God's Middle Finger: Into the Lawless Heart of the Sierra Madre | 
| Author: Richard Grant
Publisher: Free Press
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 17707
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.9
ISBN: 1416534407
Dewey Decimal Number: 917.210484
EAN: 9781416534402
ASIN: 1416534407
Publication Date: March 4, 2008
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Product Description
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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 Humbling. A reason to be grateful you live in America. May 10, 2008
Grant does a superb job describing the culture and personalities he meets along the way. The story can come across unbelievable, unless you have visited any parts of "real" Mexico. Parts of the book are funny, scary, depressing, and a range of other various emotions from page to page.
It is hard to imagine that people live in countries and areas in countries like this all over the world. As an American it makes you feel grateful to live in a country where a woman has rights, bandits aren't lurking on every highway, and AK-47's aren't the common travel accessory.
Good author and a great read. I look forward to reading more of his work.
T.
Fear and Loathing in the Sierra Madre April 28, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book has touches of gonzo but manages to be a profound and relevant look into the heart of darkness that is Mexico. (America has its own H.O. D. but its quite different) I grew up in Venezuela and travelled in both Mexico and Spain for work. While I never had any trouble, my American cousin and her British boyfriend were stripped of everything in less than 24 hours in Mexico City a year after I had been there. This is the book for anyone who has ever been to Mexico and is shocked by the poverty and wonders what the heck is going on. It is also an insightful book for anyone who owns a business and employs people from Mexico. It explores issues that extend beyond the Sierra Madre into the culture as a whole, such as the pervasive machismo, sexism, etc. Richard Grant is a great tour guide in that he is an accurate observer, has the right amount of humor and moral discrimination, and isn't afraid to give an overview to the culture and history and anchor his story in reality, for all the surreal touches. My family has lived in Arizona and had land near the border for over 50 years but in the last few years there has been an unprecedented number of illegals coming over our land, leaving clothes, underwear, water bottles while they wait in the night to get around the checkpoint just up the highway. They've made off with tractors, guns, horses, all kinds of stuff. A book like this does a lot towards answering my questions - like how much money does get sent back to Mexico and what are the number one and number two sources of income in Mexico? Plus its extremely well written. Apparently it has produced some controversy by people who are offended by the portrayal of the Sierra Madre as dangerous. That is kind of crazy because I know native Mexicans who tell me all kinds of stories about people being held up by bandits and how dangerous it is. Its definitely a place where anything can happen. Of course, this is true of life in general. This should be required reading - its quite educational.
Great Read! April 23, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Not since the J. Maarten Troost books about life in the South Pacific have I enjoyed a travel book as much as God's Middle Finger. Although Richard Grant does not provide Troost's side splitting yucks, he creates a sense of menace and fear that drives you ever deeper into the bowels of the Sierra Madre. He brilliantly weaves historical details, with endearing descriptions of the beautiful people and mountain landscapes while making certain that you never forget the ever present liklihood of being robbed, beaten up or killed.
BUY THIS BOOK! Excellent Read. April 23, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I highly recommend this book!!! He really takes you into the secretive world of the Sierra Madre. We visited or were near many of the areas on a recent roadtrip through The Devil's Backbone to Sinaloa and Copper Canyon---glad we didn't deviate too far off the beaten path. While on the Chihuahua train, the security guard told us about all the "agriculture" being grown nearby.
Huevos with a shot of adrenaline and transmission smoke April 11, 2008
3 out of 8 found this review helpful
Richard Grant is a cool mix of adventurer, explorer, poet and passionate writer who definately went the extra mile to write this book.
What a revealing look at the Sierra Madre and from a point of view you or I are very unlikely to ever have. I love the way that Grant uses very descriptive Spanish profanity translated to sterile and family friendly English, the juxtaposition of the language with the experience made me laugh out loud more than I have in a long time while reading a book.
The book is written in a way that only someone who set out to capture an adventure could . . . and who nearly lost his life over it. Both retrospective and insightful, the book leads you through a vivid exploration of one of Mexico's most dangerous and beautiful regions.
This is a must read for every person who still has one adventure left in them but has been putting it off and for every person who likes their adventures wrapped in delightful sentences and palpable visuals.
This is one of the best books of its kind that I've read in a long time, it was so good in fact, I bought another of his books immediately because I didn't want this one to end.
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