LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD

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 Evictedand 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,andtheinsatiable appetite for cheap labor all fuel clandestine movement across borders. As those borders harden, the demandfor smugglers whoaid migrants across them increases every year. Yet the real lives and work of smugglersor coyotes, or guides, as they are often known by the migrants who hire their servicesare 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 DeLen embedded with a group of smugglers moving migrants across Mexico over the course of seven years.

The result of this unique and extraordinary access is SOLDIERS AND KINGS: the first ever in-depth, character-driven look at human smuggling. It is a heart-wrenching and intimate narrative that revolves around the life and death of one coyote who falls in love and tries to leave smuggling behind. In a powerful, original voice, DeLen expertly chronicles the lives of low-level foot soldiers breaking into the smuggling game, and morally conflicted gang leaders who oversee rag-tag crews of guides and informants along the migrant trail. SOLDIERS AND KINGS is not only a ground-breaking up-close glimpse of a difficult-to-access world, it is a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction.