Product Description

MARCHING POWDER is the story of Thomas McFadden, a small-time English drug smuggler who was arrested in Bolivia and thrown inside the notorious San Pedro prison. He found himself in a bizarre world, the prison reflecting all that is wrong with South American society. Prisoners have to pay an entrance fee and buy their own cells (the alternative is to sleep outside and die of exposure), prisoners' wives and children often live inside too, high quality cocaine is manufactured and sold from the prison.

Thomas ended up making a living by giving backpackers tours of the prison - he became a fixture on the backpacking circuit and was named in the Lonely Planet guide to Bolivia. When he was told that for a bribe of $5000 his sentence could be overturned, it was the many backpackers who'd passed through who sent him the money. Sometimes shocking, sometimes funny, MARCHING POWDER is an always riveting story of survival.

‘All the staples of the prison memoir are here: sadistic guards, an attempted break-out, the terrors of solitary confinement, the joys of freedom . . . The result is a truly gripping piece of testimony’ Sunday Telegraph

‘This exotic, cautionary yarn opens the abyss beneath our wealthy world’ Uncut

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1079 in Books
• Published on: 2004-07-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Review
Thomas McFadden was a minor drugs dealer in Bolivia who was summarily arrested and thrown into jail, the notorious San Pedro Prison. Within the grim walls of the corrupt institution, he discovered a world which mirrored many of the wrongs of South American society at large: bribery, drugs, intimidation and violence at every level. McFadden needed to raise $5,000 to get released and how he managed this - for instance, by giving backpackers tours of the prison - is much of the story. Inevitably, Marching Powder recalls the nightmarish world of Midnight Express, but is sufficiently different in its own right to remain compelling. Young's account was written partly during a three-month stay with the unfortunate McFadden and reeks of authenticity. Not for the faint-hearted, perhaps, but those who enjoyed Killing Pablo may see this often surreal history as some sort of follow- up and it should do well.

About the Author

Rusty Young is an Australian lawyer who met Thomas McFadden on a tour of San Pedro. He was so impressed by him that he stayed there (voluntarily) for three months in order to write his story. Thomas McFadden is now a free man, living in London.

Customer Reviews

Money talks!
It's a kinda Bolivian version of the book 'The damage is done'. Although life inside San Pedro prison is somewhat different in many ways.. Money talks! Inmates buy and sell their own cells, manufacture coke, bribe anyone to get whatever they need and make a little extra cash from backpackers tours of the prison.
Thomas McFadden is a convicted British drug dealer who lived here for 5years.

A truly fantastic read, and Rusty Young certainly takes you into the bizarre prison with every chapter..

Another World
Many people have said good things about this book and they're mostly true. Marching Powder takes the reader into another world. Surreal and dystopian, this is travel as you don't want it! If you've missed it so far, read it when you can.
For another view across the world, try Escape by David McMillan. There, we have the true life story of just about the only Westerner to break out of one of the infamous hell-hole prisons.
Escape: The True Story of the Only Westerner Ever to Break Out of the Bangkok Hilton

Worth the read
Just to provide a bit of balance to some of the reviews below... this is no Papillion. It's not particularly well written and is often disjointed while you get the feeling that the account is rather selective. Some stories could do with elaboration while others could have been ommitted. This not with standing, it is an interesting story and gives some fascinating insight into the crazy world of a Bolivian prison.