ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A thousand thanks to John Torres and the Los Angeles field division of the ATF.

A thousand more to those who have written about this before me and often better, among them:

W. Dirk Raat and George R. Janecek, Mexico’s Sierra Tarahumara

Richard Grant, God’s Middle Finger: Into the Lawless Heart of the Sierra Madre

Luis Alberto Urrea, The Devil’s Highway

William Langewiesche, Cutting for Sign

Charles Bowden, Down by the River

Frank Latta, Joaquin Murrieta and His Horse Gangs

The terrific reporting team behind the Los Angeles Times series, “Mexico Under Siege”-Josh Meyer, Tony Perry, Ken Ellington, Tracy Wilkinson, Scott Craft, Richard Marosi, Sam Quinones, Christopher Reynolds, Andrew Becker, Patrick J. McDonnell, Evelyn Larrubia, Denise Dresser, Frank James, Paul Pringle, Raoul Ranoa, Richard Serrano, Don Bartletti, Deborah Bonello, Lorena Iñiguez Elebee, Cecilia Sanchez, Miguel Bustillo, and Marla Dickerson.

Norman Mailer, who gave the devils their due in The Castle in the Forest.

Another thousand to Dave Bridgman and Sherry Merryman for answering my endless questions.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

T. Jefferson Parker is the author of sixteen previous novels, including the Charlie Hood thrillers L.A. Outlaws and The Renegades, and the Edgar Award winners Silent Joe and California Girl. In 2009 Parker won his third Edgar, his first in the short story category. He lives with his family in Southern California.