Human Traffic_Sex, Slaves and Immigration 
People smuggling is now a more lucrative illicit industry than drug smuggling. Human Traffic is the first general interest book to examine this phenomenon, and the only book that takes a global overview of this criminal activity.
There are more than five million illegal aliens residing in the U.S. alone. They mostly come from Mexico, the Philippines, India, Vietnam and China. But how did they get into the country? And who helped them? Human Traffic is the first book to investigate these questions, and it contains interviews from the individuals and criminal gangs that mastermind the unlawful movement of people across international borders.
Investigative journalist Craig McGill also examines the people who are willing to risk their life savings, and sometimes even their lives, in order to escape poverty by moving to the West. He finds that the smugglers' promises of a new and better life often amount to nothing, and frequently the migrants find themselves in worse circumstances than they were before. Through powerful interviews, the reader learns what it is like to be an illegal immigrant -- the difficulties that the lack of an official identity can bring, the strain of a secret existence and, in all too many cases, the devastation of being sold into sexual and economic slavery.
Human Traffic will appeal to anyone with an interest in immigration matters, as it is a balanced investigation that looks at the issue on a truly global level. With chapters on North America, Europe, Australasia and the Far East, as well as first-person accounts from the smugglers and the smuggled, this book is a timely insight into a growing North American problem.
Reviews
The book is in three sections: The Immigrants, The Smugglers and the Authorities.
In each section, McGill uses his journalistic skills, highlighting the human side of all concerned. He writes intelligently about the plight of those who want a better life and freedom from oppression, about the greed of the highly organized criminals that run the trafficking engine, and notes the frustration of the authorities who are professionally trained, competent and often hamstrung by politics.
The desperate stories of the illegal are gripping and graphic. Few who read this book, if they were in the same situation would not try to find a better life. You will read the stories of the lowlife, scumbags who make billions (not just millions) of dollars trafficking human flesh. These syndicates (often connected with the Police and Military in Asia) actually laugh at the often-feeble attempt that nations put up to stop trafficking.
More than about the sex trade or slaves, McGill writes about "illegal" entry into various nations and the journey that it takes such a brave and frantic soul. In the USA alone (2002 statistics) there were 9 to 13 million illegal aliens (mostly Mexicans) living in the country. Each day tens of thousands attempt to cross the porous border.
Now, post 9/11, the book points out a few of the efforts that more vigilant countries have taken to curb the movement of millions of people per year who want in. Most of the 9/11 terrorists were in the USA because of a seriously flawed department of immigration management system. Nothing is mentioned in the book about this.
Now there is a good chance that millions of the `illegals' in the US will be granted legal status by President Bush. This blatant political action would make a sham out of the existing legal immigration programs that honest applicants go through legally, often waiting years, to get in the USA legally. Bush's legalization of illegal aliens sends the message to all seeking to enter the USA "Why try to be honest and legal when it is easier to arrive illegally and get a politically motivated pardon later."
McGill's book is not about just immigration into the USA. He also shows how England, Germany and Australia have greater immigration problems that the USA does. He points out that a few, like Norway and Australia, have seriously tightened up their program and clamped down on illegal entry into their countries.
This is a quick, short airplane read and it would be a great introduction for High School and College students. The general populace will find his writing clear and engaging. The book has a discernable bias for the illegal needing to get in. More so than the right of nations to defend and protect their own populace and boarders. The lack of an index, the lack of an appendix listing the statistics on illegal immigration through out the world, and a more complete bibliography may keep this book from being used more in education. Recommended 3.5 stars
There is definitely a feminist bias in the book. I can understand that this research can make the author emotional and angry, but expressing sentiments so clearly and expressively - and also the not infrequent generalizations (such as Pakistani men are so and so and Japanese men are so and so) certainly reduces the credibility of the book. As the last reviewer also noted I also found the book quite repetitive, some parts to such a degree that I skipped over them as I felt I wasn't reading anything new. I believe this is a result of a lack of structure - although the book itself is well structured into its constituent chapters, the chapters themselves seem rather unorganized, and I feel some parts/information would have fit better elsewhere. Sometimes I had to leaf back to prior parts in the book to 'connect the dots'.
Nevertheless, the book is worth reading for the information, some of it little known (I have lived in Asia and heard some of the stories before, but there is plenty of info that was truly new to me) - and in particular the many direct accounts of the prostitutes themselves.
I find it difficult to rate this book. I admite the author's courage and intentions - writing a book on a topic too many people are afraid to speak of, and too little seem genuinely concerned about. Nevertheless, I feel it needs some editing: some shortening, some structuring, and certainly some modifications if it wants to be a credible report of academic research.