Howard Marks (1)Recensioni

It was quite interesting but he does come across as a smug git lots of the time. It was a relief when he eventually got caught.

What do I think of this book?
It's excellent. It's actually amazing. Hence the 5 stars.

Yes, the editing of it wasn't the best and there are some technicalities that don't really work but the story itself and the man himself, may Allah have mercy upon his soul, was a goodhearted rebel with a good understanding and sound insight into what is daily imposed on us, the system of opportunity which requires more abilities to master than what we are taught in school.

It's hard to bring forth the world that Howard Marks moved in because even if was Tolstoy himself, it's a world that describes to the smallest detail still wouldn't make any sense to a person working the treadmill, one day after the other. But it's there.

And the insight that Howard Marks brings out with humour and punch is worthwhile reading.
It's a shame this book didn't get more attention but anyone who is tagged by the established system in our world, we are imposed not to care about.

Whether you are a dope smuggler or not doesn't really matter. It's our blindness in judgement that makes us not see that some people are just not born to smile when told to go and fight for their country. Howard Marks was one of them.

This is his story. If read without judgement there is also a story that should touch us all.

Highly recommended, followed by a minute of silence for Howard Marks and good hashish

;)

Interesting and atmospheric, if a little obvious and also unbelievable in places. So many clues and so little not wrapped up at the end... It did feel like there were several stories left untold.

Brilliant story of the guy who took over the Pot market in England.

Lot's and lot's of fun action and maybe a little truth in this autobiography. He recently got out of jail after spending a long time in a Federal Prison in the USA.

“Why do I smoke so much dope? I’ve been trying… to think of a meaningful answer… but the answer’s quite simple… I smoke so much dope because I like getting stoned.

“...I’ve been smoking since 1969, when I was nineteen, which is quite old, isn’t it, to be smoking your first joint?”

- Howard Marks, stand up part 2 CUT on YouTube [Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MivwbVkrcfM&playnext=1&list=PLEE9BE8A9143....



Most people know Howard Marks as a drug-smuggling, joint-smoking, smooth-talking wise guy - which he is; but Mr. Marks is also known by the name ‘Mr. Nice’, and that’s for very good reason indeed.

For those that know Mr. Marks and have read and loved Mr. Nice (on Flipkart here), waste no more time: pick up Señor Nice: Straight Life From Wales to South America from Flipkart here; then, lock yourself up in a room for a weekend, disconnect the telephone and the Internet, ensure a steady supply of stimulants of choice, and enjoy!

For those still hanging around, here’s a quick introduction [Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Marks] to Mr. Marks. There’s all the facts and figures, of course, which are impressive in themselves: born and brought up in Wales, then an Oxford academic, a string of degrees from studying the philosophy of science, and, of course, a headlining drug-smuggling career, leading to eventual arrest and incarceration at the Terre Haute Penitentiary in the U.S. of A. That entire story is told in Mr. Nice, which is a nice enough read in itself, and sufficiently thought-provoking to warrant a warning sign uniquely its own: ‘May cause life-altering decisions. Read without supervision and with an open mind.’

Señor Nice is Mr. Marks’ second autobiographical novel - The Howard Marks Book of Dope Stories is anything but, and would, I suppose, have limited appeal, and that too, for persons with a particular proclivity. This book, though, is different in that dope isn’t the central theme of the book; there’s enough of it, and a mere riffle through the pages will release a whiff of Mary Jane, but that’s not what the book is about. This is the older, more mellow Marks: the crazy days of double-digit aliases and triple-digit kilos of smuggled hashish are over, and Mr. Marks is left pondering where it all began through a series of stand-up shows, book readings, brand endorsements, campaigns for election toParliament, film appearances and drunken nights with film stars, and travels across Wales, England, Europe, and South and Central America. ‘Where it all began’, though, is a pretty large canvas when Mr. Marks picks it to paint on, and the book describes his quest to better understand his long deceased and profusely profiled predecessor, the prodigiously piratical Sir Henry Morgan.

The book has Welsh glory galore, tales of travels across the smoke-filled globe, and diatribes against illogical drug laws all across the universe, but that’s not why Mr. Marks’ fans will like the book - as I said, there’s been enough of that and more in Mr. Nice. In Señor Nice, one understands once again why Mr. Marks is equally - if not better - known as Mr. Nice. Mr. Marks comes from a gentler age, when smuggling could still be gentlemanly, and being an outlaw could still be considered romantic; when it was considered more desirable to be friendly than competitive, and when you’d rather have a good smoke with someone you just met rather than prove to them that you’re better than they are. As a sample, here’s Howard in one of his stand-up shows:


“By no means was I the head of any pack… I was right at the back, trying desperately to catch up… a late starter!”

- Howard Marks , stand up part 2 CUT on YouTube [Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MivwbVkrcfM&playnext=1&list=PLEE9BE8A9143....


...and this, from a man who could legitimately claim to be da shit when it comes to smuggling and being the poster-boy of dope smokers across the haziverse.

While he is quite legitimately a candidate for the nicest guy you ever met, the true magic lies in the life that is Howard Marks’, rather than the man himself. If ever there were a case that serendipity could be bottled and released at regular intervals, this man’s life would lead the evidence. Mr. Marks happens to live in a fairly conspiratorial universe, and the best part is that he’s only too willing to share the joy of letting things happen. So if there’s been too much hullabaloo around you lately, turn down the lights, put on the hippy music, read this book at leisure, and spend some time in the company of a drug smuggler from another time - it will be worth it, because they just don’t make nice guys like that any more.

[First published on www.myLaw.net on April 21, 2011]

An excellent excellent book. Despite him being on the wrong side of the law, I could help help admiring Howard Marks's ability to get on with life. to the max. I wish I could be more like him. (ps I loved the poem written by his daughter on p456 about the pain of missing a loved one.)½

totally engrossing - one of the first and only books i have recommended to my partner that she really enjoyed too. there is no way to explain this or review this book other than read it yourtself - it will blow you away.
casual referneces to pink floyd a nice little touch.½

yes, he does come across as nice but then he did write it!
I found it an ok read (but then again, I read it while stuck in a Blackpool hotel with my mother for a week and would have read cereal packets to pass the time)

Ubiquitous on airport bookshop shelves and car boot sales, this was another 20p purchase. Grasshopping Howard Marks does seem genuinely nice. He rises and falls, sells and invests, dodges and dives does porridge and Monte Carlo but by about two thirds of the way through his life becomes awful repetitious.