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Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling

by de Le

Inside the world of human smuggling

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Regular price $28.51 USD Sale price $17.10 USD
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Paperback New English

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Awards & Recognition

  • Award recognition

    Winner of the 2024 National Book Award for Nonfiction

    Winner of the 2024 National Book Award for Nonfiction

  • Book club selection

    An NPR Book We Love 2024

    Selected for NPR's 2024 Books We Love

  • Editorial selection

    A New York Times Notable Book of 2024

    Named a Notable Book of 2024

AlbakiReads Editorial

Inside the world of human smuggling

Jason De León’s book examines human smuggling in Latin America through the lives and work of smugglers, also known as coyotes or guides. Drawing on his background as an anthropologist and access to the people involved, it considers how political instability, poverty, climate change and demand for low-wage labor shape clandestine migration. The description also points to the contrast between smugglers’ roles in helping migrants cross borders and the stereotypes that often frame them as violent figures. At 400 pages, the book approaches the subject as both an account of an extralegal industry and an exploration of the people working within it.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in anthropology and field-based reporting.
  • Readers seeking nonfiction about migration and human smuggling in Latin America.
  • Readers interested in the lives and work of people operating within extralegal economies.

Themes

Human smugglingMigration and bordersPolitical instability and povertyClimate change and labor

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

WINNER OF THE 2024 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR NONFICTION

A TIME 10 Best Nonfiction Book of 2024 - An NPR Book We Love 2024 - A New York Times Notable Book of 2024 - A Boston Globe Best Book of 2024

"A work of extraordinary reportage and compassion...[it] will shock you, move you, and leave you changed."
--Matthew Desmond, Pulitzer Prize-winning and New York Times bestselling author of Evicted and Poverty, by America

"An enlightening, frightening, unforgettable read."
--Sandra Cisneros, bestselling author of The House on Mango Street

An intense, intimate and first-of-its-kind look at the world of human smuggling in Latin America, by a MacArthur "genius" grant winner and anthropologist with unprecedented access


Political instability, poverty, climate change, and the insatiable appetite for cheap labor all fuel clandestine movement across borders. As those borders harden, the demand for smugglers who aid migrants across them increases every year. Yet the real lives and work of smugglers--or coyotes, or guides, as they are often known by the migrants who hire their services--are only ever reported on from a distance, using tired tropes and stereotypes, often depicted as boogie men and violent warlords. In an effort to better understand this essential yet extralegal billion dollar global industry, internationally recognized anthropologist and expert Jason De Le
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