Geoff Simons examines the state of Colombia, from the time of the conquistadors until the 2002 election and the repercussions of the War on Terrorism. This account of drug barons, labor struggles, corporate exploitation, self-destructive civil war, cynical elites, hardened guerrillas, paramilitary death squads and an astonishing death and displacement toll remind us that the story of Colombia is chronically overlooked, but ranks amongst the worlds most urgent political narratives--all the more so in light of the Colombian people themselves, whose spirit, though pushed to extremes, remains unbroken.