Desperados

In the course of covering the international drug scene for 10 years for Newsweek (she is now with Time ) Shannon clearly developed an encyclopedic knowledge of the subject. Here she draws on that expertise, basing her book on the torture-murder of Drug Enforcement Administration agent Enrique Camarena in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 1985, a case that is still unresolved. She reveals that the U.S. government has talked a good anti-drug fight but has done little more than form study commissions, convene conferences and sign treaties. She contends, also, that Mexico's war on drugs has been rife with corruption, from street cops to high officials. And, farther south, the Colombian administration has been fighting a losing battle against a cartel headquartered in Medellin, with judges and lawmen assassinated by the dozen. The conclusion: the only way to win the war is to end the demand in America for marijuana and cocaine. An instructive study. 35,000 first printing; $50,000 ad/promo; first serial to Time magazine; film rights to Michael Mann Productions; author tour. (October)