Description
Harold Derber is one of those barely known men who has accomplished extraordinary things. In his case, it’s through a mix of being overshadowed by the historical events his actions took place and, as his life went on, dabbling in criminal enterprise. A quick internet search of his name illustrates this perfectly. The first several links refer to this book. The first, which does not mention the book, is about his death in 1976, his name prefaced by the phrase “drug trafficker”.
But before he got involved in the Colombian drug trade and pioneered a method to sneak weed out of international waters and into the United States, Harold Derber was Hyman Tuchverderber, a Jewish boy growing up in 1940s Manchester, soon to be involved in World War II as a radio operator.
Tuch brings us from those early days into a breathless whirlwind of a life, following Derber from World War II to the nascent nation of Israel, then across the Atlantic to the Americas. Readers get to know not only Derber as a dangerously lively man but also the cast of characters surrounding him: politicians and drug traffickers, soldiers and lovers. It’s a fascinating story, and one I couldn’t help being swept up in.
The best part of the book, in my opinion, was that it showed Derber in relation to the rest of the rapidly changing world. The post-war decades were times of political tension and upheaval, which often translated into social change as well. The saying “no man is an island” makes perfect sense in relation to this book. Derber is shown intertwined with the world that shaped him and which he, in turn, helped to shape.
The breakneck pace doesn’t always serve the writing, though. At times, it’s easy to lose details or lose track of characters. People, especially those in the outer circles of Derber’s work, are introduced quickly, and it’s too easy to see them fall by the wayside until they’re suddenly brought up again.
On the whole, though, I found myself fascinated by the book, and by the new insight I gained into a part of history I have always taken for granted. I was born into a world that seemed to have always known the international drug trade, to the point where I never thought about how it might have started or who might have been involved. I recommend this book to anyone interested in those seedier sides of history.
