Pepe Escobar

I didn't expect it to be an easy read, very arrhythmic, unsettling and conflicting. All in all a bit hard to follow, with an anti-American flavor. Didn't like it, but always glad to read a different perspective than my own.

Pepe Escobar shows us some of his native Rio de Janerio as some US troops do carnaval there. He also does them in Irak and other parts. He touches on many sins of the soldiers, the hired mercinaries and workers--I know all this is going on, but somehow did not get into the book for insights, or more information. Maybe I can not be a fair reviewer.

Hoping to understand the machinations of 'liquid gold', I was seriously disappointed by this book however and learned little. I'm not sure anyone would benefit from a detailed reading and even a skim read leaves little impression. This book really was a disappointment.

When I received the review copy of this book I skimmed it quickly and looked at the references. As I recall, all the references were to newspaper articles, which are, of course, hastily written and which may prove later to be inaccurate. The book did not seem to contain much first-hand information. It seems to have sunk without a trace, which I take as vindication for not reading it more attentively.