Product Description A former high school football star and drug dealer reveals how he and a friend helped Colombian drug lords establish a foothold in the U.S. while amassing a personal fortune. 35,000 first printing. $35,000 ad/promo. Tour. From Kirkus Reviews The up-your-nose, in-your-face life of George Jung, the high-school football star from small-town USA who became the American linchpin of the Colombian cocaine connection. Relying on extensive interviews with Jung and other key figures, Porter (Journalism/Brooklyn College) recounts a sleigh- ride-to-hell story of how 60's hippie innocence turned into 80's megadepravity. Porter dwells too long on Jung's unexceptional childhood (poor grades, risk-taking, shaky family life) but picks up steam when his subject comes of age--as a likable, handsome, well-muscled hedonist--and takes off for California and a haze of sunbathing, sex, pot, and LSD. Soon enough, Jung becomes chief marijuana importer to a number of prestigious East Coast colleges. Likening himself to Butch Cassidy, he moves his operation to Mexico and makes a mint until a series of busts stops him--temporarily. In prison, Jung befriends a young Carlos Lehder and links up with the Medell¡n coke cartel. The money bandied about is staggering: The Colombian suppliers gross $35 billion a year, and Jung buys a house just to stash his cash (lining floors and walls with $100 bills): ``Money, Learjets, fast cars, wild women, houses with maids,'' is how he recalls it later. Inevitably, the roller-coaster hits the steep downward slope: paranoia, as Jung snorts mountains of coke; a heart attack in his mid-30s; a car-bomb attack by Lehder, by now a business enemy; scary trips to Colombia, during one of which Jung watched coke czar Pablo Escobar execute a police informer; a flurry of arrests and escapes; finally, the Big Bust. But, as always, Jung comes out unscathed, turning state's witness (with Escobar's approval) to sing against Lehder. Set scot-free in exchange for his testimony, Jung now works in a legit delivery service, transporting fish up and down Cape Cod. How a happy hippie blew it on blow--finely researched, told with pizzazz. (Illustrations) --Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. Review “Extraordinarily interesting...Mr. Porter has done an excellent job telling the tale of a very unusual entrepreneur.” ―The New York Times Book Review“Porter has written an undeniably entertaining book--a People Magazine article writ large, with a dose of Miami Vice and more than we need to know about kinky sex between Jung and his companera, Mirtha.” ―The Boston Sunday Globe“The story belongs to anyone who has ever savored a well-told tale of adventure, greed, deceit, and revenge. Best of all, it's true.” ―Houston Chronicle“An eye-opening, often hilarious account . . . larded with anecdotes” ―Toronto Star“A sleigh-ride-to-hell story of how '60s hippie innocence turned into '80s megadepravity...finely researched, told with pizzazz.” ―Kirkus Reviews“With drama and detail, former Newsweek writer Porter reconstructs the fast, amoral life of George Jung . . . adventures with stacks of cash, kinky sex, and dangerous deals hold voyeuristic fascination.” ―Publishers Weekly“An incredible tale that traces Jung's beginnings as a hippie marijuana smuggler in California to the top of the cocaine trade.” ―Houston Post“Bruce Porter tells a powerful story and doesn't pull his punches. You have to keep reminding yourself it isn't fiction.” ―Detroit Free Press“Told with such flair, one can't turn the pages fast enough.” ―Chicago Daily Southtown Star“Fascinating, sometimes humorous, sometimes titillating, and always intriguing . . . a page-turner, thanks to Porter's easy-to-read style.” ―News-Press, Glendale, CA About the Author Bruce Porter is a former writer for Newsweek and a professor at the Columbia Journalism School. He has written for the Washington Post, New York Times