"This is nonfiction that reads like a compelling novel . Unexpectedly tender . What [Barragán has] produced feels miraculous: journalism that is simultaneously funny, devastating, wildly intimate, and righteous without veering into moralism." --Kate Knibbs, Wired "Carlos Barragán skilfully navigates this history [of scamming] in his debut, The Yahoo Boys , which humanizes both the perpetrators and their victims . Barragán''s characters are vivid; they inspire sympathy and plumb the depths of wickedness . The Yahoo Boys puts the lie to our image of technology as a realm of inevitable progress." --Nicolas Niarchos, The New York Times Book Review (Editors'' Choice) "A wonderfully written work of reportage from the backstreets of Lagos. Barragán profiles four, mostly down-and-out Nigerian romance scammers with colour, charm and an eye for the details that make their stories sing.
" --Jacob Judah, Financial Times "Barragán''s distinction is to tell the story of crimes that are usually narrated from the victim''s perspective, asking instead who is on the other end of the phone and what they believe they are doing . Barragán''s achievement is to make this world intelligible without making excuses for it. He has a reporter''s gift for proximity. He lets the scammers talk--at length, often hilariously--but not hide inside their own mythology." -- Feyi Fawehinmi, The Wall Street Journal "[Ant length, often hilariously--but not hide inside their own mythology." -- Feyi Fawehinmi, The Wall Street Journal "[Ant length, often hilariously--but not hide inside their own mythology." -- Feyi Fawehinmi, The Wall Street Journal "[Ant length, often hilariously--but not hide inside their own mythology." -- Feyi Fawehinmi, The Wall Street Journal "[An] outstanding work of immersion journalism .
[A] complex story at the intersection of a persistent economic crisis; global hungers literal and metaphorical; and the brutal need to survive at all costs." -- Sarah Weinman, Foreign Policy "A nuanced, compelling look at the young men perpetrating romance scams, as well as their victims abroad - and the loneliness that unites them." -- Mackenzie Farkus, Christian Science Monitor "[A] deeply reported and richly empathetic account." --Jessica Loudis, Bloomberg "Engrossing." -- The Economist "In The Yahoo Boys , Carlos Barragán takes us on a remarkable journey into the world of Nigerian scammers. Written with an astonishing degree of immersive detail, we get to know a group of young Nigerians who adopt false identities online for the purpose of wooing lonely, real-life Americans in order to extract money from them. I have found few books lately as immediately compelling as Barragán''s, and as a reader, I could not put it down. As an unexpected fresh take on the bewilderingly quicksilver world we live in, The Yahoo Boys is a tour-de-force.
" --Jon Lee Anderson, author of To Lose a War and Che: A Revolutionary Life "If The Yahoo Boys were merely a picaresque tour of the world of Nigerian scammers, it would have been worth it for the entertainment value alone. In Carlos Barragán''s hands, however, this is a technically sophisticated, emotionally acute, and sociologically wise exploration of a shadow economy driven by devices, loneliness, and global inequality. It''s an enviable feat of reportage and writing--as intrepid as it is sympathetic." --Gideon Lewis-Kraus, staff writer at The New Yorker and author of A Sense of Direction "Barragán brings a surprising depth and empathy to The Yahoo Boys, to the tin roofs and traffic jams of Lagos, the SIM cards and Apple IDs that buttress this edifice of deceit. He''s gone rappelling into the bottomless pit that surrounds desire. The result is a compassionate, elegant, unsettling book." --Dan Piepenbring, Harper''s "An empathetic, humanizing deep dive." -- Louisa Ermelino, People " The Yahoo Boys is a fascinating and important exploration, one that is full of warmth and empathy.
