Under the Streets of Nice

by Ken Follett, Rene L. Maurice, Roddy McDowall (Narrator)

In 1976, Albert Spaggiari robbed a bank in Nice by digging a tunnel from the city sewer system into the bank. He and his gang cleared out $8-10 million in gold, jewelry, gems and cash reserves. Spaggieri, after escaping from the French police, retired to a ranch in Argentina. In 1989, Spaggiari again made the international headlines when he died mysteriously, never revealing the location of the loot. Follett and Maurice deliver the breathtakingly compelling story of Spaggiari and the most outrageous theft of the century. 4 cassettes.

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook, Crime, History, True Crime, Mystery, Thriller

Audio Cassette

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Ken Follett is one of the world’s most successful authors. Over 170 million copies of the 36 books he has written have been sold in over 80 countries and in 33 languages.

Born on June 5th, 1949 in Cardiff, Wales, the son of a tax inspector, Ken was educated at state schools and went on to graduate from University College, London, with an Honours degree in Philosophy – later to be made a Fellow of the College in 1995.

He started his career as a reporter, first with his hometown newspaper the South Wales Echo and then with the London Evening News. Subsequently, he worked for a small London publishing house, Everest Books, eventually becoming Deputy Managing Director.

Ken’s first major success came with the publication of Eye of the Needle in 1978. A World War II thriller set in England, this book earned him the 1979 Edgar Award for Best Novel from the Mystery Writers of America. It remains one of Ken’s most popular books.

In 1989, Ken’s epic novel about the building of a medieval cathedral, The Pillars of the Earth, was published. It reached number one on best-seller lists everywhere and was turned into a major television series produced by Ridley Scott, which aired in 2010. World Without End, the sequel to The Pillars of the Earth, proved equally popular when it was published in 2007.

Ken’s new book, The Evening and the Morning, will be published in September 2020. It is a prequel to The Pillars of the Earth and is set around the year 1,000, when Kingsbridge was an Anglo-Saxon settlement threatened by Viking invaders.

Ken has been active in numerous literacy charities and was president of Dyslexia Action for ten years. He was chair of the National Year of Reading, a joint initiative between government and businesses. He is also active in many Stevenage charities and is President of the Stevenage Community Trust and Patron of Home-Start Hertfordshire.

Ken, who loves music almost as much as he loves books, is an enthusiastic bass guitar player. He lives in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, with his wife Barbara, the former Labour Member of Parliament for Stevenage. Between them they have five children, six grandchildren and two Labradors.

Reviews

[Fil · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-researched account of a bank heist in Nice in 1976. The narrator didn’t miss a single opportunity to butcher any French word with his exaggerated pronunciations.

[Brendon Lowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting tale of Europes largest bank robbery and its leader, Albert Spaggiari which netted10 million in gold, cash and jewelry. The twists continue due to Spaggiari's escape from a courtroom and his taunting of police trying to catch him in the pursuant decades. He never was located until after his death and the majority of the 10 million never recovered.

Its a quick read with fast pacing however nothing overly special about the writing that will make it more memorable.

[Zen Ghost Bookworm · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sad. This is really a good story, but lacks the little things like scene, character and dialogue. This was told like a newspaper article. Dry and flat. it is a little like having someone read a court transcript to you, or a police report. Interesting details, humorous situations, but no life breathed into this at all.

[Tim · Rating 2 out of 5]

The true story of the biggest bank heist of the 20th century, told by Ken Follett? It sure sounds like a recipe for a winner of a book, but alas, this one didn't deliver. Follett's books usually are filled with good action and intrigue, even if he has to fall back on some old formulas to do so. He was only the co-author for this though, and somehow the story just came off as "blah." It was mildly interesting, but I couldn't garner any attachment for the main characters, and it felt like more of a textbook than a literary experience. On the plus side, it was short.

