The book is based on dark alliance, webb s threepart investigative series published in the san jose mercury news in august 1996. Jeremy renner plays gary webb in kill the messenger. He reflected on his fall from grace in the 2002 book, into the buzzsaw. Dark alliance by gary webb penguin books australia. A cspan segment in which gary webb elaborates on his investigative work on the dark alliance of cia agents, contra rebels, and california drug dealers. The next year, he published a book titled dark alliance. Gary webb was no journalism hero, despite what kill the.
An awardwinning investigative reporter, gary webb 19552004 is best known for his dark alliance series that linked a northern california drug ring with the cia and the united states burgeoning crack epidemic. He discussed his book, headline news and responded to audience telephone calls, faxes, and. The cia, the contras, and the crack cocaine explosion, was the journalist with the san jose mercury news who caused. In the dark alliance, drawing from the newly declassified documents, undercover dea drug enforcement administration audio and videotapes that had never been publicly released, federal court testimony, and interviews, webb demonstrates how us government knowingly allowed massive amounts of drugs and money to change hands at the expense of communities. In august 1996, pulitzer prizewinning journalist gary webb stunned the world. Drawing from then newly declassified documents, undercover dea audio and videotapes that had never been publicly released, federal court testimony, and interviews, webb demonstrates how our government knowingly. Our government also covered it up and helped them along the way.
Gary webb is a correspondent for the san jose mercury news with two videos in the cspan video library. Gary webb sums up the story in his last major interview just days before his death. Dark alliance book by gary webb wbai donation site. Dark alliance prompted an investigation by the cia inspector general, the hitz report. In july 1995, san jose mercurynews reporter gary webb found the big. Webb resigned from the mercury news in december 1997. When the story first appeared in 1996 on the website of the san jose mercury news, it became an unprecedented internet sensation, receiving up to 1.
The cia, the contras, and the cocaine explosion webb, gary. All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws. He was one of six reporters at the san jose mercury news to win a 1990 pulitzer prize for general news reporting for a series of stories on the collapse of the cypress street viaduct during northern californias 1989 earthquake. Dark alliance is as necessary and valuable as it is horrifying and grim. Author and investigative journalist nick schou published numerous. The cia, the contras, and the crack cocaine explosion by webb, gary seller ground zero books, ltd. Webbs reporting, focused on a few central players of the l. I originally saw the film version, kill the messenger 2012, on a plane before i read the original source material, dark alliance 2011 by gary webb the film made me want to know more about the true story. Gary webb pushed his investigation even further in his book, dark alliance. Prior to dark alliance, webb said, i was winning awards, getting raises, lecturing college classes, appearing on tv.
Today, it is hard to say how webb will be remembered by history. Eighteen years after it was published, dark alliance, the san jose mercury. How the cia watched over the destruction of gary webb. The cia, the contras, and the crack cocaine explosion. The cia, the drug dealers, and the tragedy of gary webb. His book serves as both a complex memoir of the time of the contras and an indictment of the current state of americas press. Tjames madisonthis text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. The cia, the if adding books to this author, please use garywebb. But webb was a real person who wrote a real story, a threepart series called dark alliance, in august 1996 for the san jose mercury news, one of. Dark alliance and millions of other books are available for instant access. Review by conspiracy nation dark alliance by gary webb.
If adding books to this author, please use garywebb. By gary webb, pulitzer prizewinning investigative journalist. How the cias crackcocaine controversy destroyed journalist gary webb, will be published in october. After all, i had written not one but two pieces about dark alliance as it. In 1999, seven stories press published webbs dark alliance. Webbs bold, controversial reporting was the target of a famously vicious media backlash that. The original series claimed that, in order to help raise funds for efforts against the nicaraguan sandinista government, the cia supported cocaine. Gary stephen webb was an investigative reporter, focusing on government and private sector corruption and winning more than 30 journalism awards. Gary webb, born august 31, 1955, corona, california, u. United states, crack drug, cocaine abuse, united states. The book has flaws, but webb deserves credit for pursuing an important piece of recent history and forcing the. Gary webb, the pulitzer prizewinning reporter who broke the story of the cias involvement in the importation of cocaine into the u.
Webb had anonymous sources he eventually named one in a later book who had been involved in the nicaraguan drug ring to back his allegations up. The cia, the contras, and the crack cocaine explosion is a 1998 book by journalist gary webb. He discussed his book, headline news and responded to audience. It is wellsourced and webb thoroughly proved that the u. Crack in the system premiering on al jazeera america in early 2015. Gary webb was an investigative reporter, focusing on government and private sector corruption and winning more than 30 journalism awards. Unlike other books that purport to tell the inside story of americas most futile war kings of cocaine by guy gugliotta and jeff leen and desperados by elaine. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers new. The cia, the contras and the crack cocaine explosion by gary webb isbn.
Actor jeremy renner stars as investigative journalist gary webb in the. This is why webbs dark alliance series is an essential source, a primary text that every journalism student should study. The cia, the contras, and the crack cocaine explosion, the inherent racism in a covert policy that reaped so much destruction on such a vulnerable segment of society. When webb told the whole story in the book dark alliance, some of the same. But if there is any justice, he will be remembered favorably. Dark alliance was a series written by californiabased reporter webb and published in the san jose mercury news in 1996. The series, titled dark alliance, revealed that for the better part of a decade, a bay area drug ring sold tons of cocaine. The book is essentially two storiesthe first is the reporting that led webb to make connections between nicaraguan drug smugglers who. Gary webb is the former san jose mercury news reporter whose 1996 dark alliance series on the socalled ciacrack cocaine connection created a firestorm of controversy and led to his resignation from the paper amid escalating attacks on his work by the mainstream media. He was one of six reporters at the san jose mercury news to win a 1990 pulitzer prize for general news. The cia, the contras and the crack cocaine explosion detailing his own reporting. In 1996, pulitzer prizewinning journalist gary webb 19552004 wrote a shocking series of articles for the san jose mercury news exposing the cias link to nicaraguan cocaine smuggled into the us by the contras, which had fueled the widespread crack epidemic that swept through urban areas. His book demonstrates that the original expose was on the right track.
He became an investigator for the california state legislature, published a book based on the dark alliance series in 1998, and did freelance investigative reporting. The cia, the contras, and the crack cocaine explosion, complete with extensive source citations. Dark alliance by gary webb overdrive rakuten overdrive. There is more than one author in the goodreads database with this name.