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I guess the most important part of me reading this book is that even though the entire thing was a giant neon flashing sign of Ross's guilt - with his association to the sales of drugs, guns and anything else illegal that the Silk Road wanted to dabble in.... At the end of the day I am not entirely convinced that Ross Ulbricht is DPR. Because... Bilton’s investigation of the Silk Road is dramatic and, at times, nearly unbelievable. It puts your favorite thriller novels to shame.”
The unbelievable true story of the man who built a billion-dollar online drug empire from his bedroom—and almost got away with it. Ross sat staring at a concrete wall, frightened by where he found himself but unfazed by how long he might be in jail. He had played through this scenario a thousand times before.” American Kingpin is both a staggering feat of investigative journalism and a triumph of edge-of-your-seat storytelling. This is what true-crime writing should be.” Ross Ulbricht was an Eagle Scout, a good kid, a very smart kid, who developed a strong libertarian ethos.
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The author pieces together a vast array of data from Ulbricht’s electronic trail, chat logs, photos, social media, courtroom transcripts, and interviews with family, friends, and participants (excluding Ulbricht) to assemble this riveting story. He does not use footnotes or specifics in documenting sources but provides a summary of all resources in the Appendix and does not identify where the quoted conversations originate.
The unbelievable true story of the man who built a billion-dollar online drug empire from his bedroom—and almost got away with it. Publisher’s Synopsis Thus, the Dread Pirate Roberts was born and just like in the movie, the character assumes mythical and sinister reputation – a ruthless pirate who heads an international drug market and rules his kingdom with an iron fist. Henceforth, Ross behaves like a syndicated crime boss, punishing those who get in his way while plotting his eventual getaway when the law catches up with him. New Establishment 2015 | Vanity Fair | Vanity Fair". www.vanityfair.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-14. Even if someone wants to advocate for prohibiting certain drugs, the hypocrisy and the futility should be apparent after decades and decades of failed govt action. Not a comment on the book itself, but I was astonished to read, near the end, that Ulbricht had been sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole. To a non-American this seems like a harsh sentence for a first-time offender. Where I live in Scotland, nobody, no matter how depraved their crime, would ever be sentenced to life without possibility of parole. It is possible to receive such a sentence in England and Wales, but they are only ever handed down to those found guilty of multiple killings or particularly vile crimes such as the rape and murder of children. Customs vary.
Bilton portrays Ross as having arranged murder-for-hire, yet this was never proven and Ross was not charged with this at trial. Just the headline and subhead demonstrate the hyperbole, sensationalism and inaccuracy of this coverage: As this story develops, we also learn a bit more about Ross when he enters graduate school. Ulbricht is a free spirit who participates in drum circles, lives a pauper’s existence, and wears the same clothes for days on end. Ross is also somewhat of a partier, drinking and smoking marijuana with close friends. Despite his outward Bohemian appearance, however, Ross is also highly intelligent and passionate in his opinions. He is especially committed to his politics, maintaining a strong libertarian belief system. At Penn State, he participates in political debates, always arguing that the government has no business getting involved in citizens’ private and personal life choices. I really think I did myself a disservice in reading extensively about the Silk Road and DPR before embarking on this book - as I knew all the twists and turns in this story ahead of time.
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