Line Becomes A River: Dispatches from the Mexican Border

A Mexican-American US Border Patrol guard's memoir, "The Line I Crossed," was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Writing 2019. It describes his work in the desert along the Mexican border, tracking humans, detaining the exhausted, and hauling in the dead. He abandons the Patrol for civilian life but faces a final confrontation with the world he believed he had escaped.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 288 pages
Publication date: 07 February 2019
Publisher: Vintage Publishing

Shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Writing 2019, a thrilling memoir from a Mexican-American US Border Patrol guard!




Francisco Cantú was a US Border Patrol agent from 2008 to 2012. In this extraordinary account, he describes his work in the desert along the Mexican border. He tracks humans through blistering days and frigid nights. He detains the exhausted and hauls in the dead. The line he is sworn to defend, however, begins to dissolve. Haunted by nightmares, Cantú abandons the Patrol for civilian life – but he soon faces a final confrontation with the world he believed he had escaped.




‘A raw, compelling memoir… An eloquent rebuke to all those who look to build walls rather than bridges between people.’ – Sunday Times


‘A must-read… A page-turning personal story that holds until the final page and wrenches long after.’ – GQ


‘Remarkable… Lyrical and moving.’ – Guardian

Weight: 206g
Dimension: 197 x 128 x 18 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781784707057