My Colombian War: A Journey Through the Country I Left Behind

Intimate emotion-saturated portrait . . . the flavors and the colors are vivid . . . [A] compelling picture of contemporary Colombia and the roots of its problems . . . a gift for the rest of us.―William Grimes The New York Times. Growing up in the coastal city of Barranquilla Colombia Silvana Paternostro enjoyed a privileged childhood a comfortable existence marred only briefly by fleeting encounters with the social inequalities and burgeoning drug trade that threatened the countrys security. Soon however these shadowy threats intensified boiling over into the most violent most protracted and most misunderstood civil war of our time.. In My Colombian War Paternostro now an acclaimed reporter journeys back to the place where her family and closest friends still live weaving authentic experience into a history of this ongoing conflict. Drawing on interviews with family members rebel and paramilitary leaders and a singular young American marine named Charlie Paternostro portrays all sides of the conflict. Blending superb reportage with poignant personal stories she offers a stunning comprehensive narrative of Colombias complicated past and present.