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Hello, Shadowlands: Inside the Meth Fiefdoms, Rebel Hideouts and Bomb-Scarred Party Towns of Southeast Asia
'Reads like a thriller you can't put down' - Megha Rajagopalan, China Bureau Chief, Buzzfeed News'ensures you'll never think about Southeast Asia in the same way ever again.' - Geographical Magazine Essential to understanding Southeast Asia in the 21st century, Hello, Shadowlands reveals a booming underworld of organised crime across a region in flux— a $100 billion trade that deals in narcotics, animals and people —and the staggering human toll that is being steadily ignored by the West. From Myanmar's anarchic hills to the swamplands of Vietnam, jihadis are being pitted against brothel workers, pet thieves against vigilantes and meth barons against Christian vice squads. Hello, Shadowlands takes a deep plunge into crime rings both large and small. It also examines how China's rise and America's decline is creating new opportunities for transnational syndicates to thrive. Focusing on human stories on both sides of this crime wave, the acclaimed Bangkok-based broadcaster and journalist Patrick Winn intimately profiles the men and women of the region who are forced to make agonizing choices in the absence of law.
441 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 7, 2018
92 people are currently reading
756 people want to read
About the author
Patrick Winn
4 books38 followersPatrick Winn is an investigative journalist who covers rebellion and black markets in Southeast Asia. Winn enters the worlds of guerrillas and drug traffickers to mine stories that otherwise go ignored. His work has appeared in many outlets — The New York Times, NPR, the BBC — and he has received the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award (also known as the ‘poor man’s Pulitzer’) as well as a National Press Club award. Winn is also a three-time winner of Amnesty International’s Human Rights Press Awards among other prizes. He is currently Southeast Asia correspondent for The World, heard on NPR member stations across the US.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
August 3, 2020
With an intoxicating mix of history, travel writing, narcotics, bombs and prostitutes, American investigative journalist, Patrick Winn, takes us on a dark journey around southeast Asia. He tells you not to read this and cancel your holiday to that area. He says that the main tourist areas are fairly safe. I can contest to that. We did a tour of Malaysia for a few weeks. It was amazing beyond measure. The only hint of underworld we saw were prostitutes out at night on Penang Island. An interesting sight, nonetheless.
Winn goes deep into areas that are way off the tourist trail. Starting in Kachin state in Myanmar where meth and heroin are the drugs of choice. Meth is the biggest export from Myanmar producing anywhere from 2 to 6 billion pills per year. Cripes. This is dark tourism to the extreme. He meets addicts, goes to a Christian rehab centre that is like a prison nightmare and meets the Christian vigilantes who are on a mission from God pulling junkies from their homes and putting them on trial. Then there is the military who also have their dirty hands deep into the drug trade by controlling the militias. This is all new to me. I had no idea about any of this stuff happening in Myanmar.
He takes us to the Philippines to see the underground selling of pills and herbs for women that want abortions that the government is not providing due to pressure from the Catholic Church. Did you know that North Korea has (or did have) about 100 state-owned restaurants in China and southeast Asia? The debate here is the female servers who are all North Korean. They earn money but are they really being trafficked and used as slaves by the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea?
His trek around southeast Asia does not end there. For the last couple of chapters, he is in Thailand and Vietnam. In Thailand: ‘I’ve come to Golok to understand how sex workers cope in a town where they are routinely targeted by rebels.’ Jihadis bomb the red-light zone. In Vietnam he is seeking out villagers who will do anything to stop their dogs being stolen and sold to abattoirs. These vigilantes will bash and sometimes kills these dog thieves.
Now you know what you are getting into if you read this book. Six chapters of grief and suffering. OK, maybe that’s a little dramatic but you are not going to find any rainbows and unicorns in this book. The North Korean government did not find a lair of unicorns. That was misinformation.
There is no way I am going to some of the areas that the author goes so reading about them was certainly, er, enlightening. Sit back. Light up a meth bong and enjoy. If you can.
Winn goes deep into areas that are way off the tourist trail. Starting in Kachin state in Myanmar where meth and heroin are the drugs of choice. Meth is the biggest export from Myanmar producing anywhere from 2 to 6 billion pills per year. Cripes. This is dark tourism to the extreme. He meets addicts, goes to a Christian rehab centre that is like a prison nightmare and meets the Christian vigilantes who are on a mission from God pulling junkies from their homes and putting them on trial. Then there is the military who also have their dirty hands deep into the drug trade by controlling the militias. This is all new to me. I had no idea about any of this stuff happening in Myanmar.
