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Border Hacker: A Tale of Treachery, Trafficking, and Two Friends on the Run Hardcover – April 26, 2022

by Levi Vonk (Author)
4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 52 ratings
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An unlikely friendship, a four-thousand-mile voyage, and an impenetrable frontier—this dramatic odyssey reveals the chaos and cruelty US immigration policies have unleashed beyond our borders.

Axel Kirschner was a lifelong New Yorker, all Queens hustle and bravado. But he was also undocumented. After a minor traffic violation while driving his son to kindergarten, Axel was deported to Guatemala, a country he swore he had not lived in since he was a baby. While fighting his way back through Mexico on a migrant caravan, Axel met Levi Vonk, a young anthropologist and journalist from the US. That chance encounter would change both of their lives forever.

Levi soon discovered that Axel was no ordinary migrant. He was harboring a secret: Axel was a hacker. This secret would launch the two friends on a dangerous adventure far beyond what either of them could have imagined. While Axel’s abilities gave him an edge in a system that denied his existence, they would also ensnare him in a tangled underground network of human traffickers, corrupt priests, and anti-government guerillas eager to exploit his talents for their own ends. And along the way, Axel’s secret only raised more questions for Levi about his past. How had Axel learned to hack? What did he want? And was Axel really who he said he was?

Border Hacker is at once an adventure saga—the story of a man who would do anything to return to his family, and the friend who would do anything to help him—and a profound parable about the violence of American immigration policy told through a single, extraordinary life.

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Previous page
  1. Print length
    352 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Bold Type Books
  4. Publication date
    April 26, 2022
  5. Dimensions
    6.4 x 1.4 x 9.55 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1645037053
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1645037057
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“If this book were a novel, you’d say it was too implausible: an unlikely friendship, a dangerous journey, an apparent benefactor who turns out to be the opposite. But it’s all true, and Levi Vonk brings this extraordinary story to life with verve and zest.” ​

―Adam Hochschild, author of King Leopold’s Ghost

“Our twenty-first-century American hero is a deported hacker, cruelly cast out from the only country he’s ever known into the lawless labyrinth of statelessness, surviving on bravado and genius skill, while forming the most improbable partnership with a young string-bean ‘cracker’ academic whose generosity and courage never fails—and whose initial naivete is honed on this journey into the knowing, thoughtful voice of the chronicler of this book. Border Hacker is by turns heartbreaking, terrifying, hilarious, enraging, and inspiring. To say it humanizes contentious issues is a profound understatement.”

―Francisco Goldman, author of Monkey Boy

“Jack Kerouac, move over. In Border Hacker, Levi Vonk and Axel Kirschner’s unlikely friendship makes for the ultimate on-the-road buddy story. Suspenseful, intimate, and superbly told, Border Hacker is an amazing book, and as a tell-all account of the modern migrant experience, it kicks ass and takes no prisoners.”

―Jon Lee Anderson, author of Che: A Revolutionary Life

“Combining Vonk’s in-depth reportage on U.S. border policy, predatory shelter operators, and the links between cartels, kidnappers, and the police with Kirschner’s first-person testimony, the two unspool a riveting and disturbing story. Readers will be aghast.”―Publishers Weekly

“An inspiring, timely border story…a significant addition to the literature on an ongoing humanitarian crisis…An engaging work of on-the-ground journalism that exposes root causes of a chronic problem.”―Kirkus Reviews

“Axel and Levi are likable characters, which makes rooting for them easy. This is a cultural anthropology story that’s well-told and eminently readable.”―The Bibliophage

“[A] thrilling, troubling, and wholly unique hybrid of confessional memoir and intrepid reportage…Border Hacker documents the phenomenon of migrant caravanning in the Americas more ably than any other book to my knowledge…Border Hacker is a singularly courageous book.”―Jacobin

“[T]he importance of Border Hacker is not in its allegations of activists’ wrongdoing but in its illustration of the material and bureaucratic challenges of moving through Mexico, which incentivize all sorts of grift.”―The Nation

About the Author

Levi Vonk is an anthropologist, writer, and doctoral candidate. He lives between the US and Mexico.
 

