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The Beast: Riding The Rails And Dodging Narcos On The Migrant Trail Paperback – June 3, 2014
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Editorial Reviews
Review
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Economist & The Financial Times
“Harrowing….The graceful, incisive writing lifts “The Beast” from being merely an impressive feat of reportage into the realm of literature. Mr. Martínez has produced something that is an honorable successor to enduring works like George Orwell’s “The Road to Wigan Pier” or Jacob Riis’s “How the Other Half Lives.”—New York Times
“The most extraordinary (and harrowing) book I read this year. Beautiful and searing and impossible to put down.”–Junot Díaz
“The world that Oscar Martínez, a Salvadoran journalist, set out to report on five years ago is so violent, depraved and hellish, you can hardly believe he survived to tell the tale... rugged prose, beautifully translated.” –The Economist
“Martínez is a powerful storyteller and his approach to investigative journalism is closer
to anthropological immersion: He walks with migrants through bloody forests, eats with them at
spartan shelters, and rides with them atop speeding trains.” –Columbia Journalism Review
“The Beast, like so many great books, lands on you with a revelatory frisson, the arrival of a
story we didn’t know we were waiting to hear.” –Los Angeles Review of Books
“… Martínez’s debut is the hard-won result of immersive journalism."—Kirkus
"This searing account of the hardships suffered by Central American migrants headed through Mexico to the United States comes from true shoe-leather reporting." —Publisher's Weekly
“To understand the dramatic realities faced by the migrants who flee northwards to find work in the United States, Óscar Martínez literally jumped trains and dodged killers. He deserves praise not only for his efforts, and for what he writes about, but because he writes so very well.”
—Jon Lee Anderson, staff reporter for the New Yorker
“A heartbreaking book about the world’s most invisible people. A revelatory work of love and hair-raising courage.” —Alma Guillermoprieto, Latin America correspondent for the New York Review of Books, author of Dancing with Cuba
“Óscar Martínez is a journalist of uncommon bravery and a writer of prodigious talent. The Beast is a powerful, necessary book, one of the finest pieces of journalism to emerge from Latin America in years.” —Daniel Alarcón, author of At Night We Walk in Circles
From the Hardcover edition.
“Harrowing….The graceful, incisive writing lifts “The Beast” from being merely an impressive feat of reportage into the realm of literature. Mr. Martínez has produced something that is an honorable successor to enduring works like George Orwell’s “The Road to Wigan Pier” or Jacob Riis’s “How the Other Half Lives.”—New York Times
“The most extraordinary (and harrowing) book I read this year. Beautiful and searing and impossible to put down.”–Junot Díaz
“The world that Oscar Martínez, a Salvadoran journalist, set out to report on five years ago is so violent, depraved and hellish, you can hardly believe he survived to tell the tale... rugged prose, beautifully translated.” –The Economist
“Martínez is a powerful storyteller and his approach to investigative journalism is closer
to anthropological immersion: He walks with migrants through bloody forests, eats with them at
spartan shelters, and rides with them atop speeding trains.” –Columbia Journalism Review
“The Beast, like so many great books, lands on you with a revelatory frisson, the arrival of a
story we didn’t know we were waiting to hear.” –Los Angeles Review of Books
“… Martínez’s debut is the hard-won result of immersive journalism."—Kirkus
"This searing account of the hardships suffered by Central American migrants headed through Mexico to the United States comes from true shoe-leather reporting." —Publisher's Weekly
“To understand the dramatic realities faced by the migrants who flee northwards to find work in the United States, Óscar Martínez literally jumped trains and dodged killers. He deserves praise not only for his efforts, and for what he writes about, but because he writes so very well.”
—Jon Lee Anderson, staff reporter for the New Yorker
“A heartbreaking book about the world’s most invisible people. A revelatory work of love and hair-raising courage.” —Alma Guillermoprieto, Latin America correspondent for the New York Review of Books, author of Dancing with Cuba
“Óscar Martínez is a journalist of uncommon bravery and a writer of prodigious talent. The Beast is a powerful, necessary book, one of the finest pieces of journalism to emerge from Latin America in years.” —Daniel Alarcón, author of At Night We Walk in Circles
From the Hardcover edition.
