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  • Marching Powder

  • A True Story of a British Drug Smuggler In a Bolivian Jail
  • By: Rusty Young
  • Narrated by: Adrian Mulraney, Rusty Young
  • Length: 14 hrs and 3 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (598 ratings)

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Marching Powder

By: Rusty Young
Narrated by: Adrian Mulraney, Rusty Young
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Summary

San Pedro is Bolivia's most notorious prison. Small-time drug smuggler Thomas McFadden found himself on the inside. Marching Powder is the story of how he navigated this dark world of gangs, drugs and corruption to come out on top.

Thomas 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. Written by lawyer Rusty Young, Marching Powder – sometimes shocking, sometimes funny – is a riveting story of survival.

©2010 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd (P)2010 Macmillan Digital Audio
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What listeners say about Marching Powder

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An amazing tale

the narration was a bit odd but it was excellent! the levels of corruption were insane and it seems like Thomas was fortunate to survive

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Amazing

One of the greatest prison stories ever told, I loved the book and the audio version was fantastic as well. Highly recommended!

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Great read

Performance was brilliant, story was super interesting especially the first half. Definitely worth a listen if you want an insight into the Bolivian prison system.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Fascinating but not gripping

It’s a great recounting of a terrifying ordeal in a Bolivian prison but by no means a page turner. Worth it though for the length alone.

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top book


very good book great story line would recommend to any one could listen over and over

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Incredible!!!

Enjoyed this book so much I was disappointed to see it come to an end!!

10/10

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Great story

The accent is so awful. If someone is from Liverpool, give the job to a scouser not someone who sounds like they’ve got a South American pidgin English accent.

Apart by from the totally terrible voice, the story is intriguing.

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Gripping

Insanity, jaw dropping, incredible first hand story. You won’t be able to put it down or pause it!

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Outstanding

Best audio book I’ve ever read. Wish there was more like this. Great stuff mate

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Great story, well narrated

I knew the story having read the book a few years ago. This audiobook totally does it justice. recommended.

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