He takes us to the Philippines to see the underground selling of pills and herbs for women that want abortions that the government is not providing due to pressure from the Catholic Church. Did you know that North Korea has (or did have) about 100 state-owned restaurants in China and southeast Asia? The debate here is the female servers who are all North Korean. They earn money but are they really being trafficked and used as slaves by the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea?
His trek around southeast Asia does not end there. For the last couple of chapters, he is in Thailand and Vietnam. In Thailand: ‘I’ve come to Golok to understand how sex workers cope in a town where they are routinely targeted by rebels.’ Jihadis bomb the red-light zone. In Vietnam he is seeking out villagers who will do anything to stop their dogs being stolen and sold to abattoirs. These vigilantes will bash and sometimes kills these dog thieves.
Now you know what you are getting into if you read this book. Six chapters of grief and suffering. OK, maybe that’s a little dramatic but you are not going to find any rainbows and unicorns in this book. The North Korean government did not find a lair of unicorns. That was misinformation.
There is no way I am going to some of the areas that the author goes so reading about them was certainly, er, enlightening. Sit back. Light up a meth bong and enjoy. If you can.
October 8, 2018
I heard Winn on the Chatham House podcast in which he focused, mainly, on the two chapters which deal specifically with the narco-economy that has overtaken large portions of Myanmar. The little pink pills known as YA BA are produced at a rate of 2 to 6 billion pills a year, according the the UN. And the drug has corrupted every level of society - production and sale is a major economic determinant for Myanmar.
In the second chapter, Winn visits drug rehab camps in the Kachin State of Myanmar. These camps are fanatically religious (Christian epiphany), coercive to say the least (most addicts are kidnapped off the streets), and hyper-violent (beatings are a main form of rehab). These camps, while run by charismatic leaders fulfilling God's personal message to them, are all part of a loose network of Christian vigilantes known as Pat Jasan. And Pat Jasan is the only force that drug dealers and addicts fear because the police, military, and courts all benefit from bribes and drug kickbacks. Pat Jasan will invade homes to kidnap anyone who is even suspected of drug use. Then these individuals are either beaten and left for the police or dumped in one of these remote rehab camps.
Chapter 3 deals with the illegal and criminal underground of birth control and abortion in the Philippines. And while it could be a searing portend of State mandated birth, it is the strangest chapter in the book, mostly because it seems that Winn hates the Philippines. He spends quite a bit of his breath sniping at the Catholic Church's dominance over the politics and people of the Country. While his venom is not unfounded, given the conservative nature of the Filipino Catholicism, he does not level the same blistering critique upon the other religious zealots and weirdos he encounters.
North Korea dominates chapter 4 and feels incredibly padded with an over long divergence into the history of the Korean peninsula. While Winn definitely has a story to tell about the regime run restaurants/bars where highly indoctrinated hostesses wine and dine the enemies of the North Korean regime. These restaurants funnel money back into the regime at an unknowable rate and may serve as de facto surveillance sites in Thailand and South Korea, as well. Winn is aggressive and kinda rude while visiting these bars, again padding the chapter in which he meets a wall of scripted answers and tight lipped silence, with a theory about why these bars are so popular based on the strange otherness of the North Koreans, themselves.
Chapter 5 deals with the Islamic jihad against the nightlife of Sungai Golok, Thailand. In this town of redlight delights, the vice economy is constantly threatened by explosions, car bombs and other hit and run terror tactics. This southern region of Thailand is where the devout and pious Asian Muslims engage in beer and sex tourism, which accounts for the targeting by other Islamic groups. As a result, this area has a bruised fatalism that adds spice to the otherwise normal vice economy.
The last chapter deals with dogs. Twice a year Viet Nam celebrates holidays that involve dog meat, as a result thousands of dogs need to be captured and slaughtered. This Winn describes in detail and it is hard to read. BUT. Then he goes and meets up with a group of vigilantes that combat and kill dog thieves - which ends up sounding a lot like a metaphor for the Viet Nam Conflict.
Winn is an immersive journalist, tracking down individuals involved in the illegal practices that he is investigating. He observes meth heads cooking up their drugs, witnesses dogs being slaughtered, and interviews rehab captives in jungle camps. All this is fascinating and he never loses sight that what people are telling him is skewed by his American-ness. Some actively advocate for US intervention into their lives, while others are weary of his biases. But the fact that he makes a point of pointing it out is a huge step toward understanding the filters that fall over his investigations.
