slider728 reviewed on 8/7/2009 + 44 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

The Snake Head is an excellently researched book about the human smuggling trade. In particular, the book focuses on the Chinese. The story begins with the Golden Venture, a smuggling ship that ran aground outside of New York City back in 1993. Most of the passengers were poor farmers from the Fujian province in China. Many came to America with nothing but a change of clothes and a few coins in their pocket. Some of the passenger did not have even that. The author does a phenomenal job documenting the plight of the passengers of the Golden Venture, from the time they leave China to the time the passengers leave US Government custody. The convoluted journey of these passengers is skillfully unwound by the author and despite the complicated journey, the author does and excellent job describing their perilous journey from China to America.

The book goes on to discuss the human smuggling trade and how they get to America. While there were a number of smaller fish, the book delves into the stories of the two big players, Sister Ping, a Chinese immigrant who legally resides in the US, and a young gang leader named Ah Kay. The author does an excellent job outlining each criminals humble beginnings, their rise to power, and their eventual fall from grace.

One of the things I like about this book is that it fills you in on the complex inner workings of a secret criminal society while telling a story of the people involved and how their lives were affected for the better or worse. The format of the book seemed to be constantly changing. One minute I felt like I was reading a mystery novel, the next a textbook, then next a biography. Overall though, I felt this was an excellent book and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in the human smuggling trade or is looking for a good (but not great) true crime story.

Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details