American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal MasterMind Behind the Silk Road

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American Kingpin is not your average true crime book. From the title, I initially thought it was about a mob boss or something similar. Instead, American Kingpin is the fascinating story of the Silk Road, a clandestine online drug bazaar hidden on the dark web, and its creator, Ross Ulbricht. Interwoven into Ross’s story is the stories of those trying to bring down the Silk Road. It's a fascinating story that I will likely read again, because it very subtly makes you question your beliefs, morals and integrity as it paints you a portrait of a small idea taken to the grandest of scales and turned awry as a result of its successes. New Establishment 2015 | Vanity Fair | Vanity Fair". www.vanityfair.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-14. Story #1 opens with young Ross with his family in his hometown of Austin, Texas. Ross seems like an average American kid – good home, boy scout, college graduate, etc. Ross is considered an exceptionally bright kid, albeit a bit quirky and disorganized.This is a fast-paced, well-researched and documented account of the man who built the Silk Road--the infamous marketplace for selling drugs and weapons on the dark web--and it reads like a suspense thriller. Written in a narrative nonfiction style, Bilton delivers one of the most compelling true crime books I’ve listened to replete with characters tailor made for a Quentin Tarantino movie. This book is so well written than anyone who dislikes nonfiction would like it and anyone who loves a good chase and a good thriller would eat the whole thing out. This book that reads like a thriller is pure joy and information. The author did a great job creating all the events based on primary documents and interviews with the people who took down The Silk Road. These two stories coalesce at the book’s conclusion as Ulbricht is discovered, arrested, tried, and sentenced.

One of the things I really liked about American Kingpin is it is a book with two interwoven stories: My main problem with the book was that all the way through it the author describes, in great detail, conversations and meetings where he wasn’t present. He even describes the internal feelings of those involved. This gives the book the feel of a novel, but it is badged as non-fiction and the obvious question is “How does he know these things?” In fairness, he did interview many of the participants, who might have told him of events, but at no point does the author provide any sources for the conversations he reports. In addition, he was unsuccessful in getting an interview with Ross Ulbricht, so I am puzzled, for example, by the following extract, describing Ulbricht’s reaction to being arrested: Paragraphs like the above definitely blur the line between fiction and non-fiction, and left me doubting the overall authenticity of the book. I really think I did myself a disservice in reading extensively about the Silk Road and DPR before embarking on this book - as I knew all the twists and turns in this story ahead of time. First, his libertarian notions about leaving people to use their bodies their own way is certainly correct.

If the authors are serious, this is a silly, distasteful book. If they are not, it’s a brilliant satire. The unbelievable true story of the man who built a billion-dollar online drug empire from his bedroom — and almost got away with it. This book was in desperate need of an editor. It was overly detailed, repeated itself incessantly, and full of clunky prose. Additionally, American Kingpin follows the federal investigation, arrest, and conviction of DPR, weaving this thread throughout the entire book. Far from a highly organized federal investigation, the hunt for DPR begins by resembling a keystone cop’s episode as various individuals from different federal law enforcement agencies (DEA, DHS, FBI, IRS, etc.) jump on the case, buy drugs, arrest low-level dealers and drug buyers, and follow leads in pursuit of the Silk Road kingpin. Eventually, these individuals discover each other and cooperate on finding the Dread Pirate Roberts. While their collaboration leads to several dead ends, they eventually put their heads together, piece together all their individual breadcrumbs, and takedown DPR.

Not a comment on the book itself, but I was astonished to read, near the end, that Ulbricht had been sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole. To a non-American this seems like a harsh sentence for a first-time offender. Where I live in Scotland, nobody, no matter how depraved their crime, would ever be sentenced to life without possibility of parole. It is possible to receive such a sentence in England and Wales, but they are only ever handed down to those found guilty of multiple killings or particularly vile crimes such as the rape and murder of children. Customs vary. I have not read Bilton’s other books, but I definitely would give them a shot after reading American Kingpin. I found his writing easy to follow (great for audio) and containing the perfect amount of description and detail. As this book also contained technology I was unfamiliar with, I thought Bilton did an excellent job describing it for the layman. In addition, Bilton wrote the story in a way that allowed easy identification of the more minor characters every time they were discussed.Thus, the Dread Pirate Roberts was born and just like in the movie, the character assumes mythical and sinister reputation – a ruthless pirate who heads an international drug market and rules his kingdom with an iron fist. Henceforth, Ross behaves like a syndicated crime boss, punishing those who get in his way while plotting his eventual getaway when the law catches up with him. Where Ross slipped over the line was when he started allowing, not just drugs, but guns and poison. No one can spray heroin on a group of bystanders like a gun(though regardless his gun sales were never much bc it turns out it’s way easier to send a few tabs of ecstasy through the mail than an AK 47) Overall, I really enjoyed American Kingpin. It was an impressive piece of journalism about a fascinating subject and filled with great storytelling. I highly recommend it whether you think the subject will interest you or not, because it will surprise you! Rating But what I enjoyed the most was that even though Ross Ulbricht was not talked to for this book, I feel like I know and understand the so-called mastermind behind Silk Road for having read it. His beliefs, trials and tribulations were woven together with such coherency that even though I knew how this story played out, I wanted him to triumph. I wanted the ending of this story to be different. At first I wasn't sure about how short some of the chapters were, and the ends of some of them didn't leave me NEEDING to continue reading right away. But with so much of the story to be set up, it's understandable why the story was written this way.

In 2016, he left The New York Times to become a special correspondent for Vanity Fair, [3] where he writes features and columns. He co-wrote the 2015-2019 Vanity Fair New Establishment List. [4] Fake Famous [ edit ] I dare you not to read this book in one sitting. Masterfully reported and written, Bilton’s book drops you hard into the dark heart of the most famous Internet crime to date. A first-rate thrill. JOSHUA COOPER RAMO, author of The Seventh SenseAstonishingly well-researched ... sharp and bright ... the definitive account of the Silk Road saga The Globe and Mail The story remains fascinating, but doesn't tread any new ground if you already know the DPR deets. Do kids still say deets? Apparently yeet is a thing and I still have no clue what that means. Only that my 20 year old coworkers say it and it makes me feel super old. Unfortunately, the lure of untraceable bitcoin money proved too tempting for two Government employees. One stole directly from the Silk Road when the FBI nabbed one of Ulbricht’s employees and he learned how he could do it after interrogating the employee; and the other provided Government investigative progress to Ulbricht for a fee. One of the things I really liked about American Kingpin is it is a book with two interwoven stories: The unbelievable true story of the man who built a billion-dollar online drug empire from his bedroom – and almost got away with it.