Carlos Barragán has constructed something that is both intimately personal and globally relevant." --Dipo Faloyin, author of Africa Is Not a Country "[An a technically sophisticated, emotionally acute, and sociologically wise exploration of a shadow economy driven by devices, loneliness, and global inequality. It''s an enviable feat of reportage and writing--as intrepid as it is sympathetic." --Gideon Lewis-Kraus, staff writer at The New Yorker and author of A Sense of Direction "Barragán brings a surprising depth and empathy to The Yahoo Boys, to the tin roofs and traffic jams of Lagos, the SIM cards and Apple IDs that buttress this edifice of deceit. He''s gone rappelling into the bottomless pit that surrounds desire. The result is a compassionate, elegant, unsettling book." --Dan Piepenbring, Harper''s "An empathetic, humanizing deep dive." -- Louisa Ermelino, People " The Yahoo Boys is a fascinating and important exploration, one that is full of warmth and empathy.
Carlos Barragán has constructed something that is both intimately personal and globally relevant." --Dipo Faloyin, author of Africa Is Not a Country "[Anipo Faloyin, author of Africa Is Not a Country "[An a technically sophisticated, emotionally acute, and sociologically wise exploration of a shadow economy driven by devices, loneliness, and global inequality. It''s an enviable feat of reportage and writing--as intrepid as it is sympathetic." --Gideon Lewis-Kraus, staff writer at The New Yorker and author of A Sense of Direction "Barragán brings a surprising depth and empathy to The Yahoo Boys, to the tin roofs and traffic jams of Lagos, the SIM cards and Apple IDs that buttress this edifice of deceit. He''s gone rappelling into the bottomless pit that surrounds desire. The result is a compassionate, elegant, unsettling book." --Dan Piepenbring, Harper''s "An empathetic, humanizing deep dive." -- Louisa Ermelino, People " The Yahoo Boys is a fascinating and important exploration, one that is full of warmth and empathy.
Carlos Barragán has constructed something that is both intimately personal and globally relevant." --Dipo Faloyin, author of Africa Is Not a Country "[An a technically sophisticated, emotionally acute, and sociologically wise exploration of a shadow economy driven by devices, loneliness, and global inequality. It''s an enviable feat of reportage and writing--as intrepid as it is sympathetic." --Gideon Lewis-Kraus, staff writer at The New Yorker and author of A Sense of Direction "Barragán brings a surprising depth and empathy to The Yahoo Boys, to the tin roofs and traffic jams of Lagos, the SIM cards and Apple IDs that buttress this edifice of deceit. He''s gone rappelling into the bottomless pit that surrounds desire. The result is a compassionate, elegant, unsettling book." --Dan Piepenbring, Harper''s "An empathetic, humanizing deep dive." -- Louisa Ermelino, People " The Yahoo Boys is a fascinating and important exploration, one that is full of warmth and empathy.
Carlos Barragán has constructed something that is both intimately personal and globally relevant." --Dipo Faloyin, author of Africa Is Not a Country "[Anipo Faloyin, author of Africa Is Not a Country "[Anipo Faloyin, author of Africa Is Not a Country "[An a technically sophisticated, emotionally acute, and sociologically wise exploration of a shadow economy driven by devices, loneliness, and global inequality. It''s an enviable feat of reportage and writing--as intrepid as it is sympathetic." --Gideon Lewis-Kraus, staff writer at The New Yorker and author of A Sense of Direction "Barragán brings a surprising depth and empathy to The Yahoo Boys, to the tin roofs and traffic jams of Lagos, the SIM cards and Apple IDs that buttress this edifice of deceit. He''s gone rappelling into the bottomless pit that surrounds desire. The result is a compassionate, elegant, unsettling book." --Dan Piepenbring, Harper''s "An empathetic, humanizing deep dive." -- Louisa Ermelino, People " The Yahoo Boys is a fascinating and important exploration, one that is full of warmth and empathy.
Carlos Barragán has constructed something that is both intimately personal and globally relevant." --Dipo Faloyin, author of Africa Is Not a Country "[Anipo Faloyin, author of Africa Is Not a Country "[Anthing that is both intimately personal and globally relevant." --Dipo Faloyin, author of Africa Is Not a Country "[Anipo Faloyin, author of Africa Is Not a Country "[An] outstanding debut . most noteworthy for its affecting humanization of both the Yahoo Boys . It''s a remarkably empathetic view of both sides of the con." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Carlos Barragán traveled to Lagos, Nigeria in search of the con artist who had romanced his divorced mother and found himself submerged.