The Beast: Riding the Rails and Dodging Narcos on the Migrant Trail

Heartbreaking story, well told, much like Enrique's Journey, that begs the question, how does a legitimate government allow this kind of depravity to go on? And rhetorically, when will the United States stop its insidious practice of meddling in the internal affairs of other countries and destroying any chance they might have of attaining political stability?For starters, all you dopers need to stop facilitating this violence and financing these narcotraffickers by purchasing illegal drugs. Second, voters need to change the immigration and drug policies in this country radically. Obama and Congress love mucking around in the Middle East yet pay so little attention to the house on fire next door to us. This is an excellent book covering what has become sickeningly familiar territory to anyone who reads up on Mexico and Latin America.No one should have to flee from their home to another country just to be safe and have a decent life.. The United States should consider financing the migrant shelters along the border rather than these ugly, useless walls and tens of thousands of border patrol agents. What a neurotic nation: if a policy fails miserably, increase funding for it.

I'll never think about immigration to the US in the same way again. Martinez explodes stereotypes, dissolves callous ignorance, and traces the whole harrowing path from one end of Mexico to the other. A journalistic and literary show of force.

Powerful book that shows the ugly side of Mexico's citizens, their violent and abusive ways towards those attempting to cross their land to get to America. Talk about sad stories, one after another. Good job on the part of the author. Truly an eye opener. 4 Stars.

This book was very readable. I had never really considered what the trip from Central America through Mexico was like but this book gave me some idea. I think it gave me a more sympathetic attitude towards migrants.

This is a fantastic story with real world implications. Mr. Martinez shows us in great detail what these migrants who want to travel to the United States go through. The stories that he tell of, both as to why they want to go to the United States and their troubles really make you grieve for these migrants and hope that all of them find a way to get to the US safely. However, in our current political climate, and the incompleteness of Enrique Pena Nieto, none of this is likely to happen, but this is worth reading to get a better picture of the situation and find ways to help out. Great writing by Mr. Martinez and him being able to tell 14 individual stories to highlight the issues. Good read.

This book by Central American journalist Oscar Martinez relates his first hand experience of travelling on Mexico's cross country train system with immigrants from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador who are fleeing their homelands, often not for purely economic reasons but because of the drug-trade related violence perpetrated by the Mara gangs that have been extradited from the US and which have completely overwhelmed the capabilities of the police and the authorities in their own countries. The details of their terrible journeys, continually preyed upon by the coyote gangs, by the narcos and by the Mexican police are horrifying, fascinating and heart-rending and I challenge anyone to read this book without sometimes having to take a deep breath and wipe away the tears of anger and frustration that mankind is capable of treating his poorest and most vulnerable brethren in this way. With one of the leading contenders for the US presidency threatening to build a wall all the way along the border, this is a very raw, real and timely look at what has already long been happening on the other side of the border.

This story starts with a BANG! and the bang slowly fades away...until there's not much bang left at the end. Most of the narrative is repetitive: Central American or Mexican nationals, trying to cross the border in search of The American Dream, facing brutal atrocities in the hands of the Mexican mafia (Los Zetas, et al); the corrupt police forces; the coyotes; bandits & everything in between. Very little is said of THE BEAST (i.e., the infamous train), but that chapter is indeed intense. My feeling was that of watching a "never-ending" documentary; out of general principle I read until the end, but did not find satisfaction or closure, which might be the author's objective...

This is a brilliantly written, deeply moving account. While reading it, I often thought of George Orwell's "The Road to Wigan Pier" and "Down and Out in Paris and London." The author shows not only wonderful writing talents, but also stunning courage and a deep, no-nonsense compassion in chronicling the movement of desperate migrants from CentralAmerica across Mexico. No one who reads this can doubt that these desperate people are refugees, fleeing a chronic, endemic violence which our American government did much to create. The migration process will never look the same to you after you read this. A remarkable, deeply humane, and achingly sad book.

The Central American migrants who make it to the border with the US have been through hell. It’s hard to imagine the will required to suffer and risk so much for a chance to work the worst jobs America has to offer. I have a new found respect for every one of them.

Absolutely worth a read . So much bravery from the writers. My heart goes out to this people. Very informative.

È arrivato perfettamente nei tempi previsti e in ottime condizioni

Having been through Mexico recently during which we were shown a train heading north towards the US border and told it was The Beast I was intrigued to learn more. This book, easily read, is a true page turner and shines a light on a matrix of problems which end up with the victims it studies being treated as the guilty party. The Beast is the inhumanity which leads to the exodus, and preys daily on the most vulnerable.I would suggest that anyone reading this follow it with Martinez's "History of Violence"

I study immigration and migration issues. This book, recently translated, presents these issues from the point of view of the migrants, traveling through Mexico to the border with the United States. Gut wrenching, heart wrenching, following people who seek only better lives for themselves and their children, as they are preyed upon by narco-traffickers and the authorities who are supposed to protect them, in their perilous journey north.A chapter on the United States' Border Patrol explains the misguided attempts to "seal" the border.The author is an established journalist with nothing to gain, except to show the value of human life and to make us all aware of what these migrants are fleeing and what they endure.