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Charles Bowden

Murder City: Ciudad Juarez and the Global Economy's New Killing Fields 1st Edition

by Charles Bowden (Author)

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Ciudad Juárez lies just across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas. A once-thriving border town, it now resembles a failed state. Infamously known as the place where women disappear, its murder rate exceeds that of Baghdad. Last year 1,607 people were killed—a number that is on pace to increase in 2009.

In Murder City, Charles Bowden—one of the few journalists who has spent extended periods of time in Juárez—has written an extraordinary account of what happens when a city disintegrates. Interweaving stories of its inhabitants—a raped beauty queen, a repentant hitman, a journalist fleeing for his life—with a broader meditation on the town's descent into anarchy, Bowden reveals how Juárez's culture of violence will not only worsen, but inevitably spread north.

Heartbreaking, disturbing, and unforgettable, Murder City establishes Bowden as one of our leading writers working at the height of his powers.

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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Just across the Rio Grande from El Paso sits Juárez, Mexico, a city so overtaken with the violence of drug trafficking that its leading citizens—police, politicians, even the drug lords—find it safer to live in El Paso. Bowden, critically acclaimed author of Some of the Dead Are Still Breathing (2009), details the forces that have led to Mexico’s place in the multinational drug business. Hundreds of millions of dollars flow into Juárez each week, and the violence and corruption that follow yield 200 to 300 murders each year. Bowden laments the silence on both sides of the border that permits the slaughter that goes mostly unnoted and unreported. Behind the numbers, he details the lives lost or destroyed: a reporter fleeing for his life with his young son, a beautiful woman gang-raped, a killer for the cartels who is now being hunted. He chronicles a town that has been the site of numerous mass graves of victims and of monuments to fallen police that bear hit lists from the cartels. A stark, haunting look at the impact of drug trafficking on a town and its people. --Vanessa Bush

About the Author

Charles Bowden, the recipient of a Lannan Literary Award and the Sidney Hillman Award, is the critically acclaimed author of numerous books, including Down by the River and Some of the Dead Are Still Breathing. He is a contributing editor for GQ and Mother Jones, and also writes for Harper-s, the New York Times Book Review, Esquire, and Aperture. He lives in Tucson, Arizona.

Product details

Grade level : 11 and up
Item Weight : 1.3 pounds
Hardcover : 352 pages
ISBN-10 : 1568584490
ISBN-13 : 978-1568584492
Dimensions : 6.25 x 1 x 9.25 inches
Reading level : 13 and up
Publisher : Nation Books; 1st edition (March 1, 2010)
Language: : English

Best Sellers Rank: #1,439,381 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #884 in Latin American History (Books)
- #1,509 in Mexico History
- #1,733 in Criminology (Books)

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ImaginaryFairy

A must read

Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2018

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This book is outstanding. The author presents the horrors of life in Juarez Mexico with a poetic eloquence which turns the readers sense of reality asunder. This work truly makes one ponder deeper questions about the meaning of life, death, and humanity. It also sheds light on the complexity of the issues facing the Mexican people, as well as the roles which globalism and America have played in exacerbating these issues. It is a moving tribute to the perseverance of the human spirit, the paradox of attempting to frame good and evil, and to the countless numbers of souls whose lives seem to only find meaning in the futility of their own ruthless demise at the hands of those entrusted to serve and protect them. It raises serious questions about America's pseudo war on drugs and monetary contributions which keep Mexican corruption alive and thriving. In today's climate of concern over illegal immigration, gangs, and trade agreements it should be required reading so people understand the complex nature and driving forces behind these issues. Incredibly well written and a page turner hard to put down.

5 people found this helpful

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Don't bother

Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2020

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I've always been fascinated by Juárez, being an Arizona girl and thus somewhat close to "the border" and all of the sociopolitical baggage which accompanies that simple phrase.

Lately I've been taking the time to read more books about Juárez, and this book came highly recommended. As it turns out, I'm not sure why anyone would recommend this book as anything other than a rambling stream-of-consciousness disaster that never addresses the actual problems in Juárez. It merely describes them. Over and over again. I can summarize the book in about a paragraph...

Juárez is a dangerous city due to the presence of powerful drug cartels which offer the poor citizens a bleak ray of hope in the form of well-paying crime jobs, where otherwise jobs are scarce and the city is drowning in unimaginable poverty. The cops are nearly all corrupt, and the ones who aren't are too scared to come out of the station, so emergency calls frequently go unanswered. The border agents are corrupt and largely allow huge quantities of drugs to cross into (and out of) the United States. The Mexican military is corrupt and have a nasty little habit of "disappearing" anyone they don't like. Everyone is in on the game, and the game is drugs and murder. Reporters don't actually report the news because they'll get killed if they do. In Juárez, snitches don't get stitches -- they get a bullet through the head. Bodies are often found just dumped in the street, with flies buzzing around the pools of coagulated blood (that's one of the author's favorite descriptions, by the way, you'll read it many times over). There. I just saved you 300-or-so worthless pages.

