The Fruit Palace Paperback – 7 May 1998

This book is a fast paced expose into Colombia and the cocaine trade in the 1980's. One of those books you have to keep reading to find out what happens next. In investigating and observing the cocaine business Nicholl's ventures to some really dodgy places and encounters plenty of shady characters. He writes in a really engaging and humorous manner about his experiences in Colombia. A really good value travel book.

I gave this book a 5 star rating because i read it when it was first published. I enjoyed it so much I was interested to read it agin many years later. I was not at all disappointed , it was just as exciting. Also it is an amazing travel book too. Charles Nicholl is a very fine writer.

A brilliant story, funny and entertaining which, it ultimately transpires, is a travel book. A keeper that I've read several times and enjoyed with every rereading.

This is one of the funniest books I've ever read and Charles Nicholl is a great writer.

Excellent reading. Great prose stylist. Thoroughly recommended.

Witty, intriguing and highly entertaining, this investigation into the world of Colombian cocaine is also part travelogue, as the author brilliantly describes the world around him, from back street slums and rainforest storms, to local village hospitality, river boat travel and much more besides.A cracking read which both informs and disturbs - in just the right proportions - and cleverly unfolds like an adventure thriller, with a cast of genuine villains and a rogue's gallery of ne'er-do-wells and wannabe players.Great stuff.

Such a good story and would recommend it to anyone in the travel business and learning about journalism...enjoy it as it is timeless.

A fascinating account of the cocaine trail of Columbia, at times slightly unbelievable. Really well written and draws you in so that you feel as if you really know the characters and the settings.