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  • American Kingpin

  • The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road Drugs Empire
  • By: Nick Bilton
  • Narrated by: Will Damron
  • Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
  • 4.9 out of 5 stars (892 ratings)

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American Kingpin

By: Nick Bilton
Narrated by: Will Damron
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Publisher's Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

The unbelievable true story of the man who built a billion-dollar online drug empire from his bedroom – and almost got away with it.

In 2011, a twenty-six-year-old 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. While the federal government were undertaking an epic two-year manhunt for the site’s elusive proprietor, the Silk Road quickly ballooned into a $1.2 billion enterprise.

Ross embraced his new role as kingpin, taking drastic steps to protect himself – including ordering a hit on a former employee. As Ross made plans to disappear forever, the Feds raced against the clock to catch a man they weren’t sure even existed, searching for a needle in the haystack of the global Internet.

Drawing on exclusive access to key players and two billion digital words and images Ross left behind, New York Times bestselling author Nick Bilton offers a tale filled with twists and turns, lucky breaks and unbelievable close calls. It’s a story of the boy next door’s ambition gone criminal, spurred on by the clash between the new world of libertarian-leaning, anonymous, decentralised Web advocates and the old world of government control, order and the rule of law.

©2017 Nick Bilton (P)2017 Penguin Audio

What listeners say about American Kingpin

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One of the best stories

Absolutely loved this. The story, the narrative, everything.

Really enjoyed it and was amazed at the level of detail that went in to the plot progression, chats, conversations etc.

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Interesting true story

Very enjoyable listening.
Highly recommend this one.
I didn’t know what to expect but it was very interesting, especially as it was true.

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  • Overall
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all around exceptional book

Really interesting book well thought out and I loved how it told everyone's side of the storie

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Riveting

Such a great listen. The ability of the author to piece together their research into an engaging story is impressive.

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  • Overall
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Burgo

Fascinating story about the creator of the Silk Road. Had no prior knowledge of the story prior to listening to the book but it was compelling listening and I would recommend it to anyone!

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Best narrator and best story teller

The combination is immaculate

Would definitely recommend to all ages. Share with ur 3 year old kid before bed if you want

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Brilliant

I really enjoyed this book. It had me sucked right in by the first couple of chapters

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Excellent Listen, would recommend.

While the length of this listen intimidated me at first, I loved every second of listening to American Kingpin and made sure I found time to hear it all as quickly as possible. A very well researched text, performed stunningly by Will Damron.

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A True Crime Drama

This is a brilliant telling of the Silk Road story. What I really loved about this book is that it is told in a narrative style. You got to feel the characters (real-life people) develop, grow and change as the story progressed. Overall, it was a great book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you like this book, try the 'Dark Web' series from Audible.

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One of the best

In all my audible books, this would be in the top 3. Just a fantastic story, well narrated.

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