There's no coherence. The book just rambles on and on, jumping from one person's story to the next and then back again, with no resolution. The author talks about how much he "loves" Mexico and "loves" Juárez and he definitely spends a lot of time there, but all he does is describe the worst parts of it in graphic detail, as though he's trying to make it seem romantic and glamourous when it's anything but. He interviews people who do try to help the struggling residents of the city, but it's obvious that he's more interested in the struggle itself, than in actually helping anyone. Knowing how many people died in this month, or that month, all just blurs together after a while, and the numbers become meaningless. Perhaps this is the point the author was attempting to make, and I'm sure some people would grimly call it art. I call it a wasted opportunity for a great book, and ultimately a waste of my time.

One person found this helpful

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K. E Hart

Most Important Book to Read this Decade

Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2019

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At first I was a little offput by Charles Bowden's shifting lens more pronounced here than in Down by the River: Drugs, Money, Murder and Family. But he takes us into the streets of Ciudad Juarez where murder has become the norm, everyone is either frightened or corrupt or both. The violence comes from everywhere, from the drug cartels, from the police, from the federales, from the CIA, from the army, from all these men with guns, boys sometimes, and all they know is death. No one is safe, reporters, police, children, they all are killed.
This corruption is already in America. Drug money is being laundered in our banks and businesses, our real estate. Our future is Ciudad Juarez.

One person found this helpful

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Marshall kelly

Brutal Writing About A Brutal Place

Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2015

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Bowden writes like a prize fighter hits. It never stops yet he never repeats the same idea or phrase twice. Murder City is the scariest story I know. And Murder City can happen anywhere and is. I believe everyone should read this book and take a hard look at their towns and cities and start cleaning them as fast as humanly possible. This book can awaken the laziest mind and inspire a lot of good changes. I hope everyone reads it. Thanks Charles for all your research in the down and dirty life In Juarez. I know you probably cannot hear me or see my words but we all owe you a debt of gratitude. RIP

7 people found this helpful

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Anonymous

Fascinating subject matter..awful book...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 31, 2019

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I made the foolish error of thinking the author was Mark Bowden-whose books such as Black Hawk Down and Killing Pablo are meticulous pieces of journalistic writing that retain the excitement of novels. I couldn't wait to read his account of the brutal cartel wars of Juarez and their devastating effect on the city-at one point it achieved the grim accolade of murder capital of the world.
I was stunned to begin reading and find pretentious, poetic musings with haphazard structure. No timeline or details on the groups at play in the Cartel war. Simply meandering gibberish...like a stoned 18 year student thinking he's a 60's Beat Poet writing deep and meaningful prose. What the hell happened to the author??I then realised what a fool I was..the author was Charles, not Mark Bowden.
I am actually angered at the arrogance of the author. He was one of the few American writers to spend large periods of time in Juarez in the period where it became a tragedy of near biblical proportions. He must've accrued the knowledge and information to write an epic account. Instead his arrogance overrides all that
He ignores structured narrative as he feels his aspirations for poetic symbolism are far more important than the events themselves.
I did raise a laugh when he states in this book on drug wars and chaos that he himself has never taken a single drug in his life. Ironic then that his writing resembles a pretentious 4th rate dope infused counterculture advocate from 50 years ago.

One person found this helpful

Allan

Difficult to read

Reviewed in Canada on January 2, 2020

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I will look for a more objective book on the subject; the author chose to write this story in a fashion more akin to...I'm not sure what, prose, grim musings....some sort of spirit walker ghosting his way thru the despair. I wanted to read a more factual, gritty, bare bones breakdown of the state of affairs. Some may like his writing style; I didn't. But it is a story which needs to be told.

Tom

Murder City

Reviewed in Canada on May 10, 2013

Verified Purchase

This book was excellent reading.I would recommend it to people who go to border towns to shop for their supper bargains.A few deals can,t be worth the potential problems that you might have . Tom

One person found this helpful

Corina R.

sehr gutes buch...

Reviewed in Germany on May 21, 2014

Verified Purchase

jedoch schwer zu lesen für den ein oder anderen, wenn das Englisch nicht fortgeschritten ist. Ansonsten sehr spannend beschrieben, wie es in Juarez zu geht und das System in Mexico funktioniert...

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deb

Eye Opening

Reviewed in Canada on April 1, 2013

Verified Purchase

Very factually written. This book is a real eye opener. We learned a great deal about what is going on in Juarez. Very frightening.

One person found this helpful