A review by lunaphorie
Nemesis: One Man and the Battle For Rio by Misha Glenny
5.0
As a Brazilian who lived in Rio but also grew up in Germany, Ihave a bit of a different perspective on Rio - but I love that city to bits, even though it's one hell of a crazy dangerous place. I heard about this book on Brazilian websites when it was released in Brazil and I immediately ordered it. I still remember the night when Nem was caught in the back of a car, I as every other Brazilian watched it on TV and I remember how I felt really disgusted by the way the police and press treated Nem in that scene. It was so hypocritical because we all knew how many of the military police and civil police are involved in drug trafficking, how many politicians are part of the drug industry. How many rich kids take drugs and how many of the high society are happy to toss so much money on their cocaine.
So I felt really disgusted to see everyone bully one of the many many players in that huge game - as if all of them were in a place to point fingers since most of them were probably involved in the drug trade too. I didn't feel necessarily sorry for Nem, I knew he was a drug boss but I still felt cheap watching those stupid police man push him around in that way.
So when I heard of this book I was intrigued - interviews with Nem? I was sold.
This book turned out to be so much better than I imagined. Usually I am weary of anything a 'gringo' writes about Brazil - I have met many gringos who wanted to explain my own country to me. But Misha Glenny did a really good job on this documentary. In a way this kind of book probably couldn't have been written by a Brazilian because it needed a bit of detachment, a bit of neutrality to tell the whole story without judgement and without too many emotions. It's difficult to stay neutral when you think of the corrup politics of a place like Rio. I am already getting worked up just thinking about it. It's the epitome of unfairness, it's the perfect example of everything gone wrong. A vicious circle where no one wins in the end, except obviously the highest players.
This book tells the story of organized crime in Rio, focusing on Rocinha, the biggest favela (slum) in Brazil but also giving an insight of how the different gangs came to be, how favelas started getting involved with drugs, how police became so corrupt, and parallel to that you have Nem's story - which is equally fascinating than Rio's history with the drug business.
I can only recommend this book to everyone who is interested in learning more about how the drug industry works in South America and how it effects people's lives. But you will also get to know more about a very intelligent man who managed to become one of the most sucessful drug bosses of Rocinha in Rio.
So I felt really disgusted to see everyone bully one of the many many players in that huge game - as if all of them were in a place to point fingers since most of them were probably involved in the drug trade too. I didn't feel necessarily sorry for Nem, I knew he was a drug boss but I still felt cheap watching those stupid police man push him around in that way.
So when I heard of this book I was intrigued - interviews with Nem? I was sold.
This book turned out to be so much better than I imagined. Usually I am weary of anything a 'gringo' writes about Brazil - I have met many gringos who wanted to explain my own country to me. But Misha Glenny did a really good job on this documentary. In a way this kind of book probably couldn't have been written by a Brazilian because it needed a bit of detachment, a bit of neutrality to tell the whole story without judgement and without too many emotions. It's difficult to stay neutral when you think of the corrup politics of a place like Rio. I am already getting worked up just thinking about it. It's the epitome of unfairness, it's the perfect example of everything gone wrong. A vicious circle where no one wins in the end, except obviously the highest players.
This book tells the story of organized crime in Rio, focusing on Rocinha, the biggest favela (slum) in Brazil but also giving an insight of how the different gangs came to be, how favelas started getting involved with drugs, how police became so corrupt, and parallel to that you have Nem's story - which is equally fascinating than Rio's history with the drug business.
I can only recommend this book to everyone who is interested in learning more about how the drug industry works in South America and how it effects people's lives. But you will also get to know more about a very intelligent man who managed to become one of the most sucessful drug bosses of Rocinha in Rio.