Blowback
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.25
Trade in Blowback: Adventures of a Dope Smuggler for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Plus, get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
Product Description
Review
'I thought I was the biggest dope smuggler. I wasn't. He was.'
--Howard Marks
--Howard Marks
Product Description
'I thought I was the biggest dope smuggler. I wasn't. He was' Howard Marks
On 29 June 1988 Michael Forwell (aka The Fox) had it all - fast cars and speedboats, a nightclub in Bangkok, homes around the world. And a ship heading towards California carrying 72 tons of high-grade Thai marijuana, his last deal before going straight. On 30 June the DEA seized the ship in the biggest dope bust in history . . . and very soon Michael had nothing at all.
A mild-mannered, public school educated Englishman who abhors violence, Michael was not the most likely drug smuggler but he was certainly one of the most successful. Now he shares his astonishing adventures as he found ever more inventive ways to smuggle dope from South-East Asia to the US. By the eighties Michael was juggling aliases, dodging the authorities and making millions of dollars. Until that final deal, too good to pass by, went horribly wrong and he was forced to go on the lam.
Fast-paced and funny, Blowback takes us on an adrenalin-charged journey with a charming rogue, revealing the fun he had and the price he ultimately paid.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
What a roller coaster of a book.
Read it cover to cover in 2 days.
It's a fatastic yarn about an extremely eventful life smuggling dope across the world. From initial small runs to the downfall when trying to ship 70+ tons.
Oddly enough it all comes crumbling down around his ears when he breaks his own laws and rules.
It's also very sad in some respects. I really feel for him when he loses all his friends, and those he has dies or turns on him in the end. The reactions of everyone concerned is understandable though. When each of them realises they are doing 15+ years in prison they each desperately seek a way to reduce that.
I also have mixed feelings about what he did. Like Howard Marks I never got the sense these were 'bad' men per se. It wasn't Guns or Class A drugs here. It was Cannabis and I've seen in Holland where it's managed properly and freely available there are few concerns with it. I personally feel that Cannabis will be legalised in my lifetime. (Currently legal in 9 states in the USA, with 13 more starting process to legalise it, despite it still being against Federal Law. Holland and Portugal have shown along with California and others that legalising it doesn't produce a nation of zombies and indeed offers many benefits)I get the impression from many prison officers, psychologists and police officers that they themselves feel more damage and problems are created by Class A drugs and alcohol than Cannabis. There's also many that feel like I do it will legalised and all those in jail now will feel badly put upon. However at the end of the day the trade etc. is illegal and be it as it may, if you get caught then you have to acknowledge the consequence.
One small point that really didn't sit well with me was to har that as usual the USA has bent the rule book and intercepted shipping in international waters to prosecute it's policy. I dunno, recently the war in Iraq, Afghanistan, and extraditions from around the world, I start to see the USA as more and more the problem and not the solution, not the pacifist peacemaker it tries to tell everyone it is. Seen the TV show cops? who thinks that makes their legal system look good? If I'm starting to have doubts (Middle class white collar worker in international banking) then perhaps many others are too.
Finally I see just recently they've banned a teen from the USA for life for calling Mr Obama an unpleasant name. Where's the Freedom of Speech they go on about so much? No, i think the author was breaking the law and when he got caught then he knew what to expect BUT I definately think that boarding shipping in International Waters to catch him doing it was more than a little suspect I am surprised a good lawyer ddn't get him off.
Still an excellent yarn and definately an interesting character. Worth a read from whatever side of the fence you're on.
Read it cover to cover in 2 days.
It's a fatastic yarn about an extremely eventful life smuggling dope across the world. From initial small runs to the downfall when trying to ship 70+ tons.
Oddly enough it all comes crumbling down around his ears when he breaks his own laws and rules.
It's also very sad in some respects. I really feel for him when he loses all his friends, and those he has dies or turns on him in the end. The reactions of everyone concerned is understandable though. When each of them realises they are doing 15+ years in prison they each desperately seek a way to reduce that.
