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

Product Information

The unbelievable true story of the man who built a billion-dollar online drug empire from his bedroom—and almost got away with it. Publisher’s Synopsis Tiku, Nitasha (12 June 2017). "How the Dark Web's Dread Pirate Roberts Went Down". New York Times . Retrieved 15 February 2018. 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.

Just the headline and subhead demonstrate the hyperbole, sensationalism and inaccuracy of this coverage: Yet, presumably for money, Bilton has used unproven allegations to produce a book that smears a man who is fighting for his life. The New York Times Book Review) into the criminal mind, Ann Rule has chronicled the most fascinating cases of our time in her bestselling CrimeThis book was in desperate need of an editor. It was overly detailed, repeated itself incessantly, and full of clunky prose. An astonishingly well-researched narrative… Bilton's storytelling bears not so much as a trace of fat; the book he's conjured is so sharp and bright that it can be whipped through in the airport lounge before the flight takes off."

Bilton worked at The New York Times from 2003 to 2016, as a design editor in the newsroom and a researcher in the research and development labs. Before he left, he was a technology columnist and the lead writer for the Bits blog. [2] Bilton’s investigation of the Silk Road is dramatic and, at times, nearly unbelievable. It puts your favourite thriller novels to shame. STEVEN PRESSFIELD, author of Gates of Fire I guess the most important part of me reading this book is that even though the entire thing was a giant neon flashing sign of Ross's guilt - with his association to the sales of drugs, guns and anything else illegal that the Silk Road wanted to dabble in.... At the end of the day I am not entirely convinced that Ross Ulbricht is DPR. Because... Paragraphs like the above definitely blur the line between fiction and non-fiction, and left me doubting the overall authenticity of the book.

Ross Ulbricht was an Eagle Scout, a good kid, a very smart kid, who developed a strong libertarian ethos. 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. One of the things I really liked about American Kingpin is it is a book with two interwoven stories: 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.