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 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 the site’s elusive proprietor, with no leads, no witnesses, and no clear jurisdiction. All the investigators knew was that whoever was running the site called himself the Dread Pirate Roberts.
The Silk Road quickly ballooned into $1.2 billion enterprise, and Ross embraced his new role as kingpin. He enlisted a loyal crew of allies in high and low places, all as addicted to the danger and thrill of running an illegal marketplace as their customers were to the heroin they sold. Through his network he got wind of the target on his back and took 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, Vanity Fair correspondent and 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, decentralized Web advocates and the old world of government control, order, and the rule of law. Filled with unforgettable characters and capped by an astonishing climax, American Kingpin might be dismissed as too outrageous for fiction. But it’s all too real.
2 有用 新鲜的笨鱼 2019-07-30 13:40:35
sex on the cliff 真是浪漫
1 有用 布拉 喔 2020-06-08 13:19:08
NUTS! Too crazy to be true. 人是复杂的动物。第三方平台、法律和自由之间的关系很微妙 — 这种探讨总让我联想到现在的脸书。Digital fingerprint真可怕,对于查案来说必不可少,但对于每个人的日常生活来说,它随时都可能引爆危机。
0 有用 momo 2019-03-23 18:17:16
看了YouTube上的视频以后我觉得终身监禁的判决太严重了。😨️😨️😱️
0 有用 Miss. greedy 2020-08-20 17:26:29
写得像小说,很抓人。audible上的朗读者表现完美。
0 有用 叮叮和柠檬 2022-05-15 18:19:33
作者总把nonfiction 写的太fiction. 整体还算精彩,文风过于戏剧化,骚气.
0 有用 timesawastin 2024-02-06 19:20:20 浙江
刚开始还以为是fiction,觉得还挺扯的,没想到竟然是non-fiction!
0 有用 hj26k 2023-10-25 09:37:38 美国
本书精彩程度甚至超越奈飞或者hbo制作的true crime系列,坐等翻拍。不得不感叹,又是美利坚平平无奇的一天。
0 有用 Batata 2023-10-07 18:12:49 法国
4.5/ 很精彩,可惜当事人没有接受采访,不过他时时刻刻都在线留下的log也够提供很扎实的材料了
0 有用 糯米糕 2023-01-06 22:15:18 上海
真是太好看了!把nonfiction 写得比fiction还要吸引人!强烈建议拍成电影或者美剧。
1 有用 杜克 2022-10-09 12:05:59 美国
(85分)此书写的是“丝绸之路”网站及其创始人 Ross Albricht的故事。丝绸之路网站是一个暗黑网站,专卖非法商品(枪支,毒品)和服务。之前听说过这个网站,因为曾促进了比特币初期的发展。作者是我喜欢的作家之一,调研极其详实,整个事件线索清晰,人物生动鲜活。读后心得:1)人都具有两面性,往往表面越是规规矩矩的人,私下越有不轨之需,比想象的更普遍。2)美国执法部门繁多,各自为战时完全没有头绪;... (85分)此书写的是“丝绸之路”网站及其创始人 Ross Albricht的故事。丝绸之路网站是一个暗黑网站,专卖非法商品(枪支,毒品)和服务。之前听说过这个网站,因为曾促进了比特币初期的发展。作者是我喜欢的作家之一,调研极其详实,整个事件线索清晰,人物生动鲜活。读后心得:1)人都具有两面性,往往表面越是规规矩矩的人,私下越有不轨之需,比想象的更普遍。2)美国执法部门繁多,各自为战时完全没有头绪;一旦开始汇集各方信息,案情立刻能有突破。3)权利造成腐败,两名FBI的警员因为案情需要而接触学习了比特币,然后立刻将罪犯的比特币悄悄据为己有。 (展开)