About the Author
Óscar Martínez writes for ElFaro.net, the first online newspaper in Latin America. The original edition of his book Los migrantes que no importan was published in 2010 by Icaria and El Faro and a second edition by Mexico’s sur+ Ediciones in 2012. Martínez is currently writing chronicles and articles for El Faro’s project, Sala Negra, investigating gang violence in Latin America. In 2008, Martínez won the Fernando Benítez National Journalism Prize in Mexico, and in 2009, he was awarded the Human Rights Prize at the José Simeón Cañas Central American University in El Salvador.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By
M. Hubbard
on November 20, 2013
Format: Kindle Edition
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This is a well-written and engaging book that gives great insight into the conditions experienced by Central American immigrants during the long and dangerous journey to the United States and what they hope will be a better life. Martinez also explores the many negative impacts on Mexican society brought about by the increasing involvement of narcotics cartels in the immigration pipeline.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By
tea lover
on January 10, 2014
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Best non-fiction look at a subculture since "Behind the Beautiful Forevers." Martinez was patient and courageous in his journeys from Central America to the U.S.-Mexico border and his reward was to be let into the world of migrants, narcos, coyotes, and bandits. It's not a bleak book, though. It's written well enough that I enjoyed the journey, even if it was a horrific journey.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By
N. Rubin
on December 16, 2013
Format: Hardcover
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This book gives the stories of the many migrants passing through Mexico to get to El Norte. This book gives them a voice and tells their stories. I think this book should be mandatory in schools and for our Congressman. There are daily massacres, kidnappings and rapes. I enjoyed the writing and the excellent journalism by the author and his team to capture the truth.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By
PAUL MCNEIL
on January 13, 2014
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Oscar Martinez takes us on a trip through Mexico's immigration routes, riding the back of The Beast-the train- from Central America to El Norte, and doesn't let us take a step back and look at it from a distance. He rides with and talks to those escaping violence, those just looking for a better life, and those who perpetrate the violence on others. He talks to Zetas and Border Patrol Agents, coyotes and polleros, but most heartbreaking are the stories of those who face maiming accidents, robbery, extortion, rape, and murder to try and get to the north. We get their voices, often with little to no filter, and the translation to English does a great job of making the language feel natural. This is just great, brave first-person journalism that tells a story far too few people are aware of, and giving voice to those who were voiceless back home, and remain so through Mexico and into the United States. You will feel angry and sad, but you will care about these people and understand them in a way you probably didn't before. Highly recommended.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By
corbin washington
on January 7, 2014
Format: Hardcover
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The power of the writing, the exceptional translation and the documented tragedies and stories of violence will first make you want to cry and then shake your fist at the politicians who ignore the problems. The Beast addresses very serious humanitarian, policy and economic issues related to the plight of the migrant. It is a first hand account of the tragedies of those on the trail and the families they left. It is also a sad truth that many who perpetrate the atrocities are also involuntary criminals and equally afraid for their lives. After reading the book if you are not searching for some answers you most likely don't have a heart and conscience.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By
D
on December 29, 2013
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I won't forget this book. Provides incredible insight into the gauntlet that Central American and Mexican migrants must run for a chance to make it to the US. The author talks a lot about the changes that happened recently but I am left with the impression that the situation is always changing. There is a torrent of migrants and drugs flowing thru Mexico that creates its own sick and shifting eco-system.
Brilliantly and bravely reported.
Brilliantly and bravely reported.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By
M. Hyman
VINE VOICE on December 15, 2013
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This book takes a look at the lives of central american migrants who are trying to move across Mexico and into the US, illegally, in search of a better life. It is a very humane and shocking book, that casts light into the peril fraught journey. Naively, I had assumed that the journey of an illegal immigrant became tough once they arrived into the United States, and had never thought about or understood how hard it is to travel, without papers, protection or money, through a fairly hostile country often controlled by drug gangs, nor did I realize how unruly Mexico is.
The book would not have the power that it does if the author hadn't personally gone on the journeys with the people he profiles. He lives with them, travels through the shelters, rides the trains, walks through the dangerous areas where he could be assaulted at any time, and really embeds himself with the people making the journey. He profiles the lives and challenges faced by those he meets -- death threats in their countries, interactions with gangs, the lives of prostitutes -- giving a very detailed and sad profile.
This is a very moving book, and will change the way you look at some of the immigration issues in the country.
I do wish the book were a bit longer... that there were more profiles, or follow up interviews, or something else that helped continue the exploration. Well done.
The book would not have the power that it does if the author hadn't personally gone on the journeys with the people he profiles. He lives with them, travels through the shelters, rides the trains, walks through the dangerous areas where he could be assaulted at any time, and really embeds himself with the people making the journey. He profiles the lives and challenges faced by those he meets -- death threats in their countries, interactions with gangs, the lives of prostitutes -- giving a very detailed and sad profile.
This is a very moving book, and will change the way you look at some of the immigration issues in the country.
I do wish the book were a bit longer... that there were more profiles, or follow up interviews, or something else that helped continue the exploration. Well done.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By
amanda
on November 8, 2013
Format: Kindle Edition
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a great book, honest and raw work by Oscar Martinez about his experience with the beast. definitely recommend this to anyone interested in immigration issues or a good read
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