I also have mixed feelings about what he did. Like Howard Marks I never got the sense these were 'bad' men per se. It wasn't Guns or Class A drugs here. It was Cannabis and I've seen in Holland where it's managed properly and freely available there are few concerns with it. I personally feel that Cannabis will be legalised in my lifetime. (Currently legal in 9 states in the USA, with 13 more starting process to legalise it, despite it still being against Federal Law. Holland and Portugal have shown along with California and others that legalising it doesn't produce a nation of zombies and indeed offers many benefits)I get the impression from many prison officers, psychologists and police officers that they themselves feel more damage and problems are created by Class A drugs and alcohol than Cannabis. There's also many that feel like I do it will legalised and all those in jail now will feel badly put upon. However at the end of the day the trade etc. is illegal and be it as it may, if you get caught then you have to acknowledge the consequence.
One small point that really didn't sit well with me was to har that as usual the USA has bent the rule book and intercepted shipping in international waters to prosecute it's policy. I dunno, recently the war in Iraq, Afghanistan, and extraditions from around the world, I start to see the USA as more and more the problem and not the solution, not the pacifist peacemaker it tries to tell everyone it is. Seen the TV show cops? who thinks that makes their legal system look good? If I'm starting to have doubts (Middle class white collar worker in international banking) then perhaps many others are too.
Finally I see just recently they've banned a teen from the USA for life for calling Mr Obama an unpleasant name. Where's the Freedom of Speech they go on about so much? No, i think the author was breaking the law and when he got caught then he knew what to expect BUT I definately think that boarding shipping in International Waters to catch him doing it was more than a little suspect I am surprised a good lawyer ddn't get him off.
Still an excellent yarn and definately an interesting character. Worth a read from whatever side of the fence you're on.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a top read, especially if you also read and enjoyed Reefer men. Where as Reefer men is about the loose business connection between like minded men that came together to smuggle vast quantities of dope in the 70's such as the Shafer brothers, Brian Daniels, Michael Forwell etc. Blowback is Michel Forwells story, and what a story it is - you wont be able to this one down. I would also recommend Smugglers Blues & Lone Brit on Block 13
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Compares well with Howard Marks offerings but the book is a lot shorter than the likes of Mr Nice. The various tales in this book are entertaining and the story is well presented but I wish there was more!
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Was this review helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Wow a terrfic book
One of the best books of it's type i have read.
This really is a book you do not want to put down.
Constantly intriguing and very well written. Read more
This really is a book you do not want to put down.
Constantly intriguing and very well written. Read more
Published 1 month ago by FRED PAYNE
Brilliant
I don't usually leave reviews but such was the quality of the writing with this book I had to.
I read a lot of crime based autobiography's and some times they are poorly... Read more
I read a lot of crime based autobiography's and some times they are poorly... Read more
Published 2 months ago by DY
gripping
An interesting rollercoaster ride in the life of an opportunist. A book that has you gripped to see what happens next. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Discover
Brilliant Book!
I bought this book because of the quote from Howard Marks on the cover page. I did not think this book would be as good as Mr Nice but it was (maybe even better)! Read more
Published 10 months ago by BiancaMV
What a book!
Amazing book, if you are into this genre you will find it painfully unputdownable. mixes humour and very illegal activities down to a tee and all descriptions are vivid and... Read more
Published 16 months ago by L. Calcott
A Cracking Read!
Picked this off the shelves in my local library and decided to borrow as I can't afford to buy books. Read more
Published 20 months ago by TB-HIFI
Amazing
This book is by far the best book I've read in over a year. A great true story told exceptionally well, I found myself unable to put it down. Read more
Published on 1 May 2009 by Verve Guitar
Not to be missed
Michael Forwell began his career as a dope smuggler the year Punk broke and ended it to the strains of Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit. Read more
Published on 5 April 2009 by Delta Blaine
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
