Patrick Radden Keefe is a fellow at The Century Foundation
and the author of Chatter: Dispatches from the Secret World of
Global Eavesdropping. A graduate of Columbia University and Yale
Law School, and the recipient of a Marshall Scholarship and a
Guggenheim Fellowship, he is a regular contributor to The New
Yorker, Slate, and many other publications. The Snakehead was a
finalist for the J. Anthony Lukas Prize, awarded by the Journalism
School at Columbia University for excellence in American nonfiction
writing.
For character dossiers, an image gallery, interactive maps, and
more, please visit: www.thesnakehead.com.
A Book of the Year: Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, San
Francisco Chronicle, and Washington Post
“Reads like a mashup of The Godfather and Chinatown, complete with
gun battles, a ruthless kingpin and a mountain of cash. Except that
it’s all true.”
—Time
“Essential reading. . . . A rich, beautifully told story, so
suspenseful and with so many unexpected twists that in places it
reads like a John le Carré novel.”
—The Washington Post
“A masterwork. . . . In this single tale about a global criminal,
Keefe finds a story of quintessentially American hope.”
—Christian Science Monitor
“Painstakingly reported and vividly told. . . . As immigration
reform languishes in Washington . . . everyone involved—from
policymakers to activists to the undocumented—would be wise to read
The Snakehead.”
—Newsweek
“A formidably well-researched book that is as much a paean to its
author’s industriousness as it is a chronicle of crime.”
—Janet Maslin, The New York Times
“Keefe has written a vivid non fiction thriller. The Snakehead
reads like a Chinese-American version of The Sopranos, except that
the mob boss is a grandmother who runs a human smuggling
enterprise, and the story is true.”
—Jane Mayer, author of The Dark Side
“Evocatively captures our yin and yang over immigration policy. . .
. This is one of the freshest accounts of modern-day migration I’ve
read, one filled with moral ambiguity, one that doesn’t pretend to
have the answers, one that in these times feels like essential
reading.”
—Alex Kotlowitz, The Washington Post
“An eye-opener. . . . Compelling and informative. . . . Keefe
maintains a commendable fairness and objectivity reporting a
fascinating story.”
—USA Today
“Bracing, vivid. . . . Keefe writes gracefully, perceptively,
insightfully. . . . Without sacrificing one iota of narrative
momentum, he untangles a dauntingly complicated human-trafficking
operation so a reader can effortlessly follow along.”
—The New York Times Book Review (Editor’s Choice)
“Brilliant. . . . Keefe’s mastery of this chapter of our ongoing
immigration saga is impressive. He muses thoughtfully about its
many conundrums and highlights how our ethos of welcoming the
persecuted gets soured by bad policy and the pervasive exploitation
of the helpless. There will be more chapters, no doubt, but this
one was pretty riveting.”
—Los Angeles Times
“The Snakehead achieves what only the finest reporting can: it
peels back an astonishing hidden world. Keefe takes the reader on a
spellbinding journey . . . that will forever change your
understanding of what it means to become an American.”
—David Grann, author of The Lost City of Z
“Timely and compelling.”
—Wall Street Journal
“Engrossing. . . . Keefe’s narrative delves deeply into Chinatown
and the labyrinthine smuggling routes between China and America,
but it’s also a glimpse into our conflicted feelings about illegals
and the morass of America’s immigration policy.”
—New York Magazine
“Epic. . . . Impressive. . . . A true-life thriller that examines
just about every aspect of U.S. immigration policy.”
—The Associated Press
“Riveting. . . . Keefe deftly interweaves the political, legal and
gunslinging strands of Sister Ping’s story, rendering scenes of
White House policy deliberation and immigration court procedure as
engagingly as scenes of Chinatown shootouts and high-seas
rendezvous.”
—National Public Radio
“Exceptional. . . . [Told] with a masterful fluidity. . . . An
adventure story, crime drama, political thriller and a
contemplative look into immigration policy all at once.”
—The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)
“Captivating. . . . A page-turner that reads like a crime novel.
Peopled with dozens of colorful characters, it offers an
authoritative history of the diaspora of the Chinese and their
experience in the United States. . . . Keefe’s account reminds us
how much hope the American dream inspires and what a steep price
some have paid to try to live it.”
