Crossers [Paperback]

Philip Caputo (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: knopf (2009)
• ASIN: B002M7LBZM
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,516,629 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Novelist and journalist Philip Caputo (1941 -- ) was born in Chicago and educated at Purdue and Loyola Universities. After graduating in 1964, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps for three years, including a 16-month tour of duty in Vietnam. He has written 14 books, including two memoirs, four books of general nonfiction, and eight novels. His acclaimed memoir of Vietnam, A Rumor of War, has been published in 15 languages, has sold over 1.5 million copies since its publication in 1977, and is widely regarded as a classic in the literature of war. His 2005 novel "Acts of Faith," a story about war, love, and the betrayal of ideals set in war-torn Sudan is considered his masterpiece in fiction, and has sold 102,000 copies to date, His most recent novel, Crossers, set against a backdrop of drug and illegal-immigrant smuggling on the Mexican border,was published in hardcover in 2009 by Alfred A. Knopf and in paperback by Vintage in 2010. He is now working on a travel book, "The Longest Road: From the Southern Cross to the Northern Lights." It describes an epic road trip from the southernmost point in the U.S., Key West, Floirida, to the northernmost that can be reached by road, Deadhorse Alaska, on the Arctic Ocean. The journey took 4 months and covered 17,000 miles. Though it bears his unique stamp, the narrative fuses elements of John Steinbeck, Jack Keruoac, William Least Moon, and Charles Kuralt. Caputo interviewed more than 80 Americans from all walks of life to get a picture of what their lives and the life of the nation are like in the 21st century. He expects to finish in June of the year. Henry Holt will publish the book in May, 2013.

In addition to books, Caputo has published dozens of major magazine articles, reviews, and op-ed pieces in publications ranging from the New York Times, the Boston Globe, and the Washington Post to Esquire, National Geographic, and the Virginia Quarterly Review. Topics included profiles of novelist William Styron and actor Robert Redford, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the turmoil on the Mexican border.

Caputo's professional writing career began in 1968, when he joined the staff of the Chicago Tribune, serving as a general assignment and team investigative reporter until 1972. For the next five years, he was a foreign correspondent for that newspaper, stationed in Rome, Beirut, Saigon, and Moscow. In 1977, he left the paper to devote himself to writing books and magazine articles.


Caputo has won 10 journalistic and literary awards, including the Pulitzer Prize in 1972 (shared for team investigative reporting on vote fraud in Chicago), the Overseas Press Club Award in 1973, the Sidney Hillman Foundation award in 1977 (for A Rumor of War), the Connecticut Book Award in 2006, and the Literary Lights Award in 2007. His first novel, Horn of Africa, was a National Book Award finalist in 1980, and his 2007 essay on illegal immigration won the Blackford Prize for nonfiction from the University of Virginia.

He and his wife, Leslie Ware, an editor for Consumer Reports magazine, divide their time between Connecticut and Arizona. Caputo has two sons from a previous marriage, Geoffrey, a jazz composer and music teacher, and Marc, a political reporter for the Miami Herald.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Border Epic, October 25, 2009

By 

C. Wallace (L.A.) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crossers (Hardcover)

This book moved back and forth between two stories, much as several of its characters cross back and forth between the U.S. and Mexico. The primary story is that of Gil Castle, a highly successful Wall Street financial analyst (net worth: "low eight figures") whose wife was on the plane that smashed into the north tower on 9/11. In an attempt to recover from the grief that paralyzed him for two years after this disaster, he moves to his cousin's huge Arizona cattle ranch, which is right on the Mexican border.

Life on the ranch offers many diversions, including a heated romance, but some of the diversions are less than idyllic. Drug smugglers and people smugglers (coyotes) use the ranch as an entrepôt to the U.S. Castle finds himself in the middle, literally.

The other story is that of Ben Erskine, Castle's grandfather, and the grandfather of Blaine Erskine, the ranch owner. Through flashbacks, Ben's life unfolds from 1903-1951. Ben was a violent man, with a boiling temper. He worked on both sides of the law, once serving as a county sheriff. He played a role in the violence that characterized revolutionary Mexico in the early twentieth century. His grandson, Blaine, also has a very short fuse.

I thought the first two thirds (total: 448 pages) dragged more than just a bit. I felt little empathy for Gil Castle and found his transformation from Wall Street rich guy to Arizona pistol-packing cowboy improbable. But it does pick up and builds to a spellbinding conclusion, which earns five stars. Veteran author Philip Caputo brings great insight into the human condition to this work. He develops fascinating portrayals of such characters as Yvonne Menéndez, vicious, vengeful drug queen, and The Professor, a cunning operative with a bizarre distortion of sight and smell.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Issues along our southern border, November 22, 2009

By 

Cherie M. Mcginn (Las Cruces, NM) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Crossers (Hardcover)

My husband and I retired to southern New Mexico three years ago from the east coast. While on the east coast I told many of my friends that I intended to join a group that provided water for illegal immigrants crossing the border into NM. Seeing and reading about the problems caused by the "crossers" forced me to have second thoughts. Caputo's book finalized my concerns. He does an absolutely excellent job of presenting the multiple sides of the issue of crossers. A couple of characters sympathize with the illegal immigrants for all the reasons humanity presents: life is better here; they do the jobs no one else wants to do; the Statue of Liberty; etc. The characters who oppose illegal immigration are portrayed in many ways: those who just don't like immigrants; those who think there should be a "Great Wall" to keep them out; those who are concerned about the danger of the illegal crossings, etc. Caputo also extensively addresses the issue of the drug cartels and the mayhem and danger they have added to the issues. Where Caputo does an outstanding job is to bring all of these stories together, and to throw in some historical background with characters who originally worked and owned the land during the Mexican Revolution. Unless you live along the Borderlands you likely do not have a full picture of what is going on here -- newspapers on the east coast (and probably most of the US) tell isolated stories, some heart-wrenching, and some seriously overblown. Caputo, through his characters, presents an accurate view of the issues, forces the reader to consider good and bad aspects of the illegal crossings, and demonstrates how quickly things can turn bad even with the best of intentions. Folks -- the fence won't solve anything -- read this book, talk to your friends and contact your congressmen -- we need a better policy. Urge policy-makers to read this book.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrifically entertaining, November 3, 2009

By 

AZ snowbird - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crossers (Hardcover)

Crossers combines history, adventure, and romance with a message about how
the past haunts the present. Caputo skillfully interweaves Old West tales of
mysterious renegade lawman Ben Erskine with the story of Ben's descendants,
including Gil Castle, who tries to escape the pain of losing his wife in the
9/11 attacks by crossing from East to West, specifically to the family's
ranch on the Arizona-Mexico border. There, he confronts a different kind of
violence, as he copes with modern-day outlaws trafficking in drugs and human
cargo--migrants crossing from south to north to make a new life. The
characters really come to life, especially the unique Yvonne, a drug
queenpin with major attitude, and The Professor, who works both sides of the
border and the law. A richly rewarding read.