My Favourite Quotes (Part 1)

               My Favourite Quotes (Part 1)

(These are SOME of my favourite quotes ever, in no particular order.)

1. "The two most important days of a man's life are the day he gets born and the day he finds out why." Mark Twain

2. "You know that it's there there, but you just don't know where- but just because you can never reach it doesn't mean it's not worth looking for." The Phantom Tollbooth

3. "What's the most resilient parasite? Bacteria? A virus? An intestinal worm? An idea. Resilient...Highly contagious. Once an idea has taken hold of the brain it's almost impossible to eradicate. An idea that is fully formed- fully understood- that sticks; right in there somewhere." Cobb, Inception

4. "Memory can change the shape of a room, it can change the colour of a car. And memories can be distorted. They're just an interpretation, they're not  a record, and they're irrelevant if you have the facts." Leonard Shelby, Memento

5. "Beneath this mask there's more than flesh. Beneath this mask is an idea, Mr.Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof." V for Vendetta

6. "They say we only use a fraction of our brain's true potential. Now that's when we're awake. When we're asleep, we can do almost anything." Cobb, Inception

7. "You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight

8. "A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything." Malcolm X

9. "Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery." Malcolm X

10. "I don't even call it violence when it's in self-defense; I call it intelligence." Malcolm X

11. "A person less fortunate than yourself deserves the best you can give. Because of duty, and honor, and service. You understand those words? You should do your job right, and you should do it well, simply because you can, without looking for notice or reward." Jack Reacher, Nothing to Lose

12. "I don't want to put the world to rights...I just don't like people who put the world to wrongs." Jack Reacher, 61 Hours

Top 5 Best Non-Fiction Books of 2016

Top 5 Best Non-Fiction Books 2016

Note before Reading:  The books of the earlier list are not included here, as they're already there. This list is a new and independent list with no real ties to the older one, meaning that these books aren't better than the last ones. These are all books I've read in 2016. A list for 2017 will come probably at the end of the year.This is a countdown from least to best, with a commentary on each.

5: Zodiac by Robert Graysmith

Zodiac is a non-fiction book written by Robert Graysmith about the unsolved serial murders committed by the "Zodiac Killer" in San Francisco in the late 1960s and early '70s.

Originally published: 1986

Genre: True crime

Adaptations: Zodiac (2007)

An excellent and in-depth account of the mysterious Zodiac killer, who terrorised San Francisco in the '60s and '70s with his brutal murders and taunting letters to the police, newspapers, and the public. I also watched the movie, which was also excellent, and both are very similar, but the movie left out important details from the book, while concentrating more on Graysmith himself, and on his private life, more than the book. So yes, a very good read.

4: El Narco by Ioan Grillo

El Narco: Inside Mexico's Criminal Insurgency is a non-fiction book of the Mexican Drug War written by Ioan Grillo. 
Originally published: September 2011
Page count: 336
Genre: Non-fiction
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

A deeply researched analysis of the cartels and their trade, violence, culture, and tons of other things. It is brutal, but still entertaining, and a definite read.

3: Cocaine by Dominic Streatfeild

Cocaine: An Unauthorized Biography is a 2002 non-fiction book about the history of cocaine, written by Dominic Streatfeild and published by Diane Publishing Company. 
This book is about the history of Cocaine itself, starting from its roots at the time of the Spanish  Conquistadors, to its present problems in the world. Well written, with a touch of dry humor every now and then, Cocaine is for everyone who wants to know what cocaine actually is, and some crazy stories along the way.

2: Amexica by Ed Vulliamy

In the last three years more than 38,000 people have been murdered in Amexica - the area of land that forms the border between the US and Mexico. This is both the busiest and most deadly frontier in the world, studded with guard-posts, infra-red searchlights and heavily armed patrols.Across it unfolds a war that is scarcely reported - a war that's being fought, with thousands dying and millions of lives blighted, so that Europe and America can get high.In Amexica, acclaimed journalist Ed Vulliamy explores his own love-hate relationship with the place and its people, while investigating the causes and consequences of the war and its impact on the everyday life which somehow carries on around it.

This book, unlike El Narco doesn't concentrate so much on the trade as on the normal people and their experiences who live around it, and especially on the border. A poetical, beautiful, brutal, and compelling read.

1: The Autobiography of Malcolm X

One of the most, maybe the most impressive, deep, symbolic, deeply felt, and passionately written autobiography I've ever read or ever will read.

Malcolm's character, intelligence and faith is made clearer with every word he says. His amazingly inspiring story, from the deepest and filthiest ghettoes to his Pilgrimage to Mecca, is filled with symbolism and lessons for everyone. But be warned: this book is for marture audiences as it does have inappropriate material. For Further information, go to my parents guide of this truly wonderful true story.

"El Narco:The Bloody Rise of Mexican Drug Cartels" by Ioan Grillo (Review)

"El Narco: The Bloody Rise of Mexican                        Drug Cartels" Review

(Before I start, I just want to say that I will post both posts on this blog and videos on Youtube more often now, as I've left the boarding school.)

Basic Info:

In El Narco, Grillo takes a close look at the Mexican drug trade, starting with the term "El Narco", which has come to represent the vast, faceless criminal network of drug traffickers who cast a murderous shadow over Mexico.

Originally published: September 2011

Author: Ioan Grillo

Page count: 336

Genre: Non-fiction

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Goodreads Rating: 4/5 from 2,391 votes.

Review: Excellent but bloody study of Mexicos Cartels is well researched and written.

Drugs.Violence.Cartels.Religion.Culture.Torture.Economy.El Narco deals with all of these,and more. Not only does it deal with all these topics, but it manages to string them all together, to make each one relevant to the others in some way. It can be confusing, with all the different characters and facts, but if you concentrate, it's worth it. Deeply researched, enganging and written from the heart. this book is a definite win, although stomach-twisting in parts, as Grillo relates the relentless and bloody rampage of the cartels, making this book NOT for kids.

El Narco is divided into three parts: History, which relates the rise of Mexicos Criminal Insurgency; Anatomy, which describes and analyses the trade, and Destiny, which looks into the future and suggests different ways with which to gain peace.

But be warned: this book is extremely disturbing in parts, when describing the merciless violence of the Sicarios. 

My rating is 8/10.

Amazon UK Link:https://www.amazon.co.uk/El-Narco-Bloody-Mexican-Cartels/dp/1408822431