American Kingpin - Nick Bilton

American Kingpin

By Nick Bilton

  • Release Date: 2017-05-02
  • Genre: True Crime
4.5 Score: 4.5 (From 1,192 Ratings)

Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. The unbelievable true story of the man who built a billion-dollar online drug empire from his bedroom—and almost got away with it
 
In 2011, a twenty-six-year-old libertarian programmer named Ross Ulbricht launched the ultimate free market: the Silk Road, a clandestine Web site hosted on the Dark Web where anyone could trade anything—drugs, hacking software, forged passports, counterfeit cash, poisons—free of the government’s watchful eye.
 
It wasn’t long before the media got wind of the new Web site where anyone—not just teenagers and weed dealers but terrorists and black hat hackers—could buy and sell contraband detection-free. Spurred by a public outcry, the federal government launched an epic two-year manhunt for the site’s elusive proprietor, with no leads, no witnesses, and no clear jurisdiction. All the investigators knew was that whoever was running the site called himself the Dread Pirate Roberts.
 
The Silk Road quickly ballooned into $1.2 billion enterprise, and Ross embraced his new role as kingpin. He enlisted a loyal crew of allies in high and low places, all as addicted to the danger and thrill of running an illegal marketplace as their customers were to the heroin they sold. Through his network he got wind of the target on his back and took drastic steps to protect himself—including ordering a hit on a former employee. As Ross made plans to disappear forever, the Feds raced against the clock to catch a man they weren’t sure even existed, searching for a needle in the haystack of the global Internet.

Drawing on exclusive access to key players and two billion digital words and images Ross left behind, Vanity Fair correspondent and New York Times bestselling author Nick Bilton offers a tale filled with twists and turns, lucky breaks and unbelievable close calls. It’s a story of the boy next door’s ambition gone criminal, spurred on by the clash between the new world of libertarian-leaning, anonymous, decentralized Web advocates and the old world of government control, order, and the rule of law. Filled with unforgettable characters and capped by an astonishing climax, American Kingpin might be dismissed as too outrageous for fiction. But it’s all too real.

Reviews

  • Loved this book!

    5
    By Lannie V
    Couldn’t put it down. The detail of this story is insane. Highly recommend
  • American Kingpin

    4
    By Wanderer1077
    A good book, I would read it again.
  • Outstanding

    5
    By AZBowhunterallupinyourface
    Great read.
  • Real life drama

    5
    By prosguy
    A great read that touches all parts of life and demonstrates the level one can go to for a cause no matter the ethics of it. Being a true story it has enormous teaching value
  • Reads like a fast paced novel

    5
    By ajain22
    I wasn’t sure what I was expecting when I picked up this book but this book surpassed all my expectations. The book is well written and easy to follow, even though there are handful of people involved in the story. Must have been really painful and arduous to research this book and it shows with the level of details and the clarity with which the book is written.
  • American Kingpin is a Modern American Classic

    5
    By IL T-BONI
    American Kingpin tackles arguably the most technically complex crimes ever. It tells the story from the perspective of the mastermind and surrounding criminals and loved ones. And then gives us a window into the lives and work of the government agents and their colleagues and loved ones. It is rife with intrigue and humanity. It ventures into government bureaucracy and the dictatorship that was the Silk Road. All the while, it reads easy like a best-selling crime fiction. Kudos and many thanks to the author for bringing all of this together.
  • A really great read and inexpensive too.

    5
    By first noble truth
    If you like detective stories this book is great with multiple agencies involved, even dirty cops in the mix.
  • Excellent read

    5
    By Ralphie mazz
    Read this book while I was in prison was a amazing read was not boring and really painted a picture on how something so small became one of the biggest criminal cases in history excellent read really suggest it
  • Phenomenal book

    5
    By BRabbit_
    Incredibly well written. Author did a tremendous job, taking a treasure trove of information and painting a clear picture. The timeline of events, the way written, flowed nicely. Such a complicated real world story, but you are never lost in the book. I wish it was longer. Didn’t want the book to end!
  • Well done

    5
    By He-man83
    Good read. Learned a lot.

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