Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man Who Makes War Possible
Respected journalists Douglas Farah and Stephen Braun tell the incredible story of Viktor Bout, the Russian weapons supplier whose global network has changed the way modern warfare is fought. Bout’s vast enterprise of guns, planes, and money has fueled internecine slaughter in Africa and aided both militant Islamic fanatics in Afghanistan and the American military in Iraq. Combining spy thrills with crucial insights on the shortcomings of a U.S. foreign policy that fails to confront the lucrative and lethal arms trade that erodes global security, they show how Bout has successfully skirted every attempt to undo his enterprise and flourishes, while the worlds' premier intelligence services have largely given up the chase.
"A riveting investigation of the world's most notorious arms dealer--a page-turner that digs deep into the amazing, murky story of Viktor Bout. Farah and Braun have exposed the inner workings of one of the world's most secretive businesses--the international arms trade." —Peter L. Bergen, author of The Osama bin Laden I Know
We earn a commission for purchases made through the following links.
Book details
- Author
- Douglas Farah, Stephen Braun
- Imprint
- Trade Paper Press, an imprint of Turner Publishing Company
- Published
- Pages
- 320
- Formats
- Paperback, Hardcover
- Subjects
- Biography & Autobiography › Criminals & Outlaws
History › Military › Weapons - Topics
- arms dealers · Viktor Bout · illegal weapons trade · modern warfare · Africa conflicts · U.S. foreign policy · terrorism · Russian organized crime
- ISBN-13
- 9780470261965 (Paperback)9781630269944 (Hardcover)
About the author
DOUGLAS FARAH is an American journalist, author, and national security consultant who served as West Africa bureau chief for The Washington Post from 2000 to 2003. His books include Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man Who Makes War Possible and Blood from Stones: The Secret Financial Network of Terror.
Farah won the 1988 Sigma Delta Chi Distinguished Service Award for Foreign Correspondence. He holds a B.A. in Latin American studies and a B.S. in journalism from the University of Kansas and is president of IBI Consultants and a Senior Visiting Fellow at National Defense University’s Center for Complex Operations.
When not writing, Farah works as a national security consultant, drawing on decades of foreign correspondence across Central America, the Caribbean, and West Africa.
Douglas lives in the Washington, D.C., area.