Murder City: Ciudad Juarez and the Global Economys New Killing Fields - Book Report/Review Example

Analytical Book Review: Murder City 1. What is the author’s background? The author of the book, Charles Bowden, was a non-fiction writer and an investigative journalist who worked for different newspapers and magazines, and also wrote many books in the course of his career (Pittman, n.p.). Most of the books written by Charles Bowden center ion the violence, murders and tortures on the Mexican-USA border, and the book, “Murder City: Ciudad Juarez and the Global Economy’s New Killing Fields”, was written as a series of his continued coverage of the border and crimes (Blake, n.p.). As a journalist writing for both Mother Jones and Harpers, as well as in the rest of the books he has personally authored, Charles Bowden’s main objective was to represent the interest of the poor and oppressed (Jeffery, n.p). While pursuing this objective, he went to greater lengths that would easily risk his life, investigated and exposed the crimes and murders in the Mexican-USA border, as well as highlighted the plight of the immigrants and the factory workers in the USA industries in Mexico (Jeffery, n.p). By the time of his death 2014, Charles Bowden had made the real conditions of the crimes, drug trade and deals, immigrant difficulties and the conditions of slavery of the factory workers in Mexico known far and wide. 2. Determine the purpose. The purpose of the author was to tell the story of the violence and murders in the city of Juarez more openly, matter-of-factly and in flat tone as opposed to the usual manner in which the stories have been reported by the journalists previously. The major objective of the book was to supply the story from its real source; the dangerous and violent city of Juarez, where many journalists cannot even think of going to get the truthful information about the happenings in the city (Bowden, 7). The reporting in the newspapers as well as the government reports gives their side of the story based mostly on what they have been able to hear. However, the author of the book immerses himself into the city and gets firsthand information of the murders and violence. The product is that the author has been able to achieve the purpose and objective of this writing. This is because, the book clearly states that the “NAFTA treaty crushed peasant agriculture and small industry” (Bowden, 236). Here, the book is informing the governments that this kind of government policy as shared by the two governments is a major contributor to the violence and murders that are occurring in the Mexican-USA border, since such trade agreements have simply increased poverty. Through the book, the readers are able to understand that the murders in Juarez are as a result of poverty, a culture of violence and military brutality. 3. For what audience is this book written for? The book is written for the general audience, for the purpose of making the world know the truth about the crimes in the southwest border of the USA. However, more specifically, the book is written for both the government of USA and the government of Mexico as the main target audiences, a way of informing them that their efforts to fund the war on drugs are only accelerating violence, murder and crimes. To the two governments, the book states that “40,000 Mexicans are now dead, almost all of them poor” (Bowden, 236). This is a way of informing the governments that their effort to fund the war on drugs is not killing the drug lords, but rather the poor people. The books states “there are no jobs, the young face blank futures, the poor are crushed by sinking fortunes” (Bowden, 74). Thus, the book is urging thee governments to reconsider their ole in perpetuating the murder of poor people, while the intention of the governments is to fight drugs. 4. In one sentence, what is the author’s main idea/thesis? Violence, crimes and murders in the American-USA border cannot be attributed any single cause, but rather to a raft of causes that are complex to undo, unless with full commitment and in-depth understanding of the problems. 5. Briefly summarize the contents The media and government reporting have simply been giving statistics of murders in the city of Juarez and attributing the same to drug wars. However, the book has been able to fully make sense of the statistics, not only by collecting the truthful data, but by also explaining a totally different root cause of the murders than the media and the government has been reporting. According to the book, “What is happening in Juarez and increasingly throughout Mexico is the breakdown of a system” (Bowden, 74). The author’s argument is that the declaration of war on drugs by the Mexican government is the major cause for the acceleration of the violence, crimes and murders. This is because, in 2007, the annual murders in the city of Juarez were 307, which were considered to be the bloodiest and the worst in the city (Bowden, 208). However, after a new president was elected, the murders increased in unprecedented rates, such that “over seven thousand people have been killed in Juarez since January 1 2008 (Bowden, 235). The increased funding by the USA government for the war on drugs initiative of the Mexican government in 2009 then resulted in an increase in the murders within the city of Juarez. By 2010, the murders had continued to increase further, and it was estimated that “the total for 2010 alone will exceed three thousand” (Bowden, 235). Simply put therefore, the declaration of the war on drugs by the Mexican government, with the support of the USA government, simply means an increased problem rather than a solution. 6. Describe the person you found most memorable, admirable, or your favorite for some reason. The person coming out as most memorable and admirable is the journalist Emilio Gutierrez Soto, who decided to report about the crimes that the Mexican soldiers were committing in the city of Juarez, even aware of the danger that such reporting would pose to his life. Emilio Gutierrez was later threatened and targeted for murder, and thus decided to escape the murder by running to the USA “thinking that he and his boy will be given asylum” (Bowden, 19). However, his hopes were instantly diminished when he and his son were imprisoned separately. 7. Describe the high point/turning point/key event The highest turning point is the El Pastor’s narration of how he started taking care of the drug addicts, whores, street people and deported immigrants, at his place, “where the police would bring the rejects of our world” (Bowden, 72). This is the turning point where at least for the first time we find a heart that really cares for humanity, in a city that is characterized by oblivion, rape, obscenity, drug addiction, alcoholism and murders. Currently, El Pastor “now houses and feeds one hundred” (Bowden, 73). 8. How accurate is this book? The book is accurate because it does not only narrate of the murders and crimes, but also gives evidential account of the murderers, who themselves narrate how they have been killing people. He has also managed to show that the deaths are not of the drug cartels members, but rather of poor civilians. For example, the book gets the account of a man who has been digging graves of the people who have been killed, and from his account, “with over two hundred corpses in ninety days, there is hardly a body connected to the cartels” (Bowden, 23). 9. Explain three to five things you learned from your book that you did not know previously- each should require several sentences to explain. i. Violence and murder can become a way of life- In Juarez, murders and violence is normal and no one really cares about them. ii. Some government policies can be destruct vive- the Mexican government policy to accelerate a war on drugs has become more destructive than when the drug war was not declared. iii. Misconception regarding the drug issue on the American-Mexican border is rampant. Both the governments of the USA and Mexico do not really seem to understand that they are spending money to fund crime rather than control it. 10. What is your reaction to the book? The book is comprised of facts and the facts are presented in the most dry and untainted form, such that the effect of the book is chilling, worrying and at times even terrifying. Once the book has been read, it simply cannot be forgotten, as the author himself acknowledges, “Some things if learned, change a person forever” (Bowden, 137). Works Cited Blake, Meredith. The Exchange: Charles Bowden on Juárez, “Murder City”. The New Yorker, May 18, 2010. Available at: http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-exchange-charles-bowden-on-jurez-murder-city Bowden, Charles. Murder City: Ciudad Juarez and the Global Economy’s New Killing Fields. New York: Nation, 2010. Print. Jeffery, Clara. "I Still Live": A Remembrance of Charles Bowden”. The Mother Jones, Sep. 3, 2014. Available at: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/09/remembrance-charles-bowden-writer Pittman, Rickey. Murder City by Charles Bowden: A Short Review”. Bard of the South. Available at: https://www.bardofthesouth.com/murder-city-by-charles-bowden-a-short-review/ Read More