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bold Type Books (April 26, 2022)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1645037053
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1645037057
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.24 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.4 x 1.4 x 9.55 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 52 ratings

About the author

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Levi Vonk

Levi Vonk

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Levi Vonk is a writer, anthropologist, and doctoral candidate. He lives between the US and Mexico.

Customer reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars
4.9 out of 5
52 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Tucson John
5.0 out of 5 stars "This is Crazy"
Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2022
Verified Purchase
More than once, while reading this book, I found myself thinking, "This is crazy". What's so crazy? First are the many situations in which the author found himself. Clearly the author risked his own life time and again, not for anthropological studies, but to do the right thing and for love of a newly found friend.

What else is crazy? Or shall I say 'pitiful'? The unimaginable plight of migrants and the reluctance of governments to even discuss any solutions.

This is one of those non-fiction books that reminds you that you don't need fiction in order to have a real page-turner. The events of this book are indeed crazy. You couldn't make this stuff up.
2 people found this helpful
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Samantha
5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting, terrifying, page-turner, must read!
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2022
Verified Purchase
Wow! Amazing! Be prepared to finish this book in one sitting because you certainly won’t be able to put it down once you start. You are immediately thrown into the terrifying, exciting, life-altering journey of an anthropologist and a lifelong New Yorker fighting his way back to the US after being deported. This book reads like a page-turning fiction novel and breaks your heart every time you remember it is a true story. If you care about migrants, or immigration policy, or just humans in general, read this book. Levi and Axel seemingly have risked it all to bring light to the devastating impacts of immigration policy and procedures and you would be remiss not to read their story and move yourself to action.
4 people found this helpful
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Thomas A Sailors
5.0 out of 5 stars A story that needs to be read!
Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2024
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Loved the way the book changed story tellers each chapter and you could hear Axel's voice though the story telling. We recommend this book to everyone we know and own multiple copies to share with friends.
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Sanderson Family
5.0 out of 5 stars OMG best book I’ve read in at least a decade
Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2022
Verified Purchase
If you’re on the fence, please just get this book. It is thrilling, entertaining, fascinating…you will fall in love with the characters, you will learn so much about the underbelly of our immigration system, you will learn about your own humanity. I wish I could have the benefit of Levi and Axel’s storytelling style to learn ALL history topics. I wish the author had included a reading list at the end of the book because I am dying for more. Everyone I know is getting this book for Christmas.
One person found this helpful
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H Stark
5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging and fascinating true account of an improbable friendship.
Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2022
Verified Purchase
An amazing story of friendship between a young anthropologist/journalist and a deported Guatemalan from Queens-harboring a deep secret. Bound together on a treacherous four- thousand mile journey, Levi and Axel face the perils, heartbreak and violence that surrounds our current US immigration policies. Enlightening as well as an excellent read!
3 people found this helpful
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Barbara
5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting and enlightening
Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2022
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Well written, hard to put down. You want to know what's happening next with Axel, Levi and the real characters on a nail biting adventure. Needs to be a movie!
5 people found this helpful
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Melanie Kursinsky
5.0 out of 5 stars An eye opening true story
Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2022
Verified Purchase
I recommend this book because it made me realize how blind we are to the plight of immigrants and migrant workers! How politicians in the US and Mexico have made horrible conditions even worse. You need to read this book! Open your eyes America!
2 people found this helpful
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Santiago Fontenla
5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite book of the year
Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2022
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Thanks to both for sharing their story. As latin american immigrant I can relate on many points of the book and just feel the whole story as if it was a friend telling me his journey
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Bradley Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars Very current to todays environment. Loved it.
Reviewed in Canada on July 21, 2022
Verified Purchase
Well written, awesome story. Must read.
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Salmon
5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favourite books
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 15, 2022
Verified Purchase
I loved this book so much I purchased a hard copy. Really captivating and shocking. Would highly recommend anyone to read. In fact I have been recommended it to people to read.

I blitzed through it in 2 days. I feel like Levi and Axel are my friends, I wish them all the best.
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