Otherwise, this is a highly readable book and I learned a lot of junk about junk.
In the second chapter, Winn visits drug rehab camps in the Kachin State of Myanmar. These camps are fanatically religious (Christian epiphany), coercive to say the least (most addicts are kidnapped off the streets), and hyper-violent (beatings are a main form of rehab). These camps, while run by charismatic leaders fulfilling God's personal message to them, are all part of a loose network of Christian vigilantes known as Pat Jasan. And Pat Jasan is the only force that drug dealers and addicts fear because the police, military, and courts all benefit from bribes and drug kickbacks. Pat Jasan will invade homes to kidnap anyone who is even suspected of drug use. Then these individuals are either beaten and left for the police or dumped in one of these remote rehab camps.
Chapter 3 deals with the illegal and criminal underground of birth control and abortion in the Philippines. And while it could be a searing portend of State mandated birth, it is the strangest chapter in the book, mostly because it seems that Winn hates the Philippines. He spends quite a bit of his breath sniping at the Catholic Church's dominance over the politics and people of the Country. While his venom is not unfounded, given the conservative nature of the Filipino Catholicism, he does not level the same blistering critique upon the other religious zealots and weirdos he encounters.
North Korea dominates chapter 4 and feels incredibly padded with an over long divergence into the history of the Korean peninsula. While Winn definitely has a story to tell about the regime run restaurants/bars where highly indoctrinated hostesses wine and dine the enemies of the North Korean regime. These restaurants funnel money back into the regime at an unknowable rate and may serve as de facto surveillance sites in Thailand and South Korea, as well. Winn is aggressive and kinda rude while visiting these bars, again padding the chapter in which he meets a wall of scripted answers and tight lipped silence, with a theory about why these bars are so popular based on the strange otherness of the North Koreans, themselves.
Chapter 5 deals with the Islamic jihad against the nightlife of Sungai Golok, Thailand. In this town of redlight delights, the vice economy is constantly threatened by explosions, car bombs and other hit and run terror tactics. This southern region of Thailand is where the devout and pious Asian Muslims engage in beer and sex tourism, which accounts for the targeting by other Islamic groups. As a result, this area has a bruised fatalism that adds spice to the otherwise normal vice economy.
The last chapter deals with dogs. Twice a year Viet Nam celebrates holidays that involve dog meat, as a result thousands of dogs need to be captured and slaughtered. This Winn describes in detail and it is hard to read. BUT. Then he goes and meets up with a group of vigilantes that combat and kill dog thieves - which ends up sounding a lot like a metaphor for the Viet Nam Conflict.
Winn is an immersive journalist, tracking down individuals involved in the illegal practices that he is investigating. He observes meth heads cooking up their drugs, witnesses dogs being slaughtered, and interviews rehab captives in jungle camps. All this is fascinating and he never loses sight that what people are telling him is skewed by his American-ness. Some actively advocate for US intervention into their lives, while others are weary of his biases. But the fact that he makes a point of pointing it out is a huge step toward understanding the filters that fall over his investigations.
Otherwise, this is a highly readable book and I learned a lot of junk about junk.
March 22, 2021
Such an interesting read that I struggled to put down! Learnt so much about a side of the world which does no enter mainstream Western news very often. Great for fans of learning more about organised crime.
June 25, 2024
Interesting stories and perspectives of those who usually remain unheard and unseen. Overall, this book was not for me though. It read like a collection of articles rather than a cohesive narrative.
February 21, 2025
Great book, but I could not read the last chapter. As soon as I saw dogs, I just closed the book.
April 7, 2023
Thought the main chapters of this were very good. Not entirely sure about all the afterword, but overall this book was really good.
February 21, 2019
Non-fiction books on organized crime have been my guilty pleasure recently. Being fond of the Southeast Asia region myself, I should give credit to the author's factual knowledge - but he is quite limited in his storytelling abilities. The book isn't beautifully-written, nor it follows a comprehensive logical structure, in comparison, for example, with Misha Glenny's McMafia book on organized crime, where each chapter is also dedicated to one particular geography.
I also feel that the recommendations given in the final part of the book are quite superficial to come from such a high-caliber expert, and of course I have to disagree with the idea that legalizing meth can be an effective solution to the problem.
