What do you think?
Rate this book
Law of the Jungle: The Hunt for Colombian Guerrillas, American Hostages, and Buried Treasure – The Only Reporter Who Could Tell This Surreal True Story
Law of the Jungle by John Otis is a wild and riveting true story of kidnapping and drug trafficking in the jungles of South America. Written by a 20-year veteran reporter based in Colombia—the only reporter qualified to tell the tale—this incredible account of “The Hunt for Colombian Guerrillas, American Hostages, and Buried Treasure” tells the untold flip side of the story chronicled in the New York Times bestseller Out of Captivity. An amazing surreal-but-true adventure in the tradition of Mark Bowden’s Killing Pablo and Blackhawk Down, Law of the Jungle is, at once, heroic, tragic, and bizarre, placing the Colombian hostage story in its full and magnificently strange context.
610 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2010
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
March 11, 2011
It wasn't as good as I hoped it would be. The story is what really intrigued me and I had listened to the author on NPR. I felt that it lacked the emotional component of what everyone involved went through, which would have made it better. Also, the author didn't really focus in on any one character and so I never connected with anybody's ordeal. I learned a lot reading it though. I did end up skimming the last half of the book because I had stopped enjoying it.
June 20, 2020
Law of the Jungle is a successful effort by John Otis, a longtime South American correspondent, to document the kidnapping of three American military “contractors” who had the misfortune to crash in the southern hinterlands of Columbia on February 13, 2003. Their work as professional avian counter narcotic “spies” assisting the Columbia government in spotting and eradicating coca fields ends the minute their single-engine Cessna seizes up at 12,000 feet. The plane is forced to crash land onto a jungle mountainside. Pro-communist, anti-government FARC guerillas—young peasants with few avenues to a better life—surround the crash site, taking three men into “custody”: Marc Gonsalves, Keith Stansell, and Tom Howes.
Otis’s telling of this tale is based on extensive interviews of several parties involved: the Columbia and U.S. governments, members of the FARC, other prisoners, and especially the Columbian special forces tasked with rescue. Great attention is paid to the plight of the men’s families as they wait for the return of their loved ones. Though thoughtful description of the men’s several year imprisonment is given, Otis also brings the reader the fuller picture of the FARC’s history, South American politics, the narcotics trade, and the disparity between richer, urban Columbians and their poorer brothers and sisters. The United States Government’s interests are documented, as well as governments of other kidnapped nationals. Local officials and members of the Columbian Army, however, fear the jungle most because they are the guerilla’s favorite victims. The FARC kidnaps thousands of prisoners a year, mostly soldiers and politicians, detaining them for months, sometimes years, to fund their activities. The FARC is hounded by better equipped government soldiers, however, and is forced to constantly move the Americans through the thick jungle; any rescue attempt will result in their immediate execution.
One interesting (and entertaining) occurrence Otis describes thoroughly is how 80 Columbian Army counterinsurgency soldiers, most young and poor themselves, hunt the FARC terrorists through jungle so thick, light barely penetrates to the ground. On their quest to find and free the Americans, the elite soldiers stumble onto an abandoned FARC camp where barrels stuffed with millions of Columbian pesos and US dollars are discovered. Initially, this is to the soldier’s glee. They stuff their pockets, returning to base to drink and spend their way through their “godsend,” only to face the wrath of the Columbia Army brass.
Otis does a great job weaving the vast, complicated jungle social-political theater together. His due diligence pays off: the scenes of hardship, anxiety, violence, even boredom, are believable. Otis uses a masterly command of early twenty-first century American lexicon, combining it with a deep understanding of the Columbian people, their culture and language. Deep with details, it never loses focus on the hard, brutal effort required to free the Americans. It’s a rich read. Four and a half stars out of five.
Otis’s telling of this tale is based on extensive interviews of several parties involved: the Columbia and U.S. governments, members of the FARC, other prisoners, and especially the Columbian special forces tasked with rescue. Great attention is paid to the plight of the men’s families as they wait for the return of their loved ones. Though thoughtful description of the men’s several year imprisonment is given, Otis also brings the reader the fuller picture of the FARC’s history, South American politics, the narcotics trade, and the disparity between richer, urban Columbians and their poorer brothers and sisters. The United States Government’s interests are documented, as well as governments of other kidnapped nationals. Local officials and members of the Columbian Army, however, fear the jungle most because they are the guerilla’s favorite victims. The FARC kidnaps thousands of prisoners a year, mostly soldiers and politicians, detaining them for months, sometimes years, to fund their activities. The FARC is hounded by better equipped government soldiers, however, and is forced to constantly move the Americans through the thick jungle; any rescue attempt will result in their immediate execution.
One interesting (and entertaining) occurrence Otis describes thoroughly is how 80 Columbian Army counterinsurgency soldiers, most young and poor themselves, hunt the FARC terrorists through jungle so thick, light barely penetrates to the ground. On their quest to find and free the Americans, the elite soldiers stumble onto an abandoned FARC camp where barrels stuffed with millions of Columbian pesos and US dollars are discovered. Initially, this is to the soldier’s glee. They stuff their pockets, returning to base to drink and spend their way through their “godsend,” only to face the wrath of the Columbia Army brass.
Otis does a great job weaving the vast, complicated jungle social-political theater together. His due diligence pays off: the scenes of hardship, anxiety, violence, even boredom, are believable. Otis uses a masterly command of early twenty-first century American lexicon, combining it with a deep understanding of the Columbian people, their culture and language. Deep with details, it never loses focus on the hard, brutal effort required to free the Americans. It’s a rich read. Four and a half stars out of five.
