Beating the Devil

by W.C. Jameson

Carlos, a young man who has grown up near El Paso, Texas, succumbs to the allure of Mexico and crosses the Rio Grande to embark on a mythic journey. Bearing the scars of a cruel childhood, Carlos is eager to escape the United States, a country he finds insipid, inauthentic, and hypocritical. In contrast, the northern Mexico countryside offers him a chaotic reality in which he battles a gigantic foe in a boxing match, eats snakes, and befriends a hunchbacked dwarf who tells tales of brutality and revolution in Carlos's newly adopted homeland. It is from this dwarf that Carlos learns of Chávez, guerilla champion of the oppressed who is engaged in a battle of attrition and vengeance against the militia henchmen of Joaquin Mueller, a land- and power-hungry hacendado . Carlos joins the outlaw Chávez and his band of men in their struggle against Mueller. It is a struggle that will overwhelm Carlos with death and loss, setting him on a path for revenge of his own.

216 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2007

About the author

W.C. Jameson is the award-winning author of 70 books, 1500 articles and essays, 300 songs, and dozens of poems. He is the best selling treasure author in the United States and his prominence as a professional fortune hunter had led to stints as a consultant for the Unsolved Mysteries television show and The Travel Channel. He served as an advisor for the film, "National Treasure" starring Nicolas Cage and appears in an interview on the DVD. Jameson has written the sound tracks for two PBS documentaries and one feature film. His music has been heard on NPR and he wrote and performed in the musical, “Whatever Happened to the Outlaw, Jesse James?” Jameson has acted in five films and has been interviewed on The History Channel, The Travel Channel, PBS, and Nightline. When not working on a book, he tours the country as a speaker, conducting writing workshops and performing his music at folk festivals, concerts, roadhouses, and on television. He lives in Llano, Texas.