{"product_id":"the-mastermind-a-true-story-of-murder-empire-and-a-new-kind-of-crime-lord-paperback","title":"The MasterMind: A True Story of Murder, Empire, and a New Kind of Crime Lord - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eEvan Ratliff\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe incredible true story of the decade-long quest to bring down Paul Le Roux--the creator of a frighteningly powerful Internet-enabled cartel who merged the ruthlessness of a drug lord with the technological savvy of a Silicon Valley entrepreneur.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"A tour de force of shoe-leather reporting--undertaken, amid threats and menacing, at considerable personal risk.\"--\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review \u003c\/i\u003e- NPR - \u003ci\u003eEvening Standard \u003c\/i\u003e- \u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt all started as an online prescription drug network, supplying hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of painkillers to American customers. It would not stop there. Before long, the business had turned into a sprawling multinational conglomerate engaged in almost every conceivable aspect of criminal mayhem. Yachts carrying $100 million in cocaine. Safe houses in Hong Kong filled with gold bars. Shipments of methamphetamine from North Korea. Weapons deals with Iran. Mercenary armies in Somalia. Teams of hit men in the Philippines. Encryption programs so advanced that the government could not break them. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The man behind it all, pulling the strings from a laptop in Manila, was Paul Calder Le Roux--a reclusive programmer turned criminal genius who could only exist in the networked world of the twenty-first century, and the kind of self-made crime boss that American law enforcement had never imagined. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e For half a decade, DEA agents played a global game of cat-and-mouse with Le Roux as he left terror and chaos in his wake. Each time they came close, he would slip away. It would take relentless investigative work, and a shocking betrayal from within his organization, to catch him. And when he was finally caught, the story turned again, as Le Roux struck a deal to bring down his own organization and the people he had once employed. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Award-winning investigative journalist Evan Ratliff spent four years piecing together this intricate puzzle, chasing Le Roux's empire and his shadowy henchmen around the world, conducting hundreds of interviews and uncovering thousands of documents. The result is a riveting, unprecedented account of a crime boss built by and for the digital age. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eThe Mastermind\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eThe Mastermind\u003c\/i\u003e is true crime at its most stark and vivid depiction. Evan Ratliff's work is well done from beginning to end, paralleling his investigative work with the work of the many federal agents developing the case against LeRoux.\"\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Book Review \u003c\/i\u003e(five stars)\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A wholly engrossing story that joins the worlds of El Chapo and Edward Snowden; both disturbing and memorable.\"\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews \u003c\/i\u003e(starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEvan Ratliff\u003c\/b\u003e is an award-winning journalist and founder of \u003ci\u003eThe Atavist Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e. He is a longtime contributor to \u003ci\u003eWired, The New Yorker, National Geographic, \u003c\/i\u003eand other magazines, and a two-time finalist for the National Magazine Awards and the Livingston Awards. His 2009 \u003ci\u003eWired\u003c\/i\u003e cover story \"Vanish,\" about his attempt to disappear and the public's effort to find him, was selected by the magazine as one of the twenty best stories in its history. He also co-hosts the acclaimed \u003ci\u003eLongform\u003c\/i\u003e podcast and was a founding editor of \u003ci\u003ePop-Up Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e, the country's most successful live journalism event. He is the co-author of \u003ci\u003eSafe: The Race to Protect Ourselves in a Newly Dangerous World, \u003c\/i\u003eabout innovation and counterterrorism, and the editor of the collection \u003ci\u003eLove and Ruin: Tales of Obsession, Danger, and Heartbreak\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003efrom\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe Atavist Magazine.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 496\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.1 x 8 x 5.1 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e July 21, 2020\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51768801788192,"sku":"9780399590436","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/4d5789bb52e3073b5d25651eedd41cd9.webp?v=1780337573","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/the-mastermind-a-true-story-of-murder-empire-and-a-new-kind-of-crime-lord-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}