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American Desperado cover art

American Desperado

By: Jon Roberts, Evan Wright
Narrated by: Christina Rooney, Erik Davies, Johnathan McClain, Kimberley Farr, Kirby Heyborne, Mark Bramhall, Mark Deakins, Steve Kramer
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Publisher's Summary

American Desperado is possibly the most jaw-dropping, event-filled, adrenaline-soaked criminal autobiography ever written. Like a real-life Scarface Jon was born into the upper levels of the Gambino crime family and witnessed his first murder at age seven. He became a one-man juvenile crime wave before joining an assassination squad in Vietnam. He returned to New York at age 20 to become one of the city's top nightclub promoters, then journeyed to Miami where he became the de facto transportation chief of the Medellin Cartel, and along with a tech-wizard partner, created some of the most sophisticated smuggling technologies ever. With a hulking 6'6" bodyguard always at his side, and a rural fortress protected by mortars, tear-gas cannons, and a gold-fanged attack dog, Roberts was brutally effective at what he did. To law enforcement, he was known as the "Bearded Gringo," a spectre they could never touch. To United States senators and CIA officials, he was "the guy who can get things done". He eventually formed a clandestine alliance with the US government and in the end found personal late-life redemption.

©2011 Jon Roberts and Evan Wright (P)2011 Random House AudioGo LTD

What listeners say about American Desperado

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A MUST READ

hands down the best audio book ive listened to, un-believable story! narrators do a fantastic job. a must read!

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1 person found this helpful

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Very engaging and interesting

A fantastic book which kept me coming back from start to finish. Tracking the numerous and varied periods in his life from Mafia to Cocaine Cowboy and the amazing people he met along the way. The different readers also help to keep things exciting.

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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story!! Gritty, well written and brutal.

Amazing story!!
Brutal descriprions, awesome scene setting and all very true. highly recommended for those who love a true drama.

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wow

insane story. will definetly read again. john riccobono lived the hifg life. he is sn OG

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absolute cracker of a book

My favourite true crime story to date. I hoped it would last even longer. What a journey!

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great book

the narrative was on point, the story was sensational, there was so much detail, highly recommend

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superb

Couldn't stop listening to this amazing story. A real eye opener on American crime and corruption.

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Very very interesting

For those who like true stories this is very interesting insight into how troubled childhoods lead to traumatised adults and gives immense insight into the formation of the mind sets of these people
It also enlightens the mind of how such a little good or inspirational moment in a persons life can alter perspective, mindset and ability to adapt to an alternate lifestyle even though deep down still having a permanent scaring of what has been learned at such a young age

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epic

Epic, honest and such an adventure. well narrated and researched i thoroughly enjoyed this. was sad it ended

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Excellent story and well read!!

Would you consider the audio edition of American Desperado to be better than the print version?

Excellent story and well read!!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Excellent story and well read!!

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Excellent story and well read!!

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Excellent story and well read!!

Any additional comments?

ummm, how about Excellent story and well read!!

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