Scan barcode
A review by nadia
American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind behind the Silk Road Drugs Empire by Nick Bilton
dark
informative
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Such a gripping story, my gosh!
I'd read about Silk Road at the time that everything was unfolding, but I couldn't remember any of the details so I was able to enjoy this fully.
I'm a big fan of narrative non-fiction, and I really enjoyed Hatching Twitter by this author, but I do think some of the narrative elements in this one — suspense, foreboding, cliffhangers, etc. — were a tad overdone and distracted from the story (because I would find myself thinking: "well, just how did you know that? " or "stop hinting at what's to come so much — surprise me more!")
It probably would have been a 5-star book for me if the same story was written by Patrick Radden Keefe, my new fave nonfiction writer.
Also, one of my biggest book pet peeves — there's a big Breaking Bad spoiler in here, so don't read this before you've watched that, if you plan to. Luckily, I'd seen it all.
All in all, definitely one to read if you love narrative nonfiction, especially about startups or true (cyber)crime, or if you enjoy thriller and crime novels and want to learn more about the whole Silk Road case!
I'd read about Silk Road at the time that everything was unfolding, but I couldn't remember any of the details so I was able to enjoy this fully.
I'm a big fan of narrative non-fiction, and I really enjoyed Hatching Twitter by this author, but I do think some of the narrative elements in this one — suspense, foreboding, cliffhangers, etc. — were a tad overdone and distracted from the story (because I would find myself thinking: "well, just how did you know that? " or "stop hinting at what's to come so much — surprise me more!")
It probably would have been a 5-star book for me if the same story was written by Patrick Radden Keefe, my new fave nonfiction writer.
Also, one of my biggest book pet peeves — there's a big Breaking Bad spoiler in here, so don't read this before you've watched that, if you plan to. Luckily, I'd seen it all.
All in all, definitely one to read if you love narrative nonfiction, especially about startups or true (cyber)crime, or if you enjoy thriller and crime novels and want to learn more about the whole Silk Road case!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use
Moderate: Murder, Torture, Death, and Drug abuse