I also feel that the recommendations given in the final part of the book are quite superficial to come from such a high-caliber expert, and of course I have to disagree with the idea that legalizing meth can be an effective solution to the problem.
September 26, 2018
This is what reading is all about for me; opening my mind to other cultures, I love understanding the how and the why people do what they do. Knowing, doesn't mean to agree but it helps with tolerance and boy does the world need more of that. Please write more, but not about the doggies!
April 18, 2020
This book is cracker.
Reaching deep under the belly of SE Asia into areas few experience and many don't even know exist.
If you're interested in exploring beyond the veneer of the usual travel and business fare this is highly recommended.
Reaching deep under the belly of SE Asia into areas few experience and many don't even know exist.
If you're interested in exploring beyond the veneer of the usual travel and business fare this is highly recommended.
November 13, 2019
I'm from Philippines, are you sure for 10, 000 people (among the bloodiest massacres in recent Southeast Asia)? Where did you get that number?
January 18, 2020
HELLOW SHADOWLANDS - PATRICK WINN 8/10
It starts of with 2 so-so chapters but then steadily builds momentum into a compelling non-fiction.
It covers Aung San Suu Kyi and Rohingya, how little control she has over Myanmar despite being the state leader, with Junta controlling everything.
It talks about Philippines and the crazy Duterte who is misguided in his fight against drugs, killing the addicts and low-level mules. And how the Catholic church is solely guilty for the burgeoning population in the Philippines as they continue to make abortion a serious crime, banning all pills, forcing unwanted pregnancy and poverty.
It delves into North Korea and its blind utopia, force feeding its citizens with propaganda. Then it takes on Sungai Golok, North of Kelantan, and hypocritical Muslim men who flock Golok for its vices. And finally a painful read about killing of dogs for its meat in Vietnam, but also the ruthless vigilantes killing dog thieves.
It's not about Southeast Asia's organised crime, but rather an account on its citizens at the receiving end of criminal underworlds, innate corruption, offhand law enforcement and pillaging bureaucracies, to survive and make ends meet.
The author annotates the humanity behind the crimes.
It starts of with 2 so-so chapters but then steadily builds momentum into a compelling non-fiction.
It covers Aung San Suu Kyi and Rohingya, how little control she has over Myanmar despite being the state leader, with Junta controlling everything.
It talks about Philippines and the crazy Duterte who is misguided in his fight against drugs, killing the addicts and low-level mules. And how the Catholic church is solely guilty for the burgeoning population in the Philippines as they continue to make abortion a serious crime, banning all pills, forcing unwanted pregnancy and poverty.
It delves into North Korea and its blind utopia, force feeding its citizens with propaganda. Then it takes on Sungai Golok, North of Kelantan, and hypocritical Muslim men who flock Golok for its vices. And finally a painful read about killing of dogs for its meat in Vietnam, but also the ruthless vigilantes killing dog thieves.
It's not about Southeast Asia's organised crime, but rather an account on its citizens at the receiving end of criminal underworlds, innate corruption, offhand law enforcement and pillaging bureaucracies, to survive and make ends meet.
The author annotates the humanity behind the crimes.
October 2, 2018
In his new book Hello, Shadowlands: Inside the Meth Fiefdoms, Rebel Hideouts and Bomb-Scarred Party Towns of Southeast Asia, Patrick Winn, Asia correspondent with Public Radio International and a veteran Southeast Asia journalist, analyzes the flourishing crime world on the periphery of state power in Southeast Asia (i.e., the “shadowlands”) and examines the “rational, complex actors” who engage in the sex and drug industries, among other illicit activities.
From the start, Winn offers vivid characters and a human dimension, making the book a compelling read. Winn’s argument that Southeast Asian crime syndicates make rational choices and operate by certain codes of conduct holds up under scrutiny. But his broader geopolitical conclusions—that China’s rise is as preordained as the United States’ decline—come off as less supported by evidence.
Winn is on firmer footing in his quest to understand the people he interviews in the shadowlands. His intimate portrait of the everyday criminals who skirt the law and live in the shadows adds an important human dimension to a still widely misunderstood domain of the global economy and Southeast Asia’s rapidly changing societies.
From the start, Winn offers vivid characters and a human dimension, making the book a compelling read. Winn’s argument that Southeast Asian crime syndicates make rational choices and operate by certain codes of conduct holds up under scrutiny. But his broader geopolitical conclusions—that China’s rise is as preordained as the United States’ decline—come off as less supported by evidence.
