American Kingpin
by Nick Bilton · first published 2017
73% recommend24% neutral3% critical
Why HN recommends it
Page-turning account of Silk Road's rise and fall and the hunt for Ross Ulbricht, told like a thriller yet well researched; works well as an audiobook and suits anyone curious about the case.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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 t
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…: heyy. That's how Ulbricht sometimes spelled hey, and the agent had seen that particular spelling before in his investigation, in an email from Ulbrict’s student email address. Nick Bilton's book “American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road” is a great read, highly recommended.
on “FBI's ability to legally access secure messaging app content and metadata [pdf]” ↗Anyone who enjoys this article should check out American Kingpin written by Nick Bilton. I finished the audiobook recently and loved it! Very well researched, great story, nonfiction that reads like a fiction thriller, and great narration. Loved it.
on “The Untold Story of Silk Road (2015)” ↗For those who want to read more about the Silk Road story, including everything in this post, check out the book "American Kingpin" [0]. It's a great read and a real page turner. It tells you about Ulbricht, his accomplices, everyone chasing him, etc. Reads like a novel. [0]: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31920777-american-kingpi...
on “Secret Service Agent Sentenced In Scheme Related To Silk Road Investigation” ↗…drugs, child pornography, guns, bombs, organs, sex workers, etc. would reduce the government's ability to outlaw and let people decide. True Libertarian beliefs. I would recommend to Sam that he reads American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silkroad [2] and figures out how far he is willing to go for his beliefs. When national actors get involved, your life can become miserable, you will…
on “OpenBazaar 2.0, powered by IPFS” ↗I think the story has already come out in full. Read the book American Kingpin Nick Bilton. It's really a fantastic read and very hard to put down. While I agree that this would be a harsh punishment for operating a website, Ross attempted to have people murdered. While this…
on “Change.org: Clemency for Ross Ulbricht, Serving Double Life for a Website” ↗…Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts - Andrew Chaikin. Loved it A Man for all Markets - Edward O. Thorp. Loved his stories about counting cards and then moving onto hedge funds etc. American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road – Nick Bilton. Not a bad rundown on the Silk Road. I came across this book after listening to the Casefile podcast https://casefilepodcast.com/case-76-silk-road-part-1/…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?” ↗I've read all of these except Kochland (just ordered it now) and complete agree. You have great taste! Check out American Kingpin by Nick Bilton for a read somewhat similar to Bad Blood. Do you have any other recommendations?
on “Ask HN: Best books you read in the past decade?” ↗If you find this content interesting highly recommend the book / audible — American Kingpin[1] which is about Ross Ulbricht and Silkroad. [1] https://www.amazon.com/American-Kingpin-Criminal-Mastermind-...
on “A cold war bunker that became home to a dark-web empire” ↗Read (or listen to) American Kingpin by Nick Bilton. It is a great story. https://www.audible.com/pd/American-Kingpin-Audiobook/B06Y1R...
on “Trump Is Considering Clemency for Silk Road Founder” ↗…year but they were amazing! The first one is Dune : https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44767458-dune. It needs no introduction to HN, I think. Best Sci-fi book I have read so far. The second one is American Kingpin : https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31920777-american-kingpi... . It is about Silk Road (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_Road_(marketplace)), the online darkweb market place. It's very well written.
on “Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?” ↗On the topic of the Silk Road I highly recommend this book which recently came out. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31920777-american-kingpin
on “Ohio Sues 5 Major Drug Companies For 'Fueling Opioid Epidemic'” ↗American Kingpin: The epic hunt for the criminal mastermind behind The Silk Road.
on “Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?” ↗American Kingpin by Nick Bilton The Sovereign Individual by James Dale Davidson The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff Mastering Ethereum by Andreas M. Antonopoulos The Creature from Jekyll Island by…
on “Top 57 Cryptocurrency Books” ↗You might like American Kingpin by Nick Bilton which covers the rise and fall of the Silk Road website. There's a lot of "spy stuff" that takes place both when the DEA agents get involved in the case and start stealing bitcoins themselves…
on “Useful Spy Books” ↗American Kingpin by Nick Bilton A book about the rise and fall of Silk Road. I listened to this on a recent 12-hour road trip, and the hours melted away.
on “Ask HN: Favorite audio book for long drives?” ↗