Book excerpt: "This path-breaking book of investigative journalism lifts the veil on fumigation: why is it happening, and who really benefits? The authors travel to the Putumayo and Bolivar departments of Colombia, where most of the spraying takes place, to talk to those affected. A complex and disturbing story emerges, one which connects the fumigation programme to Colombian politics, US hemispheric interests, and international drugs policy. Through first-hand investigative reporting Branford and O'Shaughnessy draw a vivid and damning picture of a futile and indiscriminate chemical war, waged largely on the poor."--BOOK JACKET.