Discover the secret history behind the headlines. The Mexican drug wars have inspired countless articles, TV shows and movies. From Breaking Bad to Sicario, El Chapo's escapes to Trump's tirades, this is a story we think we know. But there's a hidden history to the biggest story of the twenty-first century. The Dope exposes how an illicit industry that started with farmers, families and healers came to be dominated by cartels, kingpins and corruption. Benjamin T Smith traces an unforgettable cast of characters from the early twentieth century to the modern day, whose actions came to influence Mexico as we now know it. There's Enrique Fernandez, the borderlands trafficker who became Mexico's first major narco and one of the first victims of the war on drugs; Eduardo 'Lalo' Fernandez, Mexico's most prominent heroin chemist and first major cocaine importer; Leopoldo Salazar Viniegra, the brilliant doctor and Marxist who tried (and failed) to decriminalize Mexico's drugs; and Harry Anslinger, the head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics whose sensationalist strategies paved the way for U.S. interference and the extraordinary levels of violence in Mexico today. The Dope is the epic saga of how violence and corruption came to plague modern Mexico, and the first book to make sense of the political and economic big picture of the Mexican drug wars.

The product of five years' investigative reporting, the subject of intense national controversy,
and the source of death threats that forced the National Human Rights Commission to assign
two full-time bodyguards to its author, Anabel Hernandez, "Narcoland" has been a publishing
and political sensation in Mexico.
The definitive history of the drug cartels, "Narcoland" takes readers to the front lines of the
"war on drugs," which has so far cost more than 60,000 lives in just six years. Hernandez explains
in riveting detail how Mexico became a base for the mega-cartels of Latin America and one of the
most violent places on the planet. At every turn, Hernandez names names--not just the narcos,
but also the politicians, functionaries, judges and entrepreneurs who have collaborated with them.
In doing so, she reveals the mind-boggling depth of corruption in Mexico's government
and business elite.
Hernandez became a journalist after her father was kidnapped and killed and the police refused
to investigate without a bribe. She gained national prominence in 2001 with her exposure
of excess and misconduct at the presidential palace, and previous books have focused on
criminality at the summit of power, under presidents Vicente Fox and Felipe Calderon.
In awarding Hernandez the 2012 Golden Pen of Freedom, the World Association of Newspapers
and News Publishers noted, "Mexico has become one of the most dangerous countries in the
world for journalists, with violence and impunity remaining major challenges in terms of press
freedom. In making this award, we recognize the strong stance Ms. Hernandez has taken, at great
personal risk, against drug cartels."

"From the Hardcover edition."