ZeroZeroZero

Look at Cocaine and All You See is Powder. Look Through Cocaine and You See the World

By: Roberto Saviano, Virginia Jewiss - translator

Narrated by: Paul Michael

From the author of the number one international best seller Gomorrah comes an electrifying investigation of the international cocaine trade, as vicious as it is powerful, and its hidden role in the global economy.

In many countries, “000” flour is the finest on the market. It is hard to find, but it is soft, light, almost impalpable - like the purest, highest quality grade of cocaine. ZeroZeroZero is also the title of Roberto Saviano’s unforgettable, internationally best-selling exploration of the inner workings of the global cocaine trade - its rules and armies, and the true depth of its reach into the world economy and, by extension, its grasp on us all. Gomorrah, Saviano’s explosive account of the Neapolitan mob, the Camorra, was a worldwide publishing sensation. It struck such a nerve with the Camorra that Saviano has had to live under 24-hour police protection for more than eight years. During this time he has come to know law enforcement agencies and officials around the world. With their cooperation, Saviano has broadened his perspective to take in the entire global “corporate” entity that is the drug trade and the complex money-laundering operations that allow it to function, often with the complicity of the world’s biggest banks. The result is a truly harrowing and groundbreaking synthesis of intimate literary narrative and geopolitical analysis of one of the most powerful dark forces in our economy.

Saviano tracks the shift in the cocaine trade’s axis of power, from Colombia to Mexico, and relates how the Latin American cartels and gangs have forged alliances, first with the Italian crime syndicates, then with the Russians, Africans, and others. On the one hand, he charts a remarkable increase in sophistication as these criminal entities diversify into many other products and markets. On the other, he reveals the astonishing increase in the severity of violence as they have fought to protect and extend their power.

Saviano is a writer and journalist of rare courage and a thinker of impressive intellectual depth, able to see the connections between farflung phenomena and bind them into a single epic story. Most drug-war narratives feel safely removed from our own lives; Saviano's offers no such comfort. As heart racing as it is heady, ZeroZeroZero is a fusion of disparate genres into a brilliant new form that can rightly be called Savianoesque.

©2015 Roberto Saviano (P)2015 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"In articulating [his] cri de coeur, [Saviano] has developed a literary style that switches from vivid descriptions of human depravity to a philosophical consideration of the meaning of violence in the modern world. Indeed, when he revisits his work on Naples - the city where he was brought up and from which he is now excluded - his reflections soar into the realm of the poetic. But for me, most important of all is the hope Saviano gives to countless victims of criminal violence by standing up to its perpetrators, especially those from his home country." (Booklist, starred)

"With keen observation and deep probing, Saviano is an anthropologist and philosopher as much as a journalist. This is an epic account of how the modern cocaine trafficking business came to be and how widespread, how impenetrable, and how intertwined with international commerce and politics - and our everyday lives - it is.” (Library Journal)

"A wide-ranging and chilling account of how cocaine dominates world markets.... This overview of the cocaine industry will be important for legal and criminal collections.” (Kirkus, starred)

mind blowing, over dramatic, fun

excellent narration of drug fueled world, over the top stories, very diverse, highly recommended even if coming off too poetic at times. like all stories, losing yourself in the events really takes you outside your own world and into one of a hyper realist survival game. quite memorable collection of stories I can see applied beyond the world's of drugs and into business and human behavior.

Wowwowwow

At first I was wondering what did I get myself in to. But man with this Novel you realize that cocaine doesn't just hurt the person using it, it effects a lot more people than what you think. The brutal stories this writer speaks of are heart wrenching. No good news comes out of something involving the Drug Lords. Good for them for a bit but, in the end cocaine will find a way to even screw them and take them for all they've got too. If you ever wanted to know about cocaine and the people who grow it and sell it, Robert Saviano is your Willy Wonka he has your golden ticket in this Novel.

If you use cocaine, please read it!

Excellent! highly recommended to cocaine users around the world and people that are not reluctant to understand what's going on.

Thanks for bringing up this discussion!

Let's help people that are suffering the horrors of this blood-stained money by creating consciousness and awareness of what is behind it.

Marvelously written

Saviano keeps you on the edge of your seat. When I arrive at my destination, I can’t wait for my commute home, so I can listen to more. Zero zero zero, will change the way you think of honor and family for ever….

Has anyone written a better book this century? No.

Detailed laser beams of truth. Brilliant Homeric narrative. How lazy do you feel, all other journalists.

Excellent

I really don’t think I will be the same after experiencing this geopolitical expose’. Truly respect bravery of author. This piece makes it really tough to move to another piece of literature.

fantastic

great book and performance. best book on the subject I have heard to date. highly recommend.

how much research must he have done

must read..he really breaks it down from bump to bricks to billions. I bought it thinking it was fictional basis for the Amazon show and was pleasantly surpised.

History of Mexican Narcos was good.

The part about Italy was interesting but I could not relate to them never having been there. Russian whatever they are called seem more ominous. However, I believe Mexico and central america is where our reading and making a new idea emerge. A new way of thinking. Basically LEGALIZE IT!

Very Passionate and Detailed.

This book gives a detailed explanation about the history and current cocaine epidemic. Some very gruesome stories about the inner workings of the cartels. I highly recommend this book.