January 16, 2024
Amazon Review on August 19, 2013: Fascinating and well-written!
For anyone interested in Colombia or just real-life human drama this book well worth your time. It is fast paced and jumps around a bit but kept me engrossed throughout. I was familiar with the story having read the book by the U.S. hostages but this more 'objective' view helped to understand the bigger picture. The 'buried treasure' reference on the front cover is almost distracting and almost dissuaded me from buying it. Yet that part of the story was perhaps the most interesting part of the book. To see these poor soldiers finding ways to blow the found money or try to hide it was both funny and sad. The Government prosecutions for that were terribly unfair it seemed. Anyway, the reason I gave this book 4 instead of 5 stars was the lack of a single map. There are so many geographical references that it seems almost unbelievable that one (or more) was not included.
For anyone interested in Colombia or just real-life human drama this book well worth your time. It is fast paced and jumps around a bit but kept me engrossed throughout. I was familiar with the story having read the book by the U.S. hostages but this more 'objective' view helped to understand the bigger picture. The 'buried treasure' reference on the front cover is almost distracting and almost dissuaded me from buying it. Yet that part of the story was perhaps the most interesting part of the book. To see these poor soldiers finding ways to blow the found money or try to hide it was both funny and sad. The Government prosecutions for that were terribly unfair it seemed. Anyway, the reason I gave this book 4 instead of 5 stars was the lack of a single map. There are so many geographical references that it seems almost unbelievable that one (or more) was not included.
October 31, 2020
Honestly, Otis' extreme bias towards the government/military/paramilitary groups and the massacres they perpetrated, and his extreme bias against the guerrilla groups, made this hard to stomach. After I got to the end and realized his wife's father had been kidnapped by the FARC at one point, it all made way more sense. Definitely not a nuanced examination at all, and I feel like instead of covering 1 topic well, he tried to cover 3-4 separate topics and didn't succeed at any of them.
October 20, 2017
Great Historical Account
Was recommended prior to my extensive stay in Colombia, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Colombia's recent issues. My first military history book so not sure how it stacks to others but for my first read it was a nice layout of the climate at that time in Colombia.
Was recommended prior to my extensive stay in Colombia, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Colombia's recent issues. My first military history book so not sure how it stacks to others but for my first read it was a nice layout of the climate at that time in Colombia.
February 10, 2022
Engaging story in many ways: political and human. Poor Colombia to have a civil war and so many problems associated with it for so long.
September 20, 2015
This book is about the hunt for Columbian Guerrillas, American hostages and buried treasure. Military contractors were on a plane that crashed and they were hostages for 5 years in terrible conditions by the Marxist rebels. They were supposed to be taking pictures of the cocaine labs and report back so they could be destroyed. The middle part of the book when everyone was trying to find them was way too long. I wanted to know more about the American hostages not so much on the boring stuff. At the end President Uribe sent a huge army to get them out safely. But their lives were changed forever and things were the same at home. I wish I had books written by them. It was a very good book and I learned a lot about Columbia.
December 18, 2013
I had a special interest in this book about FARC guerrillas in Colombia taking US hostages because my co-author, Miriam Murcutt, and I had a brush with these narco-terrorists ourselves (as related in our book, Along the River that Flows Uphill - from the Orinoco to the Amazon). The story that Law of the Jungle tells is a harrowing one, and the book is well-researched and well-written; but I think it might have been improved - from the reader's point of view - if it had been leaner and tighter. For me there were too many asides that slowed it down (although other readers may appreciate the meanderings).
January 12, 2016
I would have given this book a four had it not been for the author's constant bashing of any and everyone associated with the political party he chooses not to like. If you can get through all his bandstanding for his chosen political party you can get a small sense of the story.
Would love to read an account of the hostage ordeal written by someone not on a political party bandwagon.
Such a shame the story gets lost among the author's agenda :(
Would love to read an account of the hostage ordeal written by someone not on a political party bandwagon.
Such a shame the story gets lost among the author's agenda :(
June 27, 2013
It was some what laborious to get to the wonderful conclusion. I do not feel that I needed to know that much about FARC and Columbian politics but for better or worse, I know something now. I did enjoy the trials and tribulations of the hostages and the soldiers that found the money. I felt that that part could have been explored deeper but then again, most of the soldiers disappeared.
May 27, 2010
What an amazing book! I am in awe of the amount of detail that is shared not only about the hostages, but about the Columbian culture, the rebels and the army. Made me wonder how much I don't know about what is happening in the world.
August 28, 2011
I am an American who lives in Colombia. John Otis understands Colombia and has brought the realities of Colombia forward with his excellent writing ability. John has a writing style that will keep you glued to the pages.
September 14, 2010
Some really good info in this book, but could have been made more appealing to readers.
July 18, 2011
So far I am liking this combat story. I am a big fan of military reads and stories of people pulling through desolate situations. Excited to keep reading!
March 7, 2011
gee.....I was close to giving this a 5 but there no maps. Photos but not maps. Otherise, a rivetin and extremely well told (true)tale.
June 5, 2011
Discusses all aspects of FARC and hostage taking.
April 18, 2015
Maybe the most complete book written by an accomplished journalist detailing the problems in Colombia, the kidnapping of the American contractors and the challenges for the future of the country.
March 31, 2021
Excellent reportage of the story of three Americans held by the FARC with real insights. Highly recommend for anyone interested in Colombia and Latin America.
maybe-read-unavailable
May 5, 2010986.106 Oti
April 24, 2015
Well written. My first military read so have nothing to compare it to.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews