The bullet or the bribe : taking down Colombia's Cali drug cartel /

Chepesiuk's book is the product of extensive research and interviews with dozens of DEA, FBI, US Customs agents, the New York state police, and various individuals in Colombia. It is the most detailed study of the murky world of narcotics traffickers this reviewer has seen. The author chronicles the rise and fall of the Cali Cartel, "the biggest takedown in law enforcement history." Chepesiuk's meticulous attention to detail allows readers to glean a unique inside view of the world of the drug smugglers and those that pursue them. Although the takedown of the Cali Cartel was successful, the war on drugs has not been. Drugs are cheaper and more plentiful now than before the US embarked on a policy of taking the war to the narco-traffickers' home turf. Nevertheless, Chepesiuk (Univ. of California at Los Angeles) maintains that many of the lessons learned from this effort will be valuable in the post-September 11th war on terrorism. This well-written volume is extensively footnoted and contains a useful index, bibliography, and chronology of the Cali Cartel. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduate collections and above. J. S. Robey University of Texas at Brownsville