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

Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling is a work of nonfiction by Jason De León, an anthropologist and MacArthur fellow. Over seven years, De León spent time with the smugglers who guide migrants across Mexico toward the United States, gaining rare access to people who are usually seen only as villains. At the center of the book is Chino, a smuggler who falls in love and tries to find a way out of the trade. Around him are young foot soldiers entering the business and the bosses who run crews of guides and informants. Combining ethnography, personal narrative and photography, De León shows how poverty, violence and migration policy shape the lives of the people on both sides of the smuggling economy. It won the 2024 National Book Award for Nonfiction.