[Simona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read, a real event told from a literary perspective, the bank robbery of a century, most of the stolen goods never recovered, the presumed brain behind it also playing cat and mouse with the authorities and quickly becoming a public favourite for his antics. I started reading it because I believed it was a Ken Follett book, but it turns out he only translated it from the original French. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it very much.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was very boring. Not at all what I expect from Ken Follett

[Rita Terlizzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

"La grande rapina di Nizza" di Ken Follett & René Louis Maurice

Newton Compton Editori, 1996
192 pagine
📚 Genere: Narrativa, Thriller
⭐⭐⭐⭐

"Mentre alcuni funzionari preparano un elenco di tutti gli oggetti rinvenuti un altro gruppo li infila in grandi sacchi di plastica. [...] Attrezzi, titoli di credito e gioielli abbandonati riempiono in tutto trentacinque sacchi di plastica..." 🧐

Di cosa parliamo?! Beh, della grande rapina di Nizza, la grande rapina commessa ai danni di una delle più importanti banche francesi, la Société Générale, nel luglio del 1976 da una banda di malviventi guidati da Albert Spaggiari, criminale e militare francese di origine italiana.
Il libro ricostruisce le vicende della grande rapina di Nizza, è un libro di Ken Follett (ma lui smentisce 🤔) e di René Louis Maurice, un nome che in realtà è lo pseudonimo formato dall'unione dei nomi di battesimo dei tre giornalisti (René, Louis, Maurice) che avendo seguito i fatti all'epoca, collaborarono insieme per la scrittura del manoscritto!

"I calcoli di Guenet, di Bigou e del commissario capo sono
necessariamente approssimativi.
Ma per quanto approssimativi, non osano pronunciarne il risultato a voce alta: circa sessanta milioni di
franchi, ma potrebbero essere anche cento. E' la più grossa rapina in
banca di tutti i tempi..."

Infatti la "grande rapina" fu definita tale per quanto fu rubato in quel weekend di luglio, il bottino superava i cento milioni di franchi dell'epoca, e poi, per la modalità, dato che "i topi delle fogne" entrarono nel sotterraneo della banca tramite una galleria scavata dalla fogna della città fino alla parete del caveau, lavorandoci per ben due mesi, da maggio e giugno senza mai fermarsi 🧐 e senza essere scoperti.
La grande rapina di Nizza è un romanzo che da tempo immemorabile avevo in libreria, in realtà è un reportage narrativo, i fatti raccontati sono un mix tra realtà e finzione, ricostruisce molto bene uno dei più audaci colpi del secolo scorso, non conoscevo minimamente questa incredibile storia, ma l'ho trovata proprio interessante e coinvolgente.
Consiglio 👍🏻

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this look at a "heist of the century" occurring in the early 70s. A bank vault in a highly secure and trusted bank was broken into. A Monday morning opening of the vault could not occur because the door seemed to be jammed. A team of police brought in to break into the vault to see what had occurred to block the door, discovered that this impregnable vault had indeed been breached and looted by a group of resilient burglars who had tunneled into the vault.
The story gives you the background on the plan and the implementation of the break-in. The things that went wrong for the investigators and the fact that no one really served any real jail time because nothing could ever really be proved.
A french accented individual reads the story which lends atmosphere to the story. Since I am not familiar with the city in which this took place the recitation of the streets and locations were not that important to me. The story was amazing and at time very funny, at least if you were not one of the bank staff or the police.

[J Godwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chose this book because it was listed under Ken Follet, not realizing till after that he only translated from French. But the story was so well-written and interesting that I couldn't put it down. Of course, the crime of the century is certainly an interesting topic to begin with. The author obviously put in a lot of research and interviews to try to pin down the real story, given that the few eyewitnesses that hadn't flown the country were involved in the crime and likely prone to lie about it, including Spagiarri himself. I especially liked the epilogue, in which the author explored some of the local theories regarding the investigation foul-ups including some theories of his own.

Tried to watch the movie online after I finished, but apparently it is not popular enough to be on any download site I could find. May have to order the DVD...bummed!

[Sherron Wahrheit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, what a story. But it lacked pizzazz. It starts out with drama, meanders into supposition, highlights features of the intricate planning involved, and ..... veers off into blunt court-like deposition, and ends in questions. I like each of those styles, but I didn't like the way it was organized. Unfulfilling like smelling fresh bread baking, then getting a handful of flour, eggs, milk, reading the recipe...and never tasting the bread. Kind of discontinuous. I think it would have been better to lay out the entire drama, then go through the components in q and a format. Who were they? How did the idea arise? Had they done anything similar? Not like a FAQ, but more interactively like a Teri Gross interview. Just an idea. The exposition in this book was unfulfilling.

