{"product_id":"marching-powder","title":"Marching Powder","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'All the staples of the prison memoir are here: sadistic guards and attempted break-out, the terrors of solitary confinement, the joys of freedom . . . The result is a truly gripping piece of testimony'\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSunday Telegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA darkly comic, sometimes shocking account of life in San Pedro, the world's most bizarre prison, through the eyes of one bemused Englishman.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen Thomas McFadden was arrested trying to smuggle five kilos of cocaine out of Bolivia, he was flung into San Pedro prison - the strangest penitentiary system in the world. Thomas was astonished to discover that corrupt politicians and major-league drug smugglers lived in luxury apartments in one wing, while the poorer sections of the prison were too dangerous to enter after dark. Prisoners had to pay for everything: their cells, their food and their clothing, not to mention the many bribes required by the police. To survive in San Pedro you needed an income - and so prisoners turned to the trade they knew best: manufacturing cocaine. Even the prison cat was addicted to crack.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eInitially mistaken for a hated American, Thomas survived numerous attempts on his life as he tried to adjust. In \u003ci\u003eMarching Powder \u003c\/i\u003ehe describes his journey from despised gringo to San Pedro's most famous inmate. After trying drug dealing, shopkeeping and becoming a Mormon pastor, he hit upon the idea of giving guided tours of the prison. Thomas became legendary on the South American backpacking circuit - which is how he met young lawyer Rusty Young. Rusty was so impressed by him that he moved into the prison for three months to write his story - discovering that behind the show Thomas put on was a much darker reality, where brutality and death were common currency, and sometimes even the strongest didn't survive.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pan Macmillan","offers":[{"title":"Default Product","offer_id":55023060779352,"sku":"9781509829408","price":13.55,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9781509829408.jpg?v=1749019557","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/marching-powder","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}