Winn is on firmer footing in his quest to understand the people he interviews in the shadowlands. His intimate portrait of the everyday criminals who skirt the law and live in the shadows adds an important human dimension to a still widely misunderstood domain of the global economy and Southeast Asia’s rapidly changing societies.
October 9, 2023
The book is written with a talented writer's prose which are no less than that of any literary fiction. That made the delivery of its non-fiction content very enjoyable.
The book is informative and discuss issues related to organized crime in a number of southeast Asian countries. From Myanmar narcotics industry to North Korea's international restaurants.
The author's anecdotal account is augmented by a comprehensive overview of the history and objective assessment of the broader subject.
Highly recommended for anyone who wants to understand more about this fascinating part of the world.
Looking forward to attending Patrick's sessions in the upcoming Bangkok lit festival in November and his soon to be published new book.
The book is informative and discuss issues related to organized crime in a number of southeast Asian countries. From Myanmar narcotics industry to North Korea's international restaurants.
The author's anecdotal account is augmented by a comprehensive overview of the history and objective assessment of the broader subject.
Highly recommended for anyone who wants to understand more about this fascinating part of the world.
Looking forward to attending Patrick's sessions in the upcoming Bangkok lit festival in November and his soon to be published new book.
March 18, 2025
There's a few chapters of this book that don't fit in to the wider theme, but they were my personal favorite ones to read. Winn has a great voice both in writing and in narration. I listened to the audiobook because it came in with my library and the other book I heard by him had been a delight even though the subject matter didn't particularly interest me. What can I say, I love when an author narrates their own books. There's an unparalleled intimacy about it, plus Winn is a performer! Lowering his voice to a whisper and bringing you right into the hideouts he's interviewing in or simply putting on voices to bring these personalities to life through the "page".
September 9, 2025
A fascinating glimpse into the criminal elements in SE Asia and the surprising (or not so surprising) Western and, historically, colonial drivers and meddlers with the usual American and British culprits featured. Some parts are very disturbing leaving a feeling of unease, but the author is unapologetic in direct analysis based on interviews with those people directly involved with a side of SE Asia that many don't see. The author really focusses on the human side of this and exposes situations where people are trapped in a viscious cycle whilst the super wealthy and influential prosper. An eye-opener and an important read in a style that is a page-turner.
October 30, 2018
Insightful and thoroughly thought provoking
I was completely absorbed into the underworld of SE Asia with every page. This book is an awakening journey of the challenges that these beautiful countries face. Well written and definitely a recommended read for anyone wanting to broaden their understand of "the dark" side SE Asia and what a profiteering military and police Force benefit by orchestrating the platforms in which these multi-million dollars syndicates can operate.
Brilliant book indeed!
I was completely absorbed into the underworld of SE Asia with every page. This book is an awakening journey of the challenges that these beautiful countries face. Well written and definitely a recommended read for anyone wanting to broaden their understand of "the dark" side SE Asia and what a profiteering military and police Force benefit by orchestrating the platforms in which these multi-million dollars syndicates can operate.
Brilliant book indeed!
May 2, 2022
Part travelogue, part memoir, part biography, part history, part true crime, part thriller. A mesmerizing portrait of underworlds painted by a journalist who gets closer to the subject then most of us would ever dare. These are stories of people who could be just like any of us in the west - or more stable regions of the east - were it not for an accident of birth and the choices they must make for survival. The reader is given a chance to understand their lives and assess, without looking down. The pages are awash with moral ambiguity and there are lessons within that grey area we could use to solve problems in our own society (the drug war comes to mind). Fascinating!
April 11, 2024
Gritty and fascinating tour of Asia’s underbelly
The author takes us around the seedy subcultures and “shadowlands” from the meth centers of Myanmar, the birth control trade in Catholic Philippines, ecosystems of North Korean restaurants, red light district in a Muslim stronghold and to the dognappers of Vietnam. Fascinating, gripping and enlivened by the author’s witty writing. A full five stars could’ve been earned if the Myanmar chapters were combined into one (and have another place featured) and the uncharacteristic moralizing at the Afterword, especially for someone who has lived, breathed and experienced Southeast Asian culture for decades.
