In a cat-and-mouse game played out in exotic locations across the globe, the smugglers sailed through hurricanes, broke out of jail and survived encounters with armed militants in Colombia, Grenada and Lebanon. Based on years of research and interviews with imprisoned and recently released smugglers and the law enforcement agents who tracked them down, Jackpot does for marijuana smuggling what Blow and Snowblind did for the cocaine trade.
Jackpot
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle.
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Ryan writes a thoroughly researched account of Operation Jackpot, the drug investigation that ended the reign of South Carolina's "gentlemen smugglers," marijuana kingpins who kick-started Reagan's war on drugs. As a result of Operation Jackpot, more than 100 men were charged with smuggling, racketeering, tax evasion, and conspiracy, relatively tame charges, as Ryan stresses, compared with the violence surrounding contemporary drug trafficking. Ryan draws on extensive interviews, grand jury and trial transcripts, personal correspondence, news articles, and police reports. Still, rather than a comprehensive survey of marijuana and hashish smuggling in the 1970s and '80s, his book profiles personalities, focusing on "a few talented smugglers" and their wild exploits, such as a 1976 incident in the Florida Keys when the approach of police caused smugglers to scatter, sending a 65-foot sport fishing yacht with 15,000 pounds of marijuana on autopilot toward Cuba "never to be seen by the smugglers again." The last member of the crew to go to prison, having evaded the law for 25 years, pleaded guilty in 2008. Ryan recreates the era with a vivid, sun-drenched intensity. (Apr. 20)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review
“Endorsement of The Day: A Great Book About the Early Years of the War on Weed…. Before Juarez was a war zone, before coke-rich Colombia was the hostage capital of the world, and before an ex-B-movie actor with a good haircut declared War on Drugs, a group of wayward Southern gentlemen yachted the globe with unseen amounts of marijuana and hashish, and did it with style. The adventures, the long-gone economy, and the sting that ultimately brought them down and changed US drug policy are meticulously documented and lucidly spun by reporter Jason Ryan in Jackpot…. Part New Yorker feature-part Jimmy Buffet song. . . . The result is adventuresome, lavish, informative fun. Try it. You’ll like it.” —GQ
“Over the course of Jackpot’s rollicking story, Ryan manages to pack in one amusing tale after another: the day after a shipment, the crew stumbles upon a bale of marijuana accidentally left on the side of the road; they pilot a pot-filled sailboat that is taking on water all the way back from Jamaica; … they help U.S. forces during the invasion of Grenada, earning one trafficker, Bob ‘The Boss’ Byers, the nickname rocket launcher.... Jackpot is a rip-roaring good read.” —Charleston City Paper
“High times on the high seas: Investigative reporter Ryan recounts the glory days of dope smuggling and their terrible denouement.... The protagonists are, in the main, decent and hardworking guys who just happen to be engaged in something very illegal—a trade that, as Ryan notes, is an ancient one along the South Carolina coast, where contraband smuggling is a big intergenerational business, whether of cigarettes, booze or pot. The principals of the story long enjoyed a place at the top of the smuggling pyramid, landing, in one year, more than 30,000 pounds of marijuana in three moves alone.... A well-told tale of true crime that provides a few good arguments for why it should not be a crime at all.” —Kirkus Reviews
“[A] thoroughly researched account of Operation Jackpot, the drug investigation that ended the reign of South Carolina’s ‘gentlemen smugglers,’ marijuana kingpins who kick-started Reagan's war on drugs.... Ryan recreates the era with a vivid, sun-drenched intensity.” —Publishers Weekly
“Mr. Ryan has hit the jackpot with this tale of drug smuggling on the high seas. . . . [Jackpot] reads like an international thriller. . . . chock-a-block with hilarious and hair-raising anecdotes of fast times.” —Sam Millar, New York Journal of Books
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Though born in Connecticut and educated at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., Jason Ryan has made his home in the South. He lives in Charleston, South Carolina and was formerly a reporter for The State newspaper.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Review from New York Journal of Books:
Mr. Ryan has hit the jackpot with this tale of drug smuggling on the high seas.
From the very first page, right down to the last sentence, Jackpot: High Times, High Seas, and the Sting That Launched the War on Drugs reads like an international thriller rather than the true crime book it actually is. This is due in no small measure to Mr. Ryan's keen eye as a journalist but also to his extensive research from countless interviews from participants, grand jury and trial transcripts, personal correspondence, news articles, and police reports.
There is also a rare insight into the U.S. system of justice. Each page of the book is chock-a-blocke with hilarious and hair-raising antidotes of fast times--and even faster men and women--always looking over their shoulders, and always one-arm's length from the long arm of the law.
