Set in a world where crime and government coexist, American Made is the jaw-dropping true story of CIA pilot Barry Seal that the Hollywood movie starring Tom Cruise is afraid to tell. Barry Seal flew cocaine and weapons worth billions of dollars into and out of America in the 1980s. After he became a government informant, Pablo Escobar’s Medellin Cartel offered a million for him alive and half a million dead. But his real trouble began after he threatened to expose the dirty dealings of George HW Bush. American Made rips the roof off Bush and Clinton’s complicity in cocaine trafficking in Mena, Arkansas. “American Made really captures the big picture of my dad’s story” – Aaron Seal, Barry Seal’s son “A conspiracy of the grandest magnitude” – Congressman Bill Alexander on the Mena affair Shaun Attwood’s WAR ON DRUGS SERIES – PABLO ESCOBAR, AMERICAN MADE, WE ARE BEING LIED TO and THE CALI CARTEL – are harrowing, action-packed and interlinked true stories that demonstrate the devastating consequences of drug prohibition.
In prison, I read over 1000 books in just under six years, including many literary classics. Books were the lifeblood of my rehabilitation.
As told on National Geographic Channel's Locked-Up/Banged-Up Abroad episode "Raving Arizona," I used a tiny pencil sharpened on a cell door to write the first prison blog, Jon’s Jail Journal. My writing, smuggled out of the jail with the highest rate of death in America, run by Sheriff Joe Arpaio, turned the international media spotlight on the human rights violations, including guards murdering mentally ill inmates, dead rats in the food, lack of medical care...
Raised in a small chemical-manufacturing town in northern England, I was the first from my family to go to university. As a penniless graduate, I took my business degree to Phoenix, and worked my way up to become a stock-market millionaire.
But I also led a double life. An early fan of the Manchester rave scene, I headed an organisation that threw raves and distributed Ecstasy. On May 16th 2002, a SWAT team knocked my door down.
Facing a life sentence, I entered a lengthy legal battle. After two years of being held unsentenced, I was convicted of drug offences. Sentenced to 9½ years, I served almost 6.
I had only read finance books prior to my arrest. While incarcerated, I submerged myself in literature. By studying original texts in psychology and philosophy, I sought to better understand myself and my past behaviour.
Released in December 2007, I continue to campaign against Sheriff Joe Arpaio. I keep my blog, Jon’s Jail Journal, going by posting stories mailed to me by my prison friends.
In July 2008, I won a Koestler award for a short story, which I read to an audience at the Royal Festival Hall.
I presently live near London, and talk to schools across the UK about my jail experience and the consequences of getting involved in drugs and crime.
If you've ever had doubts about the integrity of the federal government, this is the book to confirm your suspicions. Barry Seal was an undercover operative working for the DEA in their war against drugs. This story of his life - and death - is a devastating expose of the corruption at the very heart of the American establishment, from CIA involvement in arms running, money laundering and drug smuggling, the proceeds of which went to finance the war in Nicaragua, to the involvement of high-ranking individuals in drugs rackets, assassinations, pedophile rings and profiteering in Nazi Germany. Attwood does not shrink from naming names - G W Bush, Clinton, Oliver North ... These are all guys we know, or thought we knew. Getting his material from a variety of sources, Attwood pulls together a compelling narrative. It is lively and easy to read, with some scenes described in live action and others retold from letters and transcripts. Who actually killed Barry Seal, whether it was Escobar's cartel or the US administration, is almost an irrelevance : they are as bad as each other. Read this book and make up your own mind.
Garbage. You're far better off reading the Wikipedia article. The biggest problem with this book is that the author has no idea how to write. None. The entire book is a run on sentence. Paragraphs have no consistent or coherent structure, nor do you have the luxury of understanding how threads connect from one end of each pitifully short chapter to the next. I imagine there wasn't much editing involved.