—San Jose Mercury News
“Brilliant. . . . Keefe’s account maintains the swift pace of a
thriller. With the immigration debate still boiling, this
exploration of how far people will go to achieve the American dream
is a must-read.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
A Book of the Year: Chicago Tribune, Christian Science
Monitor, San Francisco Chronicle, and Washington
Post
"Reads like a mashup of The Godfather and Chinatown,
complete with gun battles, a ruthless kingpin and a mountain of
cash. Except that it's all true."
-Time
"Essential reading. . . . A rich, beautifully told story, so
suspenseful and with so many unexpected twists that in places it
reads like a John le Carre novel."
-The Washington Post
"A masterwork. . . . In this single tale about a global criminal,
Keefe finds a story of quintessentially American hope."
-Christian Science Monitor
"Painstakingly reported and vividly told. . . . As immigration
reform languishes in Washington . . . everyone involved-from
policymakers to activists to the undocumented-would be wise to read
The Snakehead."
-Newsweek
"A formidably well-researched book that is as much a paean to its
author's industriousness as it is a chronicle of crime."
-Janet Maslin, The New York Times
"Keefe has written a vivid non fiction thriller. The
Snakehead reads like a Chinese-American version of The
Sopranos, except that the mob boss is a grandmother who runs a
human smuggling enterprise, and the story is true."
-Jane Mayer, author of The Dark Side
"Evocatively captures our yin and yang over immigration policy. . .
. This is one of the freshest accounts of modern-day migration I've
read, one filled with moral ambiguity, one that doesn't pretend to
have the answers, one that in these times feels like essential
reading."
-Alex Kotlowitz, The Washington Post
"An eye-opener. . . . Compelling and informative. . . . Keefe
maintains a commendable fairness and objectivity reporting a
fascinating story."
-USA Today
"Bracing, vivid. . . . Keefe writes gracefully, perceptively,
insightfully. . . . Without sacrificing one iota of narrative
momentum, he untangles a dauntingly complicated human-trafficking
operation so a reader can effortlessly follow along."
-The New York Times Book Review (Editor's Choice)
"Brilliant. . . . Keefe's mastery of this chapter of our ongoing
immigration saga is impressive. He muses thoughtfully about its
many conundrums and highlights how our ethos of welcoming the
persecuted gets soured by bad policy and the pervasive exploitation
of the helpless. There will be more chapters, no doubt, but this
one was pretty riveting."
-Los Angeles Times
"The Snakehead achieves what only the finest reporting can:
it peels back an astonishing hidden world. Keefe takes the reader
on a spellbinding journey . . . that will forever change your
understanding of what it means to become an American."
-David Grann, author of The Lost City of Z
"Timely and compelling."
-Wall Street Journal
"Engrossing. . . . Keefe's narrative delves deeply into Chinatown
and the labyrinthine smuggling routes between China and America,
but it's also a glimpse into our conflicted feelings about illegals
and the morass of America's immigration policy."
-New York Magazine
"Epic. . . . Impressive. . . . A true-life thriller that examines
just about every aspect of U.S. immigration policy."
-The Associated Press
"Riveting. . . . Keefe deftly interweaves the political, legal and
gunslinging strands of Sister Ping's story, rendering scenes of
White House policy deliberation and immigration court procedure as
engagingly as scenes of Chinatown shootouts and high-seas
rendezvous."
-National Public Radio
"Exceptional. . . . [Told] with a masterful fluidity. . . . An
adventure story, crime drama, political thriller and a
contemplative look into immigration policy all at once."
-The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)
"Captivating. . . . A page-turner that reads like a crime novel.
Peopled with dozens of colorful characters, it offers an
authoritative history of the diaspora of the Chinese and their
experience in the United States. . . . Keefe's account reminds us
how much hope the American dream inspires and what a steep price
some have paid to try to live it."
- San Jose Mercury News
"Brilliant. . . . Keefe's account maintains the swift pace of a
thriller. With the immigration debate still boiling, this
exploration of how far people will go to achieve the American dream
is a must-read."
-Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Ask a Question About this Product More... |