range climbs to nearly 11,000 feet and boasts several canyons deeper than the Grand Canyon. The rules of law and society have never taken hold in the Sierra Madre, which is home to bandits, drug smugglers, Mormons, cave-dwelling Tarahumara Indians, opium farmers, cowboys, and other assorted outcasts. Outsiders are not welcome; drugs are the primary source of income; murder is all but a regional pastime. The Mexican army occasionally goes in to burn marijuana and opium crops -- the modern treasure of the Sierra Madre -- but otherwise the government stays away. In its stead are the drug lords, who have made it one of the biggest drug-producing areas in the world.

Fifteen years ago, journalist Richard Grant developed what he calls "an unfortunate fascination" with this lawless place. Locals warned that he would meet his death there, but he didn't believe them -- until his last trip. During his travels Grant visited a folk healer for his insomnia and was prescribed rattlesnake pills, attended bizarre religious rituals, consorted with cocaine-snorting policemen, taught English to Guarijio Indians, and dug for buried treasure. On his last visit, his reckless adventure spiraled into his own personal heart of darkness when cocaine-fueled Mexican hillbillies hunted him through the woods all night, bent on killing him for sport.

With gorgeous detail, fascinating insight, and an undercurrent of dark humor, God's Middle Finger brings to vivid life a truly unique and uncharted world.

Reader reviews for God's Middle Finger: Into the Lawless Heart of the Sierra Madre

From the publisher

From the acclaimed author of Dispatches From Pluto and Deepest South of All, a harrowing travelogue into Mexico's lawless Sierra Madre mountains.

Twenty miles south of the Arizona-Mexico border, the rugged, beautiful Sierra Madre mountains begin their dramatic ascent. Almost 900 miles long, the range climbs to nearly 11,000 feet and boasts several canyons deeper than the Grand Canyon. The rules of law and society have never taken hold in the Sierra Madre, which is home to bandits, drug smugglers, Mormons, cave-dwelling Tarahumara Indians, opium farmers, cowboys, and other assorted outcasts. Outsiders are not welcome; drugs are the primary source of income; murder is all but a regional pastime. The Mexican army occasionally goes in to burn marijuana and opium crops--the modern treasure of the Sierra Madre--but otherwise the government stays away. In its stead are the drug lords, who have made it one of the biggest drug-producing areas in the world.

Fifteen years ago, journalist Richard Grant developed what he calls "an unfortunate fascination" with this lawless place. Locals warned that he would meet his death there, but he didn't believe them--until his last trip. During his travels Grant visited a folk healer for his insomnia and was prescribed rattlesnake pills, attended bizarre religious rituals, consorted with cocaine-snorting policemen, taught English to Guarijio Indians, and dug for buried treasure. On his last visit, his reckless adventure spiraled into his own personal heart of darkness when cocaine-fueled Mexican hillbillies hunted him through the woods all night, bent on killing him for sport.

With gorgeous detail, fascinating insight, and an undercurrent of dark humor, God's Middle Finger brings to vivid life a truly unique and uncharted world.

Details

  • Title God's Middle Finger: Into the Lawless Heart of the Sierra Madre
  • Author Richard Grant
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition 47532nd
  • Pages 304
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Free Press, Old Tappan, New Jersey, U.S.A.
  • Publication date 2008-03-01
  • Features Bibliography, Index, Maps, Table of Contents
  • ISBN 9781416534402 / 1416534407
  • Weight 0.63 lbs (0.29 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.43 x 5.48 x 0.85 in (21.41 x 13.92 x 2.16 cm)
  • Themes
    • Cultural Region: Mexican
  • Category Travel - Foreign
  • Library of Congress subjects Sierra Madre Occidental (Mexico) -, Grant, Richard - Travel - Mexico - Sierra
  • Library of Congress Catalogue Number 2007029592
  • Dewey Decimal Code 917.210

Media reviews

"This is exactly the book you're hoping for when you pick it up: a crazy, sprawling story so well-written, you can't decide whether to keep reading or go to Mexico to see for yourself. Keep reading: You have an extraordinary book in your hands." -- Sebastian Junger, author of The Perfect Storm

Citations

  • Booklist, 02/15/2008, Page 24
  • Library Journal, 02/01/2008, Page 87
  • New York Times Book Review, 06/01/2008, Page 22
  • Publishers Weekly, 01/07/2008, Page 44
  • Shelf Awareness, 01/01/0001, Page 0

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God's Middle Finger: Into the Lawless Heart of the Sierra Madre
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God's Middle Finger: Into the Lawless Heart of the Sierra Madre

by Grant, Richard

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God's Middle Finger: Into the Lawless Heart of the Sierra Madre
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God's Middle Finger: Into the Lawless Heart of the Sierra Madre

by Richard Grant

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