More Terrible Than Death: Drugs, Violence and America's War in Colombia
By Robin Kirk
I picked up Robin Kirk's book with a little trepidation. I lived in Colombia for a year and read the newspaper every day, so I felt as though I had a pretty good understanding of the violence. But Kirk, who worked for Human Rights Watch in Colombia for four years, does an amazing job of describing Colombia's history, the reasons for the violence, the victims, and the United States' involvement. If every cocaine user in the United States, Canada and Europe had to read this book before they "enjoyed" their white powder, things might actually change. It is long past time that North American drug users took responsibility for the mayhem in Colombia.