This is a really interesting book about a people I had never heard of before. It's a history of a Burmese ethnic group called the Wa, from the 60s to the present as they went from a minor group of tribes to a major narco-state. It covers the activities of headhunters, missionaries, warlords, communists, American government agents and most of all, drug dealers. It quickly becomes clear that most of these people are out for themselves regardless of their ideology.

Although the book initially seems to be a piece of current affairs journalism, the author couldn't get access to the Wa state so most of the book concerns events decades in the past. The one weakness of the book is that the author has to rely on a small handful of people giving their version of events decades later - which did make me wonder how their version of events could be verified.

The book is at its best when focused on the Wa. The question of whether they are a success is left open, they have created their own state in all but name, but it's entirely dependent on China. The wealth of the drug trade is concentrated in the hands of the elite, with little trickling down to the rest of society. The book is less interesting when focusing on the bureaucratic squabbling of US government agencies, this is a very real issue that hampers success, but it's not a very interesting one.

The Kindle edition of this book was riddled with editing issues, such as paragraph breaks appearing randomly in the middle of sentences and even sometimes in the middle of words. There was also not a single full stop in the entire book I received, which meant I had to reread some parts multiple times to figure out where the sentence ended. I downloaded the PDF version and it didn't have any of these editing issues.

Avery informative read that never felt too heavy or overly difficult to follow. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review.

Narcotopia is an excellent journalistic account of the Wa, an indigenous group inhabiting the rugged mountains between China and Burma, who have carved out their own republic on the back of narcotics.

While central, south and west Asia has the Golden Crescent, a slice of land which covers Afghanistan and Pakistan, south east Asia has the Golden Triangle, which covers northeastern Myanmar, northwestern Thailand and northern Laos. Both regions have produced huge amounts of the worlds opium (and hence heroin) though the Golden Crescent is the site of much of the word’s supply now. The Golden Triangle meanwhile has moved much more into the production of methamphetamine in illicit labs.

Winn takes his reader on a methodical journey, tracing the formation of arguably the world's mightiest narco-state, which the Wa has carved out for itself. He delves into the intricate web of personalities who have vied for power and control throughout this history, including CIA officers, DEA agents, and the Wa themselves. But he’s to be congratulated for telling the story of the major Wa figures in their own right, and not just through the lens of the Americans.

The Wa, through trafficking heroin and meth, have established a fully functioning nation complete with its own infrastructure and institutions. Winn's meticulous research is evident as he uncovers the existence of highways, anthems, schools, and flags within the boundaries of this narco-state.
That said, this is no hagiography. Winn highlights the dual nature of the Wa as both crime lords and visionaries, and he doesn’t shy away from the former. He doesn’t gloss over the drug trafficking that the Wa have engaged in, or the fact that their product has undoubtedly sown much addiction and misery throughout the world.

But equally, he shows that unlike other indigenous peoples - the Uyghur in China, the Rohingya in Myanmar, - or other oppressed peoples, such as the Tibetans, it is precisely this drug trafficking and the powerful military forces the Wa were able to raise, that has stopped them from falling victim to similar. And in that context, he asks who can blame them?

In Narcotopia, Patrick Winn delivers a thought-provoking narrative, a commendable piece of investigative journalism, which tells an untold story little known outside of the region. This is an insightful and valuable book.