The second biggest problem is there is no citation of any sources whatsoever. The main primary sources seem to be other conspiracy theorists and movies. Seriously? Movies? Whoever cites films as a primary source for *actual conversations* obviously has different standards of journalism from those of us who have read good nonfiction.
Finally, the whole thing reads as one giant conspiracy theory, where rational thoughts are linked together to wind up at a logical leap. An entire chapter on a famous pedophilia ring case is somehow used to justify the statement "because George HW Bush could protect pedophiles, he obviously had no moral qualms ordering a hit on Barry Seal." If you're going to make that argument, you need to back up your logic with facts, and connect the dots.
There is not a lot of effort to tell a story in this book, only to regurgitate conspiracy theories as facts and throw as many names and dates at the reader as possible. If you're looking for a book on the war on drugs, I would suggest instead Johann Hari's "Chasing the Scream." It at least reads coherently.
Make sure you vote every four years and post your political memes on your Facebook. Pay your taxes to the crown and go the speed limit. If this book doesn't make you question the current state of affairs in America then nothing else will. Shaun has the biggest brass cojones to tell the stories he does and risk his life telling the truth.
Filled with so many twists and turns, the author has built a solid case for evil as the lifeblood in several former U.S. presidents as well as multiple high level govt authorities. The section on pedophile rings being the one to most thoroughly sicken me.
This book is an excellent analysis of the life of Barry Seal, and his work for the CIA which got him killed, which the movie is not going to show because it is a line the director cannot cross. As well as Barry's story, this book also contains the stories of his murder suspects, Pablo Escobar and George HW Bush, which are equally as fascinating. Reading the audiobook reviews about tin-foil hats, it seems some of the listeners still believe in mainstream media, worship the Bush family and believe all the lies and propaganda. If this audiobook did not help you wake up, then you probably never will.
If you’ve watched the Tom Cruise movie, this is a must read. With thorough research unavailable from mainstream sources, Attwood masterfully weaves together the diabolical plot of George HW Bush to dispose of Barry Seal, who knew way too much. Bush comes across as a bigger monster than Escobar.
Unable to put down-- A must read will blow your mind and make you question all the powers that be in this country and how they came to! I'll call this book an gateway into making up your own mind about things... Highly recommend!
"In Baton Rouge, Barry was buried in a sky-blue casket with a Snickers bar, his telephone pager and a bunch of twenty-five cent coins. He had written his own epitaph in his personal Bible which was etched onto his grave marker and read at the funeral: “A rebel adventurer the likes of whom in previous days made America great.”
Is everything true?I do not know. A lot are and that is enough to be a chilling book.
This book tells it like it is . Whether you want to believe it or not. This shows that America really needs to look into politician and what their values actually are. Please read and then think about these cover ups before you vote.
Doesn't pass the smell test. What is the smell test? The use of Bill Clinton's name just to sell books to right wing liars & haters. How many times do we have to go over the fact that getting a bj from an intern in the 1990's really is small potatoes next to what the Bush/Harriman/Dulles clan & other rich & well connected families have done. It is ludacris to act like a little known Governor from Arkansas was in league with Bush. They didn't meet until Clinton ran for president in 1992. This is all manufactured lies by propagandist, serial liar & rat f***er Karl Rove. Others like Matt Drudge have admitted to making stories up like the fabled "Clinton has a black child" he created. Murdoch of the NY Post is another smear merchant making tons of money off of his lies about Bill & Hillary Clinton. To that end, he continued to use Bill Clinton's name in regard to Epstein, while protecting the actual collaborators Trump, Prince Albert, & pedophile lawyer Dershowitz. The so-called 26 times he was on the plane is also exaggerated & not backed up by documentation. The Secret Service were with Clinton each time he was on Epstein's plane. People who run foundations need philanthropists like Epstein. Furthermore, it's been said, everyone who was anybody went to Epstein's parties but nobody else was harassed & maligned besides Bill Clinton. I don't know about you, but I find that curious. It's a red flag.
