Most of these stories are already well known, and MacQuarrie might have been better off choosing less well-traveled paths, but he writes smartly and engagingly and with a sense of populist enthusiasm about the variety of South America’s life and landscape.
Not all of the author’s ideas come off — he links Escobar to the legend of El Dorado, but the connection is a bit strained. There is, however, much that is fascinating as his journeys unfold.
MacQuarrie is an enthusiastic guide and is often amusing and occasionally enlightening. But the book is scattershot and, in its fondness for crooks and fighters, a decidedly odd exploration of South America.
