Books about Colombia from Amazon.com

In their youth, Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza fall passionately in love. When Fermina eventually chooses to marry a wealthy, well-born doctor, Florentino is devastated, but he is a romantic. As he rises in his business career he whiles away the years in 622 affairs--yet he reserves his heart for Fermina. Her husband dies at last, and Florentino purposefully attends the funeral. Fifty years, nine months, and four days after he first declared his love for Fermina, he will do so again..
Price: $7.98 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Secrets of Colombian Cooking provides a window into the diverse cuisine of this little-known South American nation. Author Patricia McCausland-Gallo, a native Colombian, traveled throughout the many regions of Colombia to gather the most authentic dishes. With a wide range of recipes and a glossary of typical ingredients, this book acquaints cooks with the array of foods that make up Colombian cuisine, including sweet and hot peppers, plantains, tamarind, gooseberries, papayas, guavas, and tree tomatoes.

From the coffee and cacao grown high in the Andes Mountains to the many tropical fruits of the Caribbean and Amazonian regions, the great cattle farms on the plains, and bountiful seafood from the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, Colombia is a country of vast and exotic culinary creations. Secrets of Colombian Cooking presents the wide spectrum of Colombian cuisine to home cooks in more than 175 inviting recipes from simple, hearty sancochos (soups and stews prepared differently in every region) to more exotic fare such as Langosta al Coco (Lobster in Coconut Sauce) and Ají de Uchuvas (Yellow Gooseberry Sauce). Complete with b/w photographs.

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Thousands of fans agree-Cosmic Banditos has been out of print for way too long. So here it is, back by popular demand: A.C. Weisbecker's rollicking novel of high times and hard times-in which he hilariously chronicles the adventures of a group of pot-smoking, number-crunching banditos-in-hiding..
Price: $7.89 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Only weeks after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, Glen Heggstad set out from his sunny California home vowing not to return until he had accomplished his life-long goal of riding a motorcycle in a lap around South America. Upon crossing into Mexico, with terrorism on his mind, he wondered if he was riding away from the fire, or directly into it? Not long after, when he was stopped at a roadblock in the remote jungle of Colombia, he found his chilling answer.

The Ejército de Liberación Nacional, Colombia's deadliest rebel army, funds its terrorist activities by taking captives for ransom. When the six-foot-four hulking American on a loaded and customized motorcycle rolled up to their roadblock, the terrorists thought they had struck gold. Dozens of dirt covered, sweat-soaked, desperate men with AK-47's frantically grabbed Glen off his motorcycle, and with their new American prisoner, disappeared into the jungle.

The weeks of physical and psychological torture Glen is forced to endure push this powerful man to his absolute breaking point. It is the desperate decision he makes one wet night while curled up on a muddy hut floor, panicked for food, and questioning his own sanity, that finally wins him his freedom. Without a second thought, but with more determination than ever, Glen remounts another motorcycle and continues his incredible journey.

Heggstad battles kidnapping, mechanical failures, violent protests, and some of the planet's most inhospitable climates, in this American odyssey. Two Wheels Through Terror is the terrifyingly gripping true story of Glen's motorcycle journey to the brink of death, to the edge of sanity, and to the southern tip of the world..
Price: $14.49 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Discover the best kept secret in South America Colombia is safer than ever, affordable and still blissfully uncrowded - an independent traveler's dream. Laze on palm-fringed Caribbean beaches. Canoe slient rivers through lush rainforest. Stroll Cartagena's colonial old town. Salsa all night in Cali. Packed with practical advice and valuable tips for trouble-free travel, our peerless guide enables you to explore with confidence.

THE BASICS - detailed maps, tailored itineraries and easy-to-use directory help make the most of your trip.

ADRENALINE RUSHES - the best spots for diving, rafting, hiking, rock-climbing and other thrills.

STRAIGHT TALK- honest advice on where to go - and still risky spots to avoid.

DISCERNING REVIEWS- opinionated authors give the lowdown on where to sleep, eat and pain the town.

COLOMBIA 101 - in-depth background chapters provide insight into the country and its people..
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For 20 years, the Cali drug cartel, a vast criminal conspiracy, pumped thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States, laundered billions of dollars in profits and was responsible for endemic political corruption and an untold number of murders and assassinations. It ultimately controlled 70 percent of the world's cocaine market, flooding towns and cities with the addictive white powder dubbed the "champagne of drugs."

Through organized violence, terrorist strategies, intimidation and bribery, the cartel became a major threat to Colombia's fragile stability. It also brought an unprecedented degree of strategy and planning to the drugs trade. It would take more than two decades and a global effort to bring it down.

In this first-ever account of the cartel's rise and fall, author Ron Chepesiuk provides a compelling insight into the history of international drug trafficking, organized crime and US drug policy. He draws vivid pictures of the gang's founders-Jose "the Chess Player" Londono and brothers Miguel and Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela-and reveals how they built their empire, carving up the massive US market with their rival Medellin Cartel: New York going to Cali, Miami to Medellin.

Unlike Medellin, headed by the vicious Pablo Escobar, the men from Cali kept their complex operation in the shadows. It grew quickly and came to operate like a multinational corporation. In time, they became too big to share their spoils and fought an indescribably bloody war with the Medellin mob, a war they ultimately won.

Written with the pace and vividness of a thriller, Drug Lords also illustrates the similarities between global traffickers and international terrorists and compares the current war on terror with the war on drugs.

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Price: $8.68 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Killing Pablo is the inside story of the brutal rise and violent fall of the Colombian cocaine cartel kingpin, whose criminal empire held a nation of thirty million hostage--a reign of terror that would end only with his death. In an intense, up-close account, award-winning journalist Mark Bowden exposes the never-before-revealed details of how U.S. operatives led the sixteen-month manhunt. Description in Spanish: Matar a Pablo Escobar es la historia del brutal ascenso y violento fin del capo del narcotráfico colombiano cuyo imperio criminal aterrorizó a un país de más de treinta millones de habitantes. Mark Bowden desvela en este intenso y muy bien documentado relató, los detalles ¿más celosamente guardados¿ por las personas que dirigieron, durante dieciséis meses, su persecución y muerte..
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