Description

Winner of the 2024 National Book Award for Nonfiction, Soldiers and Kings has also been named one of TIME’s 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2024, an NPR Book We Love, a New York Times Notable Book, and one of the Boston Globe’s Best Books of the Year.

“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

In this groundbreaking exploration of human smuggling across Latin America, MacArthur “genius” grant recipient and anthropologist Jason De León offers an intimate and unprecedented look at a world that is often misunderstood. Driven by political instability, poverty, climate change, and the demand for cheap labor, the clandestine movement of people across borders continues to grow. As nations tighten their borders, the need for smugglers—commonly referred to as coyotes or guides—only increases. Yet these figures are typically portrayed through stereotypes, depicted as ruthless criminals rather than as individuals navigating a dangerous and complex trade.

For seven years, De León embedded with a group of smugglers operating across Mexico, gaining extraordinary access to those who navigate this perilous underground economy. Soldiers and Kings is the first deeply reported, character-driven account of human smuggling, centered on the life and fate of one smuggler who dreams of leaving the business behind. Through vivid storytelling, De León introduces readers to the foot soldiers trying to break into the industry and the conflicted gang leaders overseeing operations along the migrant trail.

More than just an exposé, Soldiers and Kings is a masterful work of narrative nonfiction, offering a rare and deeply human perspective on a hidden world that shapes global migration.