Genre: Non-fiction, memoir, crime

Stars: 4

Links: The History Press, Amazon UK, Waterstones, Barnes and Noble, Amazon US, Ebooks.com

The Blurb:    

ROBERT STONE was a serial entrepreneur – an enterprising individual, mostly on the wrong side of the law, who spent twenty-five years operating all over the world, before being arrested in Switzerland as a result of an international manhunt led by an Organised Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. Over the course of his career, Stone earned and lost several lifetimes’ worth of fortunes, went to prison on three continents, used dozens of aliases, saw men die, and masterminded one of the biggest marijuana smuggling operations in criminal history. Fuel smuggling in Africa, trading fuel with generals, rebels and businessman, was both his career high and, ultimately, what brought him down.

My Review:

Interesting, action-packed, tense, and full of adventure, this memoir of living life in the illegal lane was well-written and thought-provoking.

Fuel smuggling in Africa, with the known consequences bare to see (admitted by the author), with all the run-ins with corrupt (and a few non-corrupt) officials, locals, bribery, and a whole host of other less-than-savoury experiences.

A tough subject to tackle and one which obviously serves its own purpose for the author, this is nevertheless a very thought-provoking and fascinating read – there were times where I sympathised with the author, while others left me wondering about lack of lessons learnt. However, the book itself was well-written, pacy, tense, and, well, human. Recommended.

Author Bio:

Author Robert Stone first came to Aberdeen Scotland in 1973 as a pioneer saturation diver in the early dangerous days of the North Sea. Retiring from diving in the mid 80’s he became a serial entrepreneur –mostly on the wrong side of the law. He spent the next decade operating businesses all over the world from his Aberdeenshire home.

Stone earned and lost several fortunes, went to prison on three continents, used dozens of aliases, and masterminded one of the biggest marijuana smuggling operations in criminal history. Fuel smuggling in Africa, was only one of his many exploits.

His Scottish wife and young children knew nothing of the dark side of his life until the day they were all arrested in Switzerland as a result of an international manhunt led by an Organised Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.

You can connect with him on Twitter, The History Press,  Facebook, and Instagram.

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