Chasing Black Gold - Robert Stone Review

(Book Cover Source: Goodreads)

Hello Readers...

I always wanted to know what will be life of those who creates millions in fortune by means of illegal trafficking and was wondering what challenges they and their loved ones would have to faced because of this. I was fortunate to find this book and I am really thankful to the author of this book Robert Stone for providing a copy of this book via goodreads. This is one book which I was excited to read since I came to know that I will be getting this book to read and was shipped to me.

This might be a bit lengthy review, so please bear with me on this. Lets quickly go through the synopsis and I will express my impressions immediately after that. Here is a brief synopsis of this book:

" In 1970, runaway 15 year old Robert Stone showed up in the Bahamas. Turning diver and pot smuggler in a Miami Vice world, he made a million before he was 18, then went legit as a pioneer saturation diver in the North Sea. At 30, after seeing friends die and surviving several close calls, he went to work for himself, mostly on the wrong side of the law: in the Niger Delta, where he conducted midnight oil deals with armed bandits; in the South China Seas, where he bribed the Vietnamese Navy and slipped away with $100 million worth of prime marijuana; and in the Arctic, where he unloaded the illicit cargo under the nose of the US Vice President. When his closest friend turned government informant, Stone was thrown into a Nigerian Jail. Stone bribed his way to freedom, and became the quarry in an international manhunt led by a U.S., Organised task force. After a couple of years on the run, he was arrested and jailed in Switzerland and sent to a Federal Penitentiary following extradition. This is a story about the power of money to draw a man into every-bolder adventures, to bribe his way to the very top of business and government, and, ultimately, to buy his freedom."

The first thing that caught my attention was the cover. The cover looks stunning and I am in love with the cover of this book. The cover of this book made me comeback to the book when I was not reading this book.

I really love the story of this book. The story of a boy who gets into fuel smuggling and made a fortune for himself and how he made peace with his life in the end. This story has everything you would need, right from the drama, suspense and the emotions. The story takes you through the journey of a man in an apt manner in just 320 pages. I couldn't ask for anymore than that.

And on top of such an interesting and attention catching story, Robert Stone has done a phenomenal job in narrating this entire story and keeping it to just 320 pages. He literally takes you on the world tour and explains and narrates the entire details of the happenings in his life in simple and easy English and I am damn sure you would immediately connect with the story of this man. I really loved the concept where Robert Stone has divided each chapter into the locations which makes it lot easier for the readers to stay with this book, as this book discussed situations in various locations and the transitioning between the chapters is good, I won't say it is super smooth but yes its good and you won't feel disconnected while transitioning between the chapters. Let me tell you this that the actual story of this book is much more interesting than what we can get from the synopsis of the book mentioned above. So if you liked the synopsis, you will sure as hell love the actual book.

Also the kind of attention Robert Stone has paid to the details of each and every incident is simply amazing. I actually felt like Robert Stone is narrating this entire story to me in person. That kind of impact this book had on me.

Coming to the points where I felt this book could have improved. I felt the beginning of the story was much more dramatic and interesting as compared to the end of this book. Given the fact that this is a true story, I actually can't complain much but still I felt the end could have been drafted a little better. Also if the emotional quotient was up slightly towards the end, this could have made the end of this book a little better.

So to sum up, if you want to read a story of a boy who left home with $50 in jeans and earns and builds an enormous wealth of $40 mn, where after 25 years later he is walking out of Lichtenstein jail to his home in Scotland with just $50 in hos pocket....this is the book you need to read. I will surely recommend this book to any one who want to read a great true story. If asked to rate it, I would give this book 4.5 stars out of 5. This book is worth the money you pay. Get your copy of this book right now. Here are the links to the Amazon for the same.

India: Chasing Black Gold by Robert Stone

Outside India: Chasing Black Gold by Robert Stone

So, this is what I feel after reading this book. Do let me know in the comment section what do you feel about the book. Guys if you like this review, do hit the like button and share it among your fellow readers and if you don't, do mention the reason in the comment section below as it will help me to get better and do SUBSCRIBE to the blog to get all the reviews right into your mail box. Before taking your leave, here is a quote from Robert Stone himself:

"We are all self made although it's usually only the successful that tell you so."

So until next time, this is me Sushant signing off. You guys have a great day.

CIAO.