Trail of Feathers: Searching for Philip True, a Reporter's Murder in Mexico and His Editor's Search for Justice

...but she knows where you live. And if it's in another country, you better weigh your side of her scale with the most pesos. This is illustrated vividly south of the border, where much of Robert Rivard's new book, Trail of Feathers, takes place. In it, he recounts his physically and emotionally grueling foray into the remote canyons of Mexico in search of his vanished colleague, Philip True. True was a San Antonio Express-News correspondent who made the controversial decision to attempt a 10-day, solo foot trek through territory that would deter all but the most Spartan of adventurers. True had always been a model of self-sufficiency and stoicism throughout his rough life; paradoxically, he often relied, perhaps naively, on the inherent kindness of his fellow man to survive, and planned to camp with the primitive Huichol Indians who had inhabited the land for hundreds of years. His impetuous journey didn't exactly surprise his wife, who knew better than anyone of her husband's affinity for nature and the solace he took in hiking. But she secretly hoped that this would be his last dangerous hurrah into the wilderness before settling down to his new family. When word reached Rivard that True's return date had come and gone, the story evolved into a reporter-as-detective narrative. He saw it as his editorial duty to locate the whereabouts of his missing employee. Both men are spurred on by a journalist's idealism and relentless thirst for knowledge, and as we learn more about True's life and family secrets through Rivard's meticulous research, intriguing parallels emerge and the fate of the two becomes inextricably intertwined. The obstacles that spring up at every switchback on the trail of Rivard's surrealistic odyssey are formidable. Mysterious Huichols, brazenly corrupt authorities; crossing the border becomes akin to crossing through Alice's looking glass, which like a funhouse mirror, reflects back America's own democratic and judicial shortcomings and magnifies them into grotesque distortions. Retracing True's footprints, we feel as though we're stepping back in time, our gringo presence and notions of justice appearing increasingly anachronistic the less civilized the lands become. We learn about True's motivations through his enigmatic journal entries, and while we gain a deeper understanding of the complex man, the great insight as to why he left behind his family in their time of need remains frustratingly elusive. The "terrible beauty," as Yeats might say, of the harsh terrain that they have to contend with becomes almost like a character in the book as well, complicit in True's death. Rivard's search party eventually locates True's body in a shallow grave outside a Huichol camp, and the Mexican investigation begins. But CSI, this ain't. If you think the wheels of justice turn slowly in America, wait until you see them on a Mexican jalopy. Two suspects, an obsequious Huichol and his domineering friend, who reminded me of the killer

Trail of Feathers, by Robert Rivard, ranks up there with the best of so-called true crime literature - Capote's "In Cold Blood" and Mailer's "The Executioner's Song" come to mind. This book is really about searching for the essence of the man that was Philip True and will be an invaluable legacy for his son. I note most of the reviews have been written by Texans. I hope this book reaches a far wider national and international audience because the themes it touches upon are universal. Other reviewers have given a synopsis of the story - I will just say this book should be read by everyone interested in the conflicts between indigenous people and modernity and for those readers that just want to enjoy a really good read.

from the HOUSTON CHRONICLE Sun, 23 Oct 2005 On the trail of Philip True / San Antonio editor writes powerful and personal account of reporter's life and death in Mexico PHILIP True was a renegade reporter who came to his calling late in life, having packed his bags with experiences that ranged from an abusive childhood to hippie college days to stints as union organizer and wallpaper hanger. By 1998 he found himself, at 50, finally grown up - even successful. As foreign correspondent for a major Texas newspaper, he had things others coveted: a wonderful loving wife, Martha, who was pregnant with their first child; a home in Mexico City's Las Lomas neighborhood filled with his travel photographs, a colorful and eclectic collection of artesania, and a cranky parrot named Fidel. Despite his success True remained the driven adventurer he had always been (Tim Padgett, a colleague, called him the "Jack Kerouac of Mexican correspondents"). And those wandering ways, along with the demons of his childhood and his love for a story, took him once more on the road just after Thanksgiving in 1998 and, then, to his death. True's murder in the Sierra Madre mountains, the search to find his body and the lengthy pursuit of his attackers are chronicled in ``Trail of Feathers,'' a bold and heartbreaking book by True's former editor, Robert Rivard. The title is taken from the day in December 1998 when Rivard, together with an elderly Huichol Indian, a search party of Mexican military officers, and True's best friend, followed goose down that had leaked from True's sleeping bag into the Chapalagana, the deep canyon named "The Twisted Serpent," where his body had been hastily buried under sand and gravel. The book is many things at once: A wildlife adventure story and true-crime tale; an account of True's own off-beat life (aspects of which he had never shared even with his wife); Rivard's personal quest to find True and then to avenge his murder; and an analysis of how politics and the U.S. and Mexican governments both helped and hindered the investigation of the first modern-day homicide of a foreign correspondent on Mexican soil. I knew Philip and Martha when I lived in Mexico City from 1996 to 1998. My own memories of Philip include eating an excellent home-cooked meal he made in his Las Lomas home and sitting up late talking about his crazy adventures: long bike rides on rough Mexican highways, cross-country hitchhiking in the United States and plenty of solo hikes into remote wilderness areas. I remember that Philip's voice took on a tone of heightened passion when he spoke about brief forays into the roadless and otherworldly territory of the Huichol Indians - the place he would die. True disappeared in the roadless and rugged wilderness of the Sierra Madre that is formally part of the Mexican states of Jalisco and Nayarit but truly belongs to no one but the Huichol, indigenous people who have steadf

On the surface, "Trail of Feathers" is the story of two quests: The quest to find San Antonio Express-News reporter Philip True, who goes missing in Mexico during a long hike through Huichol Indian country, and, tragically, the quest to find justice after he is found murdered. But it also is the story of True's quest to find himself after a troubled childhood, through his work as a reporter, his marriage and a series of sometimes risky adventures. Author Robert Rivard, who is editor of the Express-News and was one of those who found True's body, gives a detailed account of all three quests. The book, meticulously researched, is a fast, interesting read that gives a clear picture of the frustrations True's widow, friends and co-workers experienced as they struggled over the course of more than six years to bring the two men arrested in his murder to justice. Since this is real life, there is no pat ending here, but there is hope for the future. A book well worth reading.

This is a riveting book that's based on a true story but reads like a novel. I could not put it down. There's lots of action and intrigue in an exotic location, poignant and troublesome in places, but memorable characters combine with excellent storytelling to keep the reader moving along. The author has done extensive research and sticks close to the facts surrounding a reporter's murder in Mexico, thoughtfully interpreting all Spanish-language dialogue and explaining some aspects of culture in Mexico and big-city daily newspapering along the way. Aficionados of 20th century literature may see a little bit of Hemingway and/or McMurtry in the opening chapters, in which a man-versus-nature plot seems to be taking shape. It's not long, however, before darker, more F. Scott Fitzgerald-like themes emerge, with troubling experiences in the formative years coming back to haunt the principals as the story repeatedly invokes the final line of The Great Gatsby: "boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." Astute observers of human behavior may wonder: Are the rocks that Philip True carries in his backpack in Mexico City while training for his ill-fated trek a metaphor for a lifelong burden that should be shed? Are the feathers that True totes into the mountains a symbol of vulnerability, as they are in the animal kingdom during molting, which is by definition a transition period? And what are we to make of True's choice of favorite flower, the iris, which according to Scoble and Field in "The Meaning of Flowers" was the name chosen by the Greeks for their messenger goddess, "who guided the soul to eternity after death"? There may be numerous messages in "Trail of Feathers" but one important theme that emerges from this book seems to be that checking one's baggage is the best way to lighten the load on the journey through life.