[Rudy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tenía este libro abandonado en mis estanterías por más de 2 años y por fin me animé a leerlo, curiosamente una vez iniciado no lo pude soltar y fue el dueño de mis pequeños ratos libres.
Como su nombre lo indica, la obra nos narra sobre el gran robo en Nizza a manos de Spaggiaro y sus ratas de alcantarilla, como se presentaba ante la sociedad, si ansía de aventura y libertad.
Fue bastante entretenido, al punto que nada se siente como “relleno” y cada personaje descrito es bastante fácil de imaginar. Lo recomiendo bastante.

[Niki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually really enjoyed this. True crime is not something I normally read, but it was really engaging.

I’m unsure why other reviewers have made comments about the author not being invested in the characters (they’re criminals… not fictional characters) or that it was written like a newspaper article (not sure what newspaper they’re reading, but I’ve never read one as descriptive as this book!)

It’s short, broaden your reading, give it a go!

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable story about an event that had slipped my notice. Very interesting detail on how the robbers went about their crime. The crime appeared to be well planned, but afterwards “loose lips” ended up aiding the police. Some parts of the story (at least at the time of writing) still remain a mystery.

[Sherry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a recitation of a unique bank robbery that occurred in Nice France. It is a true story and is told in a relatively perfunctory manner. It tells about the person that master minded the robbery, about the planning, preparation, the things that went wrong that got the master mind caught and then the outcome that is unusual. Interesting topic and event but not as interestingly told.

[Kate Workman · Rating 2 out of 5]

This could have been a really interesting story, but the writing made it boring. Maybe my expectations were too high, since Ken Follett is so popular. And to be fair, this book is 50 years old and the writing is definitely dated. So that's part of it. It was also one of his first books, so I may still give him another chance.

[Michael Bruner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a newsy-style retelling of this bank robbery. It's a nice audiobook listen if you are a commuter or spending 4 or 5 hours in the car. It's NOT a Ken Follett work; he merely did a rush English translation of the original in 1978 and it was later marketed as if it was his work.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a big Ken Follett fan and thought I’d read most of his works. Obviously not. He has added his literary flair to a true crime story, which in itself is hugely interesting and Follet's skill has promoted it to a 5* performance.

[Edy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind I remember hearing/reading about a huge heist in the South of France, but I really didn't know anything about it. Maurice (as translated by Follett) details how Albert Spaggiari planned and executed the crime.

[Udayachandran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story about the the most lucrative, ingenious bank heist that happened in Nice during 1976. The plot was about how Albert Spaggiara engineered the robbery successfully also escaped during his trial, never to be seen again until his mysterious death.

[Clay Greer · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s ok but there just isn’t enough of a story here to be overly interesting. If you’ve seen a documentary or read a magazine article on this robbery then you aren’t going to get much more than you already know.

[Laurie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A true crime book on the “heist of the century” in the 70’s in Nice, France. The bank burglary was ingenious and the facts interesting, but the story delivery was just ho hum. It was like a news article rather than a fascinating retelling.

[Sean Harding · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat interesting account of robbery in Nice, France of which I had not heard about, and with an ending I didn't expect either. I'm sure there are many more secrets that have never been revealed in this tale.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just meh. Not the Ken Follett read I was hoping for. I recall hearing about this when I was in college. It was pretty cut and dry with not a lot of character development. It was a short read so if nothing else, it helped me towards my 2022 Reading Challenge goal!!

[Joan Osborne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most spectacular, richest bank heist in the world. This story is so engrossing, so spell binding, so intriguing as visual in the way it’s written. The Nice police were not at all competent and the mastermind Spaggiari, was so lucky.

[Ron · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's terrific story but the telling of it was little dull for me. I listened to the audio book, read by Roddy McDowell, and it was a decent way to pass a long drive. I love Roddy and his body of work but the reading was just a little too dramatic for me. He was superb with all the French terms.

[Roberta Westwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good heist story

I am always intrigued by heists, how they are pulled off, and how they are solved. This one starts by describing how they pulled off the job, which took a bit of the intrigue away, but it was still good. A surprise ending. A surprisingly quick listen.

[Beth Snyder · Rating 4 out of 5]

True story of a bank heist in Nice, France. Parts of it were a bit dry. Overall interesting.

[Tracy Hanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick fun read. Ingenious thieves!!!

[Larry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Made a good audio book while I was on the treadmill. Interesting but not the type of book I would read if it were longer.

[Book Bunny · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,75 bunnies