Weed Man: The Remarkable Journey of Jimmy Divine

From the first page till the end you find yourself laughing and interested in finding what will happen next in this hilarous, yet real life of Jimmy Divine. You won't want to put it down and you won't. In true McCaslin story telling fasion he writes yet another great and fasinating short novel. Highly recommend it. I loved it.

As a libertarian minded person I found the book to be well written and fair. Its so nice to see a book that is funny as well as serious, about a sensitive topic like marijuana, and all the myths about the drug. Of interest to me was how Jimmy Moree also called Jimmy Divine, got into smuggling marijuana when he came upon some marijuana that had washed ashore on a Caribbean island where he lives. The story begins in the 1970's and covers his lifestyle and the sensitive issue of the role race plays in drug issues. Have to admit I did a double take when I saw the book was published by a well known Christian book publisher Thomas Nelson Publishers. But then I reminded myself the author also wrote for the conservative Washington Times. The fact the book is so well written and non judgmental is simply refreshing!! In the end I was reminded that even William F. Buckley believed in decriminalizing marijuana. We know prohibition, didn't work. And this book shows why having marijuana as an illegal drug, is wasting government tax dollars, that if the product was taxed would bring in more tax dollars.

I have been waiting for this book to be published for so long now, it was such a treat to finally get it in my hands. McCaslin does such a great job of telling Jimmy's story, mostly (it seems) using Jimmy's own words. The picture McCaslin paints of Jimmy's childhood is masterful, such that you can't help but laugh as you read of him having to endure Olive's punishments. I have thought Jimmy was a great character from when I first met him on Briland. Reading this, you can't help but admire the man even more.

Taking a break from his Inside The Beltway column, Mc Caslin spins an entertaining tale of a highly unlikely - yet highly likable - marijuana smuggler from the Bahamas. Peppered with historical and geo-political tidbits (which should raise some eyebrows in DC) Weed Man tells Jimmy Divine's story in such a way that I felt I'd just had a conversation with the man, himself. Throughout his many precarious escapades in the island waters, and considering his generous spirit, you actually end up rooting for the guy to escape justice. A true character!

If you 've ever sat on a barstool and heard a story you'll never forget, here's an even better one. With a storyteller's timing and eye for comic detail, John McCaslin spins up the story as he must have heard it -outrageous, funny, scary and street-smart. It winds around and back again, gradually exposing the main character - a virtuous white Bahamian, committed to his family and community, caught up in the pot trade at a time when the world moved a step slower - until it catches up to him. Raises many issues so in the news today - border control, drug smuggling, immigration. Great book for armchair adventurers - it reads fast and funny. It captures the spirit of the islands past and present and somehow pinpoints changes in our culture and collective consciousness through Jimmy Divine's smuggling experiences. In recounting the tale, he flips up a rearview mirror for us so that we can know an honorable man in a sometimes dishonorable trade, and see ourselves in him.