Shooting the Moon: the True Story of an American Manhunt Unlike Any Other, Ever

by David Harris

Book Overview

One of the most outrageous true crime stories ever recorded, this acclaimed nonfiction thriller takes readers behind the scenes to reveal what really happened in 1989 when 20,000 American soldiers invaded Panama, arrested that nation's leader, and hauled him back to Miami to stand trial for violations of American law -- violations committed in that ruler's own country. Tracing the secret investigation, the exciting four-year manhunt, and the bizarre...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316154806
• ISBN13: 9780316154802
• Release Date: June 2002
• Publisher: Back Bay Books
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.2" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Finally...the whole story about the Noreiga/North fiasco.

In 1989 the United States sent American troops to arrest General Manuel Antonio Noreiga, Panama's highest military officer. Trying a foreign leader for events that took place in his own country as violations of U. S. law was previously unheard of in American history. Stopping the Medellin Cartel was a major step in slowing down the influx of illegal Cocaine and other drugs. Harris unravels the complicated story with wit and verve, very colorful language, marvelous humor, and a sense of excitement. Harris makes the FBI, DEA and CIA agents appear to be involved in a bumbling, amusing, tragedy. Oliver North was engaged in clandestine arms dealing and nobody seemed to know what anybody else was doing. Here is a true crime story on a grand scale with betrayal, murder, arms dealing and drug smuggling that reads like good fiction. Here are the explanations of the Reagan administration's dealings with the Sandinistas and Contras; names that were always in the news in association with cover-ups and destroyed evidence by government agencies, though the public didn't really know what was going on. Harris has done a superior job of investigative reporting to create an impressive chronicle of the events leading up to the invasion of Panama and the arrest of Manuel Antonio Noreiga. He made history come alive and really gave me a much better understanding of the events that were in the news for so long, and the role and fate of each of the historical players in this drama of our time.

All Too Captivating

As a recent high school graduate, I have lately found a little more time to do some personal reading, and I started with David Harris' account of the eccentric rule and arrest of the de facto ruler of Panama in the 1980's: General Manuel Antonio Noriega. Before reading this book, I knew the basics behind Noriega's demise, but Harris' account is absolutely thrilling in that he takes the reader behind the scenes, so to speak, and allows a glimpse of the happenings from the inner-circle of both the US and Panamanian governments. This work reminded me in some ways of Reed's Ten Days That Shook the World due to its style as a journalistic narrative. Harris includes interviews, excerpts from newspapers and magazines, and at times his own subjective personal input. This work will probably never attain the same respect as is awarded to Reed's work, but in my mind it should. It is just as captivating and exciting to read