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Quick answer: If you loved American Kingpin, read John Carreyrou's Bad Blood, then Nick Bilton's Hatching Twitter, then Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind's The Smartest Guys in the Room, and Sarah Frier's No Filter and Emily Chang's Brotopia. All are gripping stories of crime and technology.
Nick Bilton's American Kingpin (2017) tells the story of Ross Ulbricht and the Silk Road. These picks share its pace.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Ages | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bad Blood | John Carreyrou | Adult | tech scandals |
| Hatching Twitter | Nick Bilton | Adult | startup drama |
| The Smartest Guys in the Room | Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind | Adult | corporate scandal |
| No Filter | Sarah Frier | Adult | social app history |
| Brotopia | Emily Chang | Adult | tech culture |
| Sandworm | Andy Greenberg | Adult | cyberwar reporting |
| Valley of Genius | Adam Fisher | Adult | insider stories |
| House of Cards | William D. Cohan | Adult | Wall Street downfall |
| The Predators' Ball | Connie Bruck | Adult | junk bond history |
| The Wolf of Wall Street | Jordan Belfort | Adult | excess and ego |
| Killing Pablo | Mark Bowden | Adult | manhunt |
| Private Empire | Steve Coll | Adult | ExxonMobil |
| In Cold Blood | Truman Capote | Adult | readers who want the classic |
| Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil | John Berendt | Adult | southern gothic |
| Lords of Finance | Liaquat Ahamed | Adult | central bankers |
1. Bad Blood by John Carreyrou
The collapse of Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes. A thriller of Silicon Valley fraud.
Best for: tech scandals.
2. Hatching Twitter by Nick Bilton
The founders of Twitter feud and fight for control. Reads like a drama.
Best for: startup drama.
3. The Smartest Guys in the Room by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind
The rise and fall of Enron. Clear and detailed.
Best for: corporate scandal.
4. No Filter by Sarah Frier
The story of Instagram, its founders and how Facebook acquired it. Narrative and well paced.
Best for: social app history.
5. Brotopia by Emily Chang
An investigation of the male-dominated culture in Silicon Valley. Clear and important.
Best for: tech culture.
6. Sandworm by Andy Greenberg
The story of Russian hackers and their attacks. Gripping and well reported.
Best for: cyberwar reporting.
7. Valley of Genius by Adam Fisher
An oral history of Silicon Valley, told by the people involved. Lively and gossipy.
Best for: insider stories.
8. House of Cards by William D. Cohan
The collapse of Bear Stearns, told through its people. Thorough and revealing.
Best for: Wall Street downfall.
9. The Predators' Ball by Connie Bruck
Explains how Drexel Burnham Lambert and Michael Milken built the junk bond market. A look at the rise of the deals Barbarians describes.
Best for: junk bond history.
10. The Wolf of Wall Street by Jordan Belfort
A memoir of stock fraud, drugs and excess. Wild and amoral, best read with a skeptical eye.
Best for: excess and ego.
11. Killing Pablo by Mark Bowden
The hunt for Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. Fast and detailed.
Best for: manhunt.
12. Private Empire by Steve Coll
The story of ExxonMobil and its global power. Thorough and sharp.
Best for: ExxonMobil.
13. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Capote's nonfiction novel about the Clutter family murders in Kansas. A literary true-crime landmark.
Best for: readers who want the classic.
14. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
A visitor to Savannah gets involved in a murder case. Atmospheric and quirky.
Best for: southern gothic.
15. Lords of Finance by Liaquat Ahamed
The story of the bankers who helped cause the Great Depression. Rich and humane.
Best for: central bankers.
How We Chose These Books
Every pick is a real, widely available book that shares something specific with American Kingpin: its tone, its themes, its pace or the kind of characters it puts at the center. We mixed well-known favorites with a few less obvious titles, and we noted who each book suits best so you can match it to the reader. Where a book belongs to a series, we list the first volume so you can start at the beginning.
If you are not sure where to begin, start with the first three picks in the table: they are the closest match to American Kingpin. The rest of the list moves further out, so it works well once you know which part of the original you liked most.
How to Choose
For true crime, read Bad Blood. For tech, try Hatching Twitter. For narrative, pick The Smartest Guys in the Room.
Related: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt: Summary and Key Takeaways
Frequently Asked Questions
Who wrote American Kingpin?
Nick Bilton, in 2017.
What is it about?
Ross Ulbricht and the Silk Road marketplace.
Is it true?
Yes, it is nonfiction.
Which book here is best for central bankers?
Try Lords of Finance by Liaquat Ahamed, which suits readers looking for central bankers.
Which book here is best for southern gothic?
Try Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt, which suits readers looking for southern gothic.
Which book here is best for readers who want the classic?
Try In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, which suits readers looking for readers who want the classic.
Which book here is best for ExxonMobil?
Try Private Empire by Steve Coll, which suits readers looking for ExxonMobil.
Which book here is best for manhunt?
Try Killing Pablo by Mark Bowden, which suits readers looking for manhunt.
Which book here is best for excess and ego?
Try The Wolf of Wall Street by Jordan Belfort, which suits readers looking for excess and ego.
Which book here is best for junk bond history?
Try The Predators' Ball by Connie Bruck, which suits readers looking for junk bond history.