Finally, & not the least point here, is that if/when CIA are doing secret things legal or illegal (like drug running), they don't necessarily need the compliance or permission from a Governor of a state or even a sitting president. The CIA can simply tell the Governor that there is an investigation, sting, or exercise they are doing & to not get involved. Does anybody REALLY think the CIA needs the Governor of a backwards state like Arkansas to sign on to it? Does anybody think the CIA needs or would include a Governor in on their secret plans, activities? Please stop the ignorance.
Instead of ACTUALLY doing research this ex-con lazy smear merchant doesn't bother to verify any of the rumors, conspiracy theories or other outlandish claims. Are there parts of this that are true? Yes, but that's the problem. Then you use some parts of the truth & then combine it with rumors, smears, & urban legends....it makes the whole thing not credible.
This story surrounds the supposed War on Drugs, gun running and drug addiction and how the government might have manipulated us all, and the assassination of a man named Barry Seal. He was an informant and pilot that allegedly delivered both drugs and money all over the world, including inside the USA. His name was leaked by the Reagan/Bush administration leading ultimately to a bounty of $500K being leveled against him. Pablo Escobar would be openly blamed but this books shows you why that might not be the whole truth.
It paints a picture that perhaps others inside our own government wanted him dead. It was reported by Brian Ross, an NBC reporter, that he was set to testify again. What would have been covered in that testimony? Who would have been named? Barry Seal was reported to have videotape of people that would pay any price to conceal their involvement. The world will sadly never know what might have been revealed.
This book is told in incredible detail and divided into sections. He covers a huge period of history with such notable headlines such as JFK'S assassination, the Bay of Pigs, both World Wars, and more. The sections are mostly devoted to the people in the title but with heavy splashes of Clinton, Oliver North, Reagan, and cartels from far flung countries.
It's not exactly linear in the telling but the sections make it somewhat clearer about timing and the motivation behind each principal player. You get a thorough history of each but it doesn't make any of them sympathetic characters. It's just the opposite as a matter of fact. You find that each of them had plans that could've included blackmail or worse at any opportunity.
In the end, if you're interested in discovering more about the supposed War on Drugs, gun running and drug addiction and how the government might have manipulated us all, I think you'll find this book engrossing.
Can I recommend this book? Yes. Was it perfect? No. It was a bit confusing in layout and content. I was forced to take notes to help me keep track so I can't say it's a five star read but it's very close.
Attwood's books on the War on Drugs are *fascinating* and they're more like a survey paper than actual novel reporting. But the survey is astonishing.
For example in this book he covers Barry Seal and his time running drugs for the CIA. Seal was purportedly gunned down by Colombians on Pablo Escobar's orders. However, Attwood suggests that it's possible the CIA had Seal killed by Colombian hit men to make it look like Escobar because Seal was running his mouth. (This happened in the 80s. It's not a spoiler to reference a historical event from 40 ish years ago.)
But here we are, with Attwood discussing whether it was more likely Escobar or, as he intimates, it was actually George H. W. Bush to cover up the drug use and dealing of his sons.
And then we go down the rabbit hole of the Bush family and hoo boy is it a rabbit hole. From JFK, to Iran-Contra, to Mena, the Clintons, Regan being shot by Hinckley, and the Franklin Scandal, we cover all of the shady dealings of HW and even touch on Barbara Bush's attempted retconning to establish they were definitely not in Dallas when Kennedy was shot.
Bo Gritz , Ross Perot, and an assorted cast of names you know and you don't know make appearances and each is more shocking than the next.
Make sure you have ample time to read, because you won't be able to put this book down.
Barry Seal was a swashbuckling figure who loved piloting planes, and learned how to make tons of money doing it. The first part of the book tells Barry's story, no holds barred. It's riveting. He was used by George H W Bush, via Oliver North, to bring guns into Nicaragua, and cocaine out, ostensibly to finance the Nicaraguan Rebels. The detail of the story leaves little doubt that it's true.