The author takes us around the seedy subcultures and “shadowlands” from the meth centers of Myanmar, the birth control trade in Catholic Philippines, ecosystems of North Korean restaurants, red light district in a Muslim stronghold and to the dognappers of Vietnam. Fascinating, gripping and enlivened by the author’s witty writing. A full five stars could’ve been earned if the Myanmar chapters were combined into one (and have another place featured) and the uncharacteristic moralizing at the Afterword, especially for someone who has lived, breathed and experienced Southeast Asian culture for decades.
March 13, 2019
Interesting range of topics and countries, reads like half travel guide and half expose on corruption and illegality. I definitely gained insight and perspective. The author explores the failings of government and authority with an open mind, and lets his subjects lead the direction of the book. The chapter on North Korea was a lacking much reveal compared with other chapters but well worth reading.
October 14, 2018
This book weaves riveting narrative with user-friendly history and explores the worlds and circumstances of those in proximity to organized crime. Winn is thorough about piecing together the viewpoints of all involved in the subversion of rules and etiquette. The result is a thoughtful, introspective and addictive read into the lengths many will go to for necessities, identity, vice and beyond.
December 28, 2018
A good read, but more like a collection of magazine features than a distinct narrative with a through-line. Winn writes a bit like a crime-focused Anthony Bourdain, with the same cynicism, sympathy for the downtrodden, and breezy treatment of history and geopolitics. There is plenty here for those interested in less-told stories in Southeast Asia, but this is more of a casual read.
December 13, 2019
Fun and interesting
This book is a fun and interesting read about Southeast Asia and details stories you probably won't read anywhere else. I appreciate the author's approach to journalism and his desire to see the frontlines of the issues he's researching. Winn also recognized the humanity in the people he meets. I especially like the hyperlinks to sources as well.
This book is a fun and interesting read about Southeast Asia and details stories you probably won't read anywhere else. I appreciate the author's approach to journalism and his desire to see the frontlines of the issues he's researching. Winn also recognized the humanity in the people he meets. I especially like the hyperlinks to sources as well.
January 18, 2020
Absolutely fantastic book. One of the more interesting pieces of journalism/human interest stories and crime reporting you will find. I learned a lot about SE Asia in the process. Recommend this to anyone who wants to learn about how crime, government, drug trade, human rights and religion affect the region.
February 14, 2020
This is a look at some of the largest black markets within Southeast Asia, from the meth power of the golden triangle to the North Korean eateries scattered across Asia, to the dog meat trade of Vietnam, to the trade in vice on the borders of Muslim Malaysia, as well as how the Police and government contribute to these problems.
Interesting book.
Interesting book.
June 20, 2023
Tuning into Patrick Winn's PRI reports, I've been impressed by his thoughtfulness, ability to sum up complex situations and on the ground knowledge, so I bought his book. It is a wonderful joyride into topics and countries not covered enough in western media. I don't know how he got the access he did, but it's impressive. Hope he keeps writing and reporting for years to come. I'm ready for more!
September 20, 2025
This was really brilliantly executed - the way the current communities are contextualized in the history of the countries deepens the ability to accurately understand the illicit activities highlighted. I appreciated the way the author talks about women’s rights here, very open and honest!!
Read on kindle
Read on kindle
May 22, 2020
Fascinating look into a mostly unseen world
I love Southeast Asia enough to have made it my home, but this book took me into areas I mostly knew existed but have never seen or read about in anywhere near this detail. A fascinating journey, and I hope to look forward to more.
I love Southeast Asia enough to have made it my home, but this book took me into areas I mostly knew existed but have never seen or read about in anywhere near this detail. A fascinating journey, and I hope to look forward to more.
November 15, 2020
"[M]any of those labelled 'criminals' are no more inclined to cruelty than bankers, politicians, priests or police." Ain't that the truth. This book is an easy-reading but educational entree to the darker elements that make this region tick. Corruption is endemic and the enemy of progress.
May 19, 2022
Maybe if I didn't live in SEAsia I would have found this more interesting, but with the exception of the first section on the drug trade economy in Myanmar, I knew most of what the book said. No real surprise for me.
August 1, 2022
Fantastic reporting and storytelling, I could not stop.
Well researched, engaging and informative.
I had no idea of the key role of Myanmar in meth dealing.
I learned a lot about an area of the world I briefly travelled and love.
Thank you Mr Winn!
Well researched, engaging and informative.
I had no idea of the key role of Myanmar in meth dealing.
I learned a lot about an area of the world I briefly travelled and love.
Thank you Mr Winn!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews