The Reaper's Line: Life and Death on the Mexican Border (Hardcover)

~ Lee Morgan (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The U.S.-Mexican border is one of the most violent places on earth, writes retired drug enforcement agent Morgan. He makes his case over 500 pages of gunplay, fisticuffs and bloodshed interspersed with profanity-laced denunciations of rival agencies and clueless Washington officials who believe they understand illegal immigration and drug smuggling. Having enjoyed serving inVietnam, Morgan sought similar adventure in the Border Patrol and the Custom Service's drug enforcement service. Working mostly in Arizona, he found corrupt officials and Border Patrolmen cooperating with corrupt Mexican officials, police and soldiers to transport drugs and people into the U.S. Still, he and fellow officers intercepted countless shipments, which the author recounts in excessive but lively rounds of shootouts, car chases and murder. Reforms that created the Department of Homeland Security and shifted antidrug enforcement to the Border Patrol are disastrous, he asserts, because the patrol is hopelessly corrupt. Sneering at the current immigration debate, he insists no barrier or law can keep out Mexicans in search of work and that the money would be better spent on making Mexico prosperous enough to provide jobs for its people. Despite the incessant fireworks and macho prose style, the book provides a thoughtful view of these issues. (Sept.)
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Product Description

A true story of violence, drugs, human smuggling and dirty politicians along the Mexican/American border.

When he was 14, Lee Morgan learned to shoot a rifle from a young Marine who later became the "Texas Tower Sniper." Four years later, Lee was conducting CIA assassination missions in Vietnam. Then he spent the next 31 years on the U.S.-Mexico border as a federal agent, where the struggle against smugglers of drugs and starving human beings is as harrowing as anything Lee encountered in Vietnam.

The Reaper's Line is a non-fiction account of unparalleled official corruption, mass murders, gunfights, treason, betrayal, and government wrongdoing.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: Rio Nuevo (September 25, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 188789697X
• ISBN-13: 978-1887896979
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #88,524 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #15 in	Books > History > United States > State & Local > Southwest
  #52 in	Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Regional U.S.
  #67 in	Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Emigration & Immigration

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! A real life adventure story that also educates. Get and read and then get your politicans to act!, December 8, 2006

By	Craig Matteson (Ann Arbor, MI) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

Most of us have only vague notions about what goes on at the border between the United States and Mexico. I had no idea how violent, dangerous, and corrupt it is. The author of this book, Lee Morgan II, is a retired Special Agent who spent his career fighting the drug traffic in and around Douglas, Arizona. His tales will shock and amaze you. Yet, you will also get frustrated and angry that our government (at all levels) is either not serious or unendingly inept in dealing with the issues at our border.

Morgan lays out how officials of the Mexican government and its military are deeply involved in protecting and even running the drug trade. He shows us the corrupt officials on both sides of the border and how he some on the American side came to justice and how others continue to avoid conviction and punishment for their crimes.

The story includes crazy chases and wild gun battles as well as patient and detailed investigations. However, I felt the most frustration and even anger at the careerists who thought more of advancement than getting their job done, of politicians on the take, and others who were more interested in all manner of issues than securing our border with Mexico and cutting off the drug trade. Many simply throw up their hands in the face of the tidal waves of drugs coming in. After all, they must say to themselves, if Americans want these drugs nothing can stop this flow, so why pay the price to try and end up failing. Easier to fail in a way that makes one look good, huh?

While this is a book of non-fiction, the stories share are the stuff of action movies (although I think they are better told in these pages than Hollywood would end up portraying them on screen). The language is pretty rough, but sounds pretty much as if it is Lee Morgan's normal speech. Maybe, rough as it is, it is even toned down a bit. Even so, it is very much worth reading. So, I overlooked the swearing.

I haven't found anyone in the media, anywhere, sharing the truth as it is told here. It is as if the media, the politicians, and others all want us to not understand what is happening. This is especially so because the vast majority want the border secured. If the stuff in these pages were actually explained publicly, that the drug problem and political corruption are MUCH worse than the millions of illegals streaming in, public opinion would catch fire and force the politicians to shut the border down. I hope it happens.

So, I say, get and read this book. Educate yourself, and then get on your politicians and don't let go until they do the right things.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

Another book you might want to read on a related subject:

The Deporter: One Agent's Struggle Against the U.S. Government's Refusal to Expel Criminal Aliens

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars told the way it happened, January 24, 2007

By	H. Earnest "Flyfishinghank" (Ocean Springs, ms) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a 19 year veteran of the Border Patrol, with my first 10 years in Douglas, AZ I can say for a fact that the book is completely true. I was there! For the Record I do know Mr. Morgan very well. These events actually happened, occasionaly I was involved also. Other reviewers may doubt the authencity I don't. As for putting the USBP in a bad light, maybe maybe not. We get what we deserve. I find no fault with Lee on this. He did not portray all BP agents as inept nor did he portray all Customs agents saintly. The truth is the truth.
Great Book

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like all but the end, January 4, 2007

By	Robert G. Daniels Jr. "pio4bp" (Tucson, AZ United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

After hearing about this book, I immediately ordered it to read about life along the border in SE Arizona. I found the book to be a very good read. However, I wasn't necessarily pleased about the author's broadbrushed description of the Border Patrol. Like all law enforcement agencies, there are "bad apples" that tarnish the reputation of others.
This shouldn't take away from the many "good" people who bust their butts everyday as agents.