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Rating: 
- Very readable and jampacked full of interesting facts!
I bought this book after reading a serialisation in a paper, and found it a really fascinating read. Everything from prostitution to guns to drugs to cyber crime to diamonds to people trafficking is covered in a wide ranging examination of the globalised nature of the black market, and its enormous influence on society and politics.
Rating:
- Not just about the drugs!!
Ok so, like many before me, I guess I have to establish some credentials before I review.......... I have worked both inside and against (at the same time!) much of the murky world chronicled by Glenny and would consider it a pretty good outsiders account of most aspects. It creates a very good spring board for the inquisitive but will unfortunately be missed by the general masses for any real impact.
However, I have to contradict a previous reviewer (or two) in that drugs is not the main driver/funder for criminal activity these days, nor does Glenny susbscribe to this misdirection. The various major criminal groupings are more than savvy enough to have long established their own intelligence and corporate networks; these devices shrewdly keep them one step ahead of the game and dictate which commodity, because yes dear reader it is big business we are talking about here, is likely to attract the least law-enforcement scrutiny, minimum sentencing if caught and, last but by no means least, the maximum profit in individual countries that they traffick to or through.
Currently, people trafficking and smuggling (there is a distinct difference!) is top of the charts; a "re-usable" commodity, easily dispatched with very low overheads and the bonus of minimal risk through comparatively minimal prosecutions.
Do my "fellow" reviewers therefore consider that we legalise slavery, of primarily women and children with smattering of menfolk, and all that this vile trade and it's sub-trades entail in the modern world quite so glibly as they do the legalisation of drugs from their false, and dare I say naive, deductions?
Rating: - Scary but true...
This a frightening but fascinating book, which brings together the keen-eyed journalism Glenny displayed in the 1990s, with a tale of the kind of organised crime that touches us all, whether we know it or not.
Glenny tours the world, and wisely does not try his hand at thriller-writing as he does so. The stories, and their contexts, are fascinating enough to be simply laid out before us. In each case, the most compelling parts are the history and analysis of how that kind of crime took off, in that place and that time. While there are undercurrents that are common throughout, what stands out starkly are the location and era-specific details of the conditions that allow major crime to flourish. I would have liked to have seen something more about how these national and international crime groups link together; however, given the amount of detail at his disposal, perhaps the author is saving this for his next book.
The level of detail is impressive, and the sources authoritative. Glenny has managed to bring in a tremendous amount of information, without leaving the reader feeling swamped and overwhelmed. The book should be compulsory reading for anyone aspiring to senior levels of government. Because what strikes this reader, is how in each case the myopia, stupidity, connivance and outright greed of governments have created the conditions for organised crime to grow and thrive.
Rating: - Indepth Study
Misha Glenny delves deep into organised crime in this study of a post cold-war, globalised world. Indepth and at times utterly fascinating this book covers a wide blanket of criminals from the Balkans to India, from Colombia to Russia and beyond.
However the linkage between each criminal group is not evident and there is not a significant coherant argument concerning globalisation. On one hand he appears to advocate the legalisation of all drugs whilst on the other going into great detail concerning tobacco smuggling and counterfeiting and the negative effects this causes.
The pace is at times frantic and it is sometimes hard to keep up with the various names of individuals and groups which at times gives the book a disjointed feel.
However overall this is an incredibly well researched, valuable modern social history.
Rating: - McMafia - powered by illegal drugs
McMafia is an argument for the legalisation of drugs. Without explicitly demanding such a thing, it gives the best possible argument for legalising all narcotics; that drug money is the engine of the McMafia.
Misha Glenny covers many more McMafia activities; cigarette smuggling, investment scams, slavery, fake goods, intimidation etc, but behind them all lies drugs and the massive profits they engender.
He points out that we in the west are largely to blame. We buy the fake DVDs, hire the slaves and turn a blind eye to the sweatshops. Mainly, we buy the drugs.
The author's point is that so long as the drug barons grow fat on human misery, so will the McMafia thrive.