If this were fiction, it would be terrific. As a factual book, it's mesmerizing, and as addictive as the drugs in the story.
-Sam Millar, New York Journal of Books
Mr. Ryan has hit the jackpot with this tale of drug smuggling on the high seas.
From the very first page, right down to the last sentence, Jackpot: High Times, High Seas, and the Sting That Launched the War on Drugs reads like an international thriller rather than the true crime book it actually is. This is due in no small measure to Mr. Ryan's keen eye as a journalist but also to his extensive research from countless interviews from participants, grand jury and trial transcripts, personal correspondence, news articles, and police reports.
There is also a rare insight into the U.S. system of justice. Each page of the book is chock-a-blocke with hilarious and hair-raising antidotes of fast times--and even faster men and women--always looking over their shoulders, and always one-arm's length from the long arm of the law.
If this were fiction, it would be terrific. As a factual book, it's mesmerizing, and as addictive as the drugs in the story.
-Sam Millar, New York Journal of Books
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
First, I'm from the general area this story took place and like many people in SC, knew one of the families of one of the smugglers. That creates a connection that enhances the impact of the book. That said, I think any baby-boomer will recognize someone they knew, or knew of, in this book. These smugglers were upper middle class college kids in the late 60's and early '70's. On probably every major college campus, there was a small group of people who went from smoking pot to supplying it. The guys in the book just happened to live in a state that was a smuggler's paradise, allowing them to more fully pursue their careers.
I found the book extremely well written. The author, being a reporter, keeps it factual and not overly dramatic. I thought he was very even-handed, carefully presenting both the smuggler's and law enforcement sides of the case. In spite of this factual style of writing, the book was riveting.
There are a lot of characters involved and it's a challenge to keep them straight. While there are some very short interviews, statements and quotes from the smugglers themselves - I wish there were more. I'd be particularly interested in how they view their lives now, looking back on them now after lengthy prison sentences. The author states that most of them would choose the same path again if they could. I found myself wanting to hear more about that.
Finally, these guys were lucky. Unlike today's smugglers, they eschewed violence, did not carry guns and only smuggled marijuana and hash. But in the same time period, in my hometown, two "gentlemen smugglers" - both sons of prominent doctors - wound up murdered, one shot and one found in his burned down house.
I found the book extremely well written. The author, being a reporter, keeps it factual and not overly dramatic. I thought he was very even-handed, carefully presenting both the smuggler's and law enforcement sides of the case. In spite of this factual style of writing, the book was riveting.
There are a lot of characters involved and it's a challenge to keep them straight. While there are some very short interviews, statements and quotes from the smugglers themselves - I wish there were more. I'd be particularly interested in how they view their lives now, looking back on them now after lengthy prison sentences. The author states that most of them would choose the same path again if they could. I found myself wanting to hear more about that.
Finally, these guys were lucky. Unlike today's smugglers, they eschewed violence, did not carry guns and only smuggled marijuana and hash. But in the same time period, in my hometown, two "gentlemen smugglers" - both sons of prominent doctors - wound up murdered, one shot and one found in his burned down house.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I really enjoyed how the author intertwined History with this story about "Operation Jackpot"
Very well researched!! All the stories left to tell would make a great "Mini Series" on HBO or NETFLIX
Very well researched!! All the stories left to tell would make a great "Mini Series" on HBO or NETFLIX
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great story told poorly
The author doesn't do enough to distinguish the main characters involved.I love true crime and this book really let me down. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Gtown
JACK POT
Ordered this book and then downloaded it to my I-Pad. Reading on the I-Pad was great. I knew some of the people involved in this, I think we all knew something was going on , I... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Michael Ebert
Awesome Book
I was truly mesmerized by this book.Having grown up in Columbia (S.C.), I knew two of the smugglers & yet never dreamed that they were part of such a large operation. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Archie
Great Storytelling With an Interesting Cast of Characters - and its...
I am a voracious reader of non-fiction books, including true crime, famous legal cases and courtroom dramas. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Dan Denton
Really Gets You Inside "The Business"
A true crime story made truly interesting and highly entertaining. Mr. Ryan has successfully mixed the activities of both the dope smugglers and their law enforcement adversaries... Read more
Published 10 months ago by lydonkey
Great book!
Ordered the book and waited anxiously for it to arrive. A couple of weeks went by and NO BOOK! Then, we get an email stating that I had returned the book and was being issued a... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Marley Spears
Great story!
I bought the book because I wanted to read about people I knew and the kingpins I had heard of. Boy, I had no idea of the world these guys lived in and the lives they led. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Daniel Hucks
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Inside This Book
(learn more)
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
