I am sorry but this book reads like a newspaper. There are stories that get started and then put on hold so side stories that are supposed to explain events can be told and then we go back to the main assertion and then we hear in detail about someone's life or activity and then jump to another cartel and so on. Rather than build a story the author has written a whole bunch of stories about different characters and activities in the Mexican drug world and then pasted them into this book. He takes great care not to blame the Americans and their policies too much, and deals not at all with the money some of the groups in the US, including I'm sure "legitimate" companies, are making. He tells us the American weapons manufacturers are making big money from this but it is presented as a fact instead of a scathing indictment of American greed. The final solution might be legalization but he presents it so mildly that it's almost like he'd rather have us believe a miracle from somewhere else will fix this. My rating is for the amount of facts and details, not the storytelling itself.

Interview in NPR:

http://www.npr.org/books/authors/141650226/ioan-grillo