Narcotopia

Those who fail to read this forsake their chance to know the truth

Those who fail to read this forsake their chance to know the truth

An outstanding book packed with history, humour, and adventure . America's struggle to thwart them Winn is the perfect guide to these highland outlaws and their incredible, defiant narcostate. This is the best reportage to come out of Southeast Asia in years.

A riveting portrait of a little-known and often vilified people; a harrowing tale of Asia's epic, multibillion-dollar drugs trade.

Winn has made a riveting read out of the largely overlooked- but critically important- Wa State .... The history behind it, the masterminds pulling the strings, and the many CIA operations against them. It's a fascinating and incredibly well-researched dive into Asia's underworld and some of the greatest narcotics traffickers in the region. And above all, it's beautifully crafted storytelling.

Unputdownable .... An authentic page-turner revealing why the global drug problem remains unsolved.

Part gangster saga, part espionage thriller, and part liberation epic, Winn's narrative alternates between rollicking adventure and harrowing violence conveyed in vivid, muscular prose.

At times, Narcotopia reads like a satire from the mind of Joseph Heller ... Winn tells this complex story with admirable clarity and a healthy dose of humour , and has drawn on a huge range of CIA and DEA documents, 'some declassified, others acquired by creative means'.

Narcotopia does the foreign correspondent's job par excellence: it explains an unknown corner of the world and reminds us of the incredible stories that exist beyond our limited western horizons.

Patrick Winn is an investigative journalist who covers rebellion and black markets in South-East Asia. He has received a National Press Club award and is also a three-time winner of Amnesty International's Human Rights Press Awards. He is currently Public Radio International's Asia correspondent, and is the author of Hello, Shadowlands (Icon, 2018)