American Kingpin - A Quick Review

 A few thoughts...

American Kingpin by Nick Bilton is an extremely well written book, and details the gripping story behind the infamous Silk Road marketplace - its beginnings, parabolic rise and precipitous decline. Along the way, the author provides colorful and intriguing commentary behind the people involved and their life stories. Reading this book, reminded me of the famous Balzac quote from one of my favorite books The Godfather - "Behind every great fortune there is a crime".

The book starts with the seemingly innocuous Libertarian ideals behind the foundation of the site but quickly turns extremely dark with references to hard drugs, guns, organ selling and murders. The type of dark that if you read a few chapters before going to bed, like I did, some of the characters and references show up in your dreams and you wake up with a racing heartbeat! :)

Favorite line from the book...

  • "What a country...one minute you're the nobody son of an Armenian immigrant, working in a movie theatre, applying over and over for a dozen jobs in government, each of which you are denied. They say you don't have a degree. You're too abrasive. You didn't answer my question correctly. No. No. No. And then finally, after years of trying, you get a job stamping passports. You try and you try and you try, and eventually you become an agent with the Department of Homeland Security. Then the call comes in from a thankless government employee in a humongous government mail center at the airport about a single tiny pink pill. And then you are here."

Books mentioned within the book...

One of my hobbies (more like a fetish) is reading up on books mentioned within the books I read. I may not necessarily read these but I look them up for additional context and background.

Here's a list of books mentioned in American Kingpin, if you're interested. 

Caution: Some of the books are grim and best to stay away from:
  • A Lodging of Wayfaring Men
  • The Construction and Operation of Clandestine Drug Laboratories
  • The Princess Bride
  • The Final Exit
  • War, Peace and State


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