American Kingpin
Ratings100
Average rating4.3
A good explanation of Ross Ulbricht's story. The author's writing style of vividly setting the scene and using direct quotation helps to keep the pace up but can make chapters feel disingenuous at times. One thing that the author failed to mention is that Ulbricht was never sentenced to do with hits or alleged hits, so he was sentenced to life in prison for non-violent crimes.
this was a super hyped true crime for me and i do have an interest in the silk road and the dark web in general so i was super excited for it. i honestly don't think this was gripping for me as it was for others and i never really felt a draw back to read it but it was still super interesting and flew by super quick when i actually picked it up. idk if i'm just used to dark shit but i wanted more on the silk road itself and like what was sold on it/the more nefarious side rather than focusing so much on the creator. ik this is about him but i feel like half this book was just them talking about him sitting in his room fixing messed up coding lol regardless it was still a fun time but not one of my fav true crime books
Nick Bilton beautifully captured the beginning and the end of an online market place that, to this day, has lead to new ways of purchasing drugs, documents and everything you could think of, online.
Great book to drill down on what really happened behind the scenes of “Silk Road”. It was shocking to see how a normal human can transform into something like this once he thinks he has power to change the world. Nick Bilton, has done a great job in describing the events clearly.
A fantastic real life story. I didn't love the writing style, as a few others have alluded to. But the story is riveting.
Would have finished this in one sitting if I could. A well-written glimpse into the mind of an unlikely ‘drug lord' & what it takes to run an online drug empire. Surprisingly nuanced. Unputdownable.
Interesting story, would have been so much better in more capable hands than Bilton
A very well documented biography and didn't feel like the author was taking any sides, although he was clearly assuming many things about how Ross might have felt. All in all, I think it's quite a sad book and the Escobar of the dark web wasn't by far as smart as he thought he was, neither were the agents who pinned him down with a simple google search. As much as I can see the damage Silk Road brought to the world, I'm still convinced that an Amazon on the dark web (at least for drugs) is way better alternative than buying unknown quality drugs from thugs on the street.
A well researched and riveting book about a misguided libertarian idealist turned white collar druglord. It's truly fascinating not only to read about him but also about the people who enabled, benefitted from, were harmed by and hunted him.
The amount of research that went into this book is phenomenal. Bilton built a case that will leave no doubt about the true identity of Dread Pirate Roberts. I used to have sympathy for Ross Ulbricht and had some doubts if he was capable of building The Silk Road. This book changed all of my preconceived thoughts.
Detailed story
Good investigative work on one of the least known commerce sites on the dark net. Could not put it down!