The second part of the book is a fairly brief bio of Pablo Escobar's life, warts and all, mainly used to show that even though a criminal, he had his own code of ethics. It's mainly used to show how he and Barry Seal worked together to bring cocaine into the US, and just how dark and dangerous that world was, and still is. It definitely shows that Escobar would want him dead,.
The third part of the book is about VP Bush, and to what lengths he would go to accomplish his goals. It left me shocked and saddened about the actual man, and what I thought I knew about him. He came from a very political family that put profit and power above all, and was ruthless in achieving those ends. It's a very eye opening look into H.W. and it will leave you spellbound.
Interesting book about the life and journey of Barry Seal. A drug runner, turned CIA and DEA informant. Seal ran so much cocaine into the US, it is rumored that a majority of all the drugs coming into the US during that time was smuggled in by Seal. A movie was made about Barry Seal starring Tom Cruise. The book is marketed as the "True story untold by the Tom Cruise movie". I saw the movie and it does differ substantially.
Attwood tells the story beginning with Seal's time as a commercial pilot, throughout his "journey" and culminating with his Assassination. Attwood poses the question of who was the driving force behind Seal's hit. Was it Pablo Escobar or George H. W. Bush? Attwood makes the case for both Bush and Escobar while implicating Bill Clinton, former POTUS.
Interesting enough, this book has piqued my interest on the Bush dynasty as well as the rise and fall of Pablo Escobar. Both topics are briefly covered in this book in the final chapters. Actually, the Bush and Escobar chapters were the best in my opinion, better than the other 40-some-odd chapters.
I recommend this book to anyone interested in real life crime stories.
I got a lot more than I bargained for with this book, which could be split up into 6 small books. One on Barry Seal himself, one on Pablo Escobar, one on George H.W. Bush one on the JFK assassination, one on child trafficking, and one on CIA drug smuggling with the section on Escobar (chapters 27-36) being the most interesting, imo.
It highlights the tight grip the rich and powerful have on fate and justice in this country and shows the corrupt underbelly of a few of our past presidents previously beloved and revered.
I recommend the whole book, but especially the chapters on Pablo Escobar if you don't know much about him. It's a quite unbelievable story that makes me want to check out the Netflix series on him.
Looking forward to reading more of Shaun Attwood's books (who has a crazy life story himself).
Picked this book as "light" reading for a trip and I was so positively surprised. I was not expecting such a thorough and detailed count of the full extent of Seal's connection with individuals like David Ferrie and Lee Harvey Oswald and all of the information about the relationship with Bush Senior end their network.
This is another book that should be mandatory reading right next to Bitter Fruit, All the Sha's Men, Ghost Wars, Dark Alliance, etc.
At least I did enjoy reading this book. The life of Barry seems to be adventurous that filled with dangers. Now with Bush and Clinton involved... I was like fuck goddamn. Now, I'm not sure what I should believe in. Too much plausible in this. I mean many of us to tend to avoid the truth for our own reality. To believe, I gotta see it for myself!
Read with a healthy dose of skepticism. This book veers somewhat into conspiracy theories more than other books in the series. That's not to say there isn't a grain of truth in some of these matters. But seek primary sources based on people referenced. For example:
- Barry Seal: Uncle Sam Wants You - interviews with traffickers, government officials, law enforcement, etc.
And then, recognize the motivations behind claims according to those sources.
The author didn’t source anything here except for a brief References list in the end. That’s a pretty big sin of omission. Otherwise, most of the info herein lines up with everything else I’ve read about the cases discussed. Our government and other powerful interests aligned with them are not going to be defeated or held to account by the public. They will always win.
This was a very "Eye Opening" book. It can be easily divided into three parts. The last part was as if someone just told me there is not a Santa Clause. Shocking. Great book, though, great book. Not for the fane of heart.