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The story remains fascinating, but doesn't tread any new ground if you already know the DPR deets. Do kids still say deets? Apparently yeet is a thing and I still have no clue what that means. Only that my 20 year old coworkers say it and it makes me feel super old. I’m not giving it the full five because in the author’s attempt to make this more of a narrative, he inserts dialogue that often comes off a bit corny and I felt there was a bit of padding in the middle. But those are minor quibbles for a book that is this gripping, all the more so because it is true. Highly recommended if you’re a fan of true crime nonfiction. Ross is not “dangerous.” All his convictions were non-violent. He has no record of hurting anyone. No victims came forward at trial to claim that Ross had harmed them in any way. Rather, he is widely known as peaceful and compassionate. Read what 100 people who actually know him have to say. 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...
Other issues that arise: the federal govt is a behemoth that is markedly useless in many of the functions it’s been designed to combat. DEA, FBI, DHS, have to hold regular “deconfliction” meetings bc of all the bureaucratic infighting. These sessions rarely result in ameliorating the pissing contests. Also, two feds ended up doing time for stealing Bitcoin from the Dreadpirate operation. Fry, Naomi (2021-02-20). "Fake Famous" and the Tedium of Influencer Culture?". The New Yorker . Retrieved 2022-02-16. The author's youthfulness helps to assure the inevitable comparison with the Anne Frank diary although over and above the sphere of suffering shared, and in this case extended to the death march itself, there is no spiritual or emotional legacy here to offset any reader reluctance. The authors have created a sort of anti-Book of Virtues in this encyclopedic compendium of the ways and means of power.New Establishment 2015 | Vanity Fair | Vanity Fair". www.vanityfair.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-14. An astonishingly well-researched narrative… Bilton’s storytelling bears not so much as a trace of fat; the book he’s conjured is so sharp and bright that it can be whipped through in the airport lounge before the flight takes off.” Following the steps of Ross Ulbricht, the mastermind behind The Silk Road, and the law enforcement agents out to stop him, you get an incredible insight into the cyber criminal world and how it's evolving. You also get to see how law enforcement departments both help and hinder each other as well as how easy it is to blur the line between what is legal or not. Good guys become bad guys and bad guys become human. It's a very cool story that I still can't believe is non-fiction.
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. Finally, to my earlier point of futility, just a week after the Feds shut down the silkroad imitators popped up. The Feds shut down a few of those but you can see where the story goes. I loved how the author shared Ulbricht's thought process on the daily decisions he made about the Silk Road, which was driven by his hardcore libertarian philosophy. I've definitely never thought about trying to apply a political philosophy to something like selling human organs. Regardless of whether I agreed with his arguments, Ulbricht's musings sparked my curiosity and led me on more than one internet rabbit hole of researching libertarian views.First, his libertarian notions about leaving people to use their bodies their own way is certainly correct. The unbelievable true story of the man who built a billion-dollar online drug empire from his bedroom—and almost got away with it. This book that reads like a thriller is pure joy and information. The author did a great job creating all the events based on primary documents and interviews with the people who took down The Silk Road.
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