Review: American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road

American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road by Nick Bilton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Ross Ulbricht is described here as the kind of guy you might have run across in college. He lived in the stereotypical style of a hippy, albeit a few decades beyond the 60s. He spouted Libertarian dogma, and tended to live his life that way, at least in some aspects. Specifically he said he believed in free markets, for everything, including things that the government made illegal, like drugs and guns. It was very interesting following along as Ulbricht got deeper and deeper into his internet marketplace, and at times had to decide whether his principles would survive real-world situations. Also interesting were the stories of his opposition, people from various branches of government set to take him and his marketplace down. I found it a fascinating read. The part that seems strangest relates to (view spoiler)[ Ulbricht’s attempts to have people killed. As written, these attempts seem counter to the personality of Ulbricht otherwise described, both before and after. I wish the author had described what happened there, but I suppose he didn’t want to speculate. It just seems this very damning evidence just shows up at some point, and changed Ulbricht ultimate portrayal from a principled but tragic figure to one with a mental break. (hide spoiler)]

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