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Title details for American Desperado by Jon Roberts - Available

American Desperado

My Life: From Mafia Soldier to Cocaine Cowboy to Secret Government Asset

by Jon Roberts
Evan Wright
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
The true story of super-criminal Jon Roberts, star of the documentary Cocaine Cowboys. 
 
American Desperado is Roberts’ no-holds-barred account of being born into Mafia royalty, witnessing his first murder at the age of seven, becoming a hunter-assassin in Vietnam, returning to New York to become—at age 22—one of the city’s leading nightclub impresarios, then journeying to Miami where in a few short years he would rise to become the Medellin Cartel’s most effective smuggler.
 
But that’s just half the tale. 
 
The roster of Roberts’ friends and acquaintances reads like a Who’s Who of the latter half of the 20th century and includes everyone from Jimi Hendrix, Richard Pryor, and O.J. Simpson to Carlo Gambino, Meyer Lansky, and Manuel Noriega.
 
Nothing if not colorful, Roberts surrounded himself with beautiful women, drove his souped-up street car at a top speed of 180 miles per hour, shared his bed with a 200-pound cougar, and employed a 6”6” professional wrestler called “The Thing” as his bodyguard.  Ultimately, Roberts became so powerful that he attracted the attention of the Republican Party’s leadership, was wooed by them, and even was co-opted by the CIA for which he carried out its secret agenda.
 
Scrupulously documented and relentlessly propulsive, this collaboration between a bloodhound journalist and one of the most audacious criminals ever is like no other crime book you’ve ever read.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    November 1, 2011

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780307704665
      • File size: 480284 KB
      • Duration: 16:40:35

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      AMERICAN DESPERADO is the unflinching story of a man so steeped in evil that it's unconscionable that he is now a free man after cooperating with the government. Performed compellingly by Mark Bramhall and a full cast, the book details the life of Jon Roberts, who learned from his Mafia uncles early on that "evil is stronger than good." In his own self-damning words, Roberts explains his love of inflicting pain and death. He aided the Medellin Cartel in flooding the U.S. with drugs for years. Then he cooperated with the CIA, and now he lives happy and free. Bramhall and others bring the story of this modern monster to life in Roberts's own words and those of his family and associates. The cast draws the listener into Roberts's sick world in the way of a car accident that can't be ignored. M.S. (c) AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from February 27, 2012
      Jon Roberts was perhaps the most infamous and powerful man in the United States at one time, but most people have never even heard of him. In this fascinating and scrupulously detailed account, Roberts’s life—from his days as head of the drug cartel in Florida to his time as an assassin in Vietnam—is for the first time revealed to the world. This gripping audio edition is read by a large, gifted cast of narrators, including Mark Bramhall as Roberts, Erik Davies, Mark Deakins, Kirby Heyborne, Thomas Vincent Kelly, and Jonathan McClain. Bramhall’s standout performance is stern and composed, well capturing Roberts’s cool exterior. When an audiobook is this good, listening becomes a compulsive act. A Crown hardcover.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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