A riveting read.
- Very readable and jampacked full of interesting facts!I bought this book after reading a serialisation in a paper, and found it a really fascinating read. Everything from prostitution to guns to drugs to cyber crime to diamonds to people trafficking is covered in a wide ranging examination of the globalised nature of the black market, and its enormous influence on society and politics.
Rating:
- Not just about the drugs!!Ok so, like many before me, I guess I have to establish some credentials before I review.......... I have worked both inside and against (at the same time!) much of the murky world chronicled by Glenny and would consider it a pretty good outsiders account of most aspects. It creates a very good spring board for the inquisitive but will unfortunately be missed by the general masses for any real impact.
However, I have to contradict a previous reviewer (or two) in that drugs is not the main driver/funder for criminal activity these days, nor does Glenny susbscribe to this misdirection. The various major criminal groupings are more than savvy enough to have long established their own intelligence and corporate networks; these devices shrewdly keep them one step ahead of the game and dictate which commodity, because yes dear reader it is big business we are talking about here, is likely to attract the least law-enforcement scrutiny, minimum sentencing if caught and, last but by no means least, the maximum profit in individual countries that they traffick to or through.
Currently, people trafficking and smuggling (there is a distinct difference!) is top of the charts; a "re-usable" commodity, easily dispatched with very low overheads and the bonus of minimal risk through comparatively minimal prosecutions.
Do my "fellow" reviewers therefore consider that we legalise slavery, of primarily women and children with smattering of menfolk, and all that this vile trade and it's sub-trades entail in the modern world quite so glibly as they do the legalisation of drugs from their false, and dare I say naive, deductions?
Rating:
- Scary but true...This a frightening but fascinating book, which brings together the keen-eyed journalism Glenny displayed in the 1990s, with a tale of the kind of organised crime that touches us all, whether we know it or not.
Glenny tours the world, and wisely does not try his hand at thriller-writing as he does so. The stories, and their contexts, are fascinating enough to be simply laid out before us. In each case, the most compelling parts are the history and analysis of how that kind of crime took off, in that place and that time. While there are undercurrents that are common throughout, what stands out starkly are the location and era-specific details of the conditions that allow major crime to flourish. I would have liked to have seen something more about how these national and international crime groups link together; however, given the amount of detail at his disposal, perhaps the author is saving this for his next book.
The level of detail is impressive, and the sources authoritative. Glenny has managed to bring in a tremendous amount of information, without leaving the reader feeling swamped and overwhelmed. The book should be compulsory reading for anyone aspiring to senior levels of government. Because what strikes this reader, is how in each case the myopia, stupidity, connivance and outright greed of governments have created the conditions for organised crime to grow and thrive.
Rating:
- Indepth StudyMisha Glenny delves deep into organised crime in this study of a post cold-war, globalised world. Indepth and at times utterly fascinating this book covers a wide blanket of criminals from the Balkans to India, from Colombia to Russia and beyond.
However the linkage between each criminal group is not evident and there is not a significant coherant argument concerning globalisation. On one hand he appears to advocate the legalisation of all drugs whilst on the other going into great detail concerning tobacco smuggling and counterfeiting and the negative effects this causes.
The pace is at times frantic and it is sometimes hard to keep up with the various names of individuals and groups which at times gives the book a disjointed feel.
However overall this is an incredibly well researched, valuable modern social history.
Rating:
- McMafia - powered by illegal drugs McMafia is an argument for the legalisation of drugs. Without explicitly demanding such a thing, it gives the best possible argument for legalising all narcotics; that drug money is the engine of the McMafia.
Misha Glenny covers many more McMafia activities; cigarette smuggling, investment scams, slavery, fake goods, intimidation etc, but behind them all lies drugs and the massive profits they engender.
He points out that we in the west are largely to blame. We buy the fake DVDs, hire the slaves and turn a blind eye to the sweatshops. Mainly, we buy the drugs.
The author's point is that so long as the drug barons grow fat on human misery, so will the McMafia thrive.
A riveting read.