Jackpot: High Times, High Seas, And The Sting That Launched The War On Drugs

Kinda hard to follow with so much back and forth. But fun to read and very interesting

Jackpot is the story of a group of marijuana smugglers, living the high life and making tons of money during the late '70s and early '80s. In concentrates on a group of young men, most of them with ties to the state of South Carolina and details their rise and fall as drug kingpins. === The Good Points ===*Parts of the tale are truly spellbinding. Jason Ryan does an excellent job of leading us through several of the smuggling trips, mostly by boat. The details of some of these trips are amazing, as "drug kingpins" run out of gas, food, water, get lost, drop drugs in the ocean, and generally resemble McHale's Navy.*We watch as a number of high school dropouts become quite rich, with their biggest problems being what to do with all the money.*As the enterprises begin to unwind, there is a fascinating saga of these men turning on each other, giving state's evidence, and leading worldwide tales of evasion, false-identities, narrow escapes from law enforcement and living the high-life with one eye cast over their shoulders.*We meet an ambition group of law enforcement officials and US Attorneys, some of whom seem to be at least as ambitions as the smugglers, although they were playing for different stakes.===The Bad Points===*The book definitely needed a better editor. The first few chapters border on unreadable due to the constant introduction to new characters, many of whom are not important to the storyline. Most of these characters are indistinguishable from one another in the plot, and their descriptions become so intermingled and forgettable that I almost put the book down.*Ryan never gets beyond the surface of the tale. We are not privy to the details of setting up a smuggling operation, any of the background on setting up the deals, or any of the interpersonal conflicts that doubtless existed among the smugglers. We also miss out on the story behind the story- for example Ryan relates how there was a temporary cease-fire in Lebanon so the smugglers could onload a cargo of smuggled drugs. Quite a claim, and one that requires a bit more detail and explanation than a simple statement that it happened.*Parts of the book were very slow-going, making it tempting to put the book down. === Summary ===The good parts of the book were good, but the bad parts were pretty bad. Overall I'd say the book was just good enough to keep reading, although I was tempted to stop several times. The middle of the book, describing actual smuggling runs, was the best part, while the beginning and end were boring and often mundane.If you are a fan of true crime, it is probably worth a read, but don't be afraid to skim the first few chapters, you won't miss much.

So liked the book, and surprise, they are making movie on it and it's going to stream on Hulu.

I am a voracious reader of non-fiction books, including true crime, famous legal cases and courtroom dramas. I just finished reading Jackpot and would rate it among the top 5 books that I have enjoyed over the past few years.Having lived in Beaufort, SC, since 1977, I was familiar with Operation Jackpot from the occasional newspaper stories, and I knew of some of the people from the Beaufort and Hilton Head area that were ensnared in the pot smuggling investigation. However, until I read Jason Ryan's book, I had no idea of the breadth and scope of the smuggling operations and the law enforcement investigations that reached along the entire Eastern Seacoast and involved hundreds of people over an entire decade. Ryan did an incredible job in writing a fascinating story that was obviously well researched and written in a style and prose that matches or exceeds that of most seasoned and successful authors that I have read.It is just unbelievable how Ryan was able to take mountains of information and organize and reduce it to a compelling and very readable story of pot smuggling activities (and related investigations) along the Eastern coastal areas and around the world from the mid-1970's to mid 1980's - including the inner-workings and novel investigation and prosecution techniques of the Jackpot drug task force, the means and methods used by the so-called "gentlemen smugglers," the courtroom drama in the trials of those unwilling to plead guilty, and the background stories of the major participates in what has come to be known as one of the most successful operations (smuggling and law enforcement) in the history of the war on drugs. While not over-glamorizing the lifestyles of the criminal smugglers, Ryan told their interesting stories of short-term riches with yachts, world-travel, woman and partying. This book has it all, and in my opinion would provide the basis of a fantastic movie. I look forward to Ryan's next book.[My only complaint is that Amazon did not have a Kindle edition - this was the first hard copy book I bought in over 5 years.]

This story is a microcosm of what is going on in the world of politics & government, healthcare, energy & banking laws all being collectivised to serve as vote-buying & campaign contribution schemes. In a free society and under Constitutional law, using the Declaration of Independence as an interpretive guide, the only compatible laws are those which perserve individual freedom...that protect us from force & fraud, rather than enshrining politicians as the only rightful perpetrators of force & fraud.This is a narrative of government thugs using brute force & $Billions in tax dollars to come between willing sellers & willing buyers dealing in a very natural plant that free people choose to consume.. Some of the brightest & most adventureous young people, finding a niche created by totalitarian type laws against the individual freedoms embedded in the founding laws of the U.S., employ their best efforts & skill to serve this market.In all ends, predictably, with demonizing and punishing bright & productive young people, while rewarding totalitarian styled thugs who would dictate that we are only free to do what they tell us we can.The lives that were diminished or destroyed could today see the product they served the free market with is being legalized.

very good read

Another book of fantasy, not worth buying. Would make a good James Bond script. Do not waste your money on this book.Martin Mc Larnon