Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

The Old Man and the Gun: And Other Tales of True Crime

Rate this book
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon, a mesmerizing collection of true-crime stories that includes "The Old Man and the Gun"—the inspiration for the movie starring Robert Redford and Sissy Spacek, along with two other riveting tales. "The Old Man and the Gun" is the incredible story of a bank robber and prison escape artist who modeled himself after figures like Pretty Boy Floyd and who, even in his seventies, refuses to retire. "True Crime" follows the twisting investigation of a Polish detective who suspects that a novelist planted clues in his fiction to an actual murder. And "The Chameleon" recounts how a French imposter assumes the identity of a missing boy from Texas and infiltrates the boy's family, only to soon wonder whether he is the one being conned. In this mesmerizing collection, David Grann shows why he has been called a "worthy heir to Truman Capote" and "simply the best narrative nonfiction writer working today," as he takes the reader on a journey through some of the most intriguing and gripping real-life tales from around the world.Look for David Grann’s latest bestselling book, The Wager!

135 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 14, 2018

254 people are currently reading
3444 people want to read

About the author

David Grann

28 books7,429 followers
David Grann is the author of the #1 New York Times bestsellers Killers of the Flower Moon and The Lost City of Z. Killers of the Flower Moon was a finalist for The National Book Award and won an Edgar Allan Poe Award. Look for David Grann’s latest book, The Wager, coming soon!

He is also the author of The White Darkness and the collection The Devil and Sherlock Holmes . Grann's storytelling has garnered several honors, including a George Polk Award. He lives with his wife and children in New York.


Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
429 (19%)
4 stars
927 (41%)
3 stars
730 (32%)
2 stars
122 (5%)
1 star
25 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 229 reviews
Profile Image for Scott.
2,263 reviews269 followers
March 12, 2021
"Society prepares the crime; the criminal commits it." -- historian Henry Thomas Buckle

This book's title and cover art play up the connection to that small gem of a film The Old Man and the Gun - starring the triumvirate of Oscar winners Robert Redford, Sissy Spacek, and Casey Affleck - but that sort of turned out to be a bit of a disservice. Oh, by all means watch the film if you get the chance - I think Redford intends to be his swan song in a starring role performance, since he's now in his mid-80's(!) - but that somewhat fictionalized screen adaptation turned out to be better than the actual true story presented here. On paper, it was just sort of bland. However, the two remaining (and darker) tales rounding out this collection - 'True Crime,' about a quietly tenacious Polish police investigator methodically investigating a difficult homicide case that involves a slippery and arrogant suspect; and 'The Chameleon,' about a weirdo adult French con artist who repeatedly / successfully impersonated young teenagers throughout Europe for over a decade, but got himself stuck in an unfavorable situation once he attempted a particularly audacious swindle in America - were much more interesting, and provided some insight into the mind of sociopathic or psychopathic criminals.
Profile Image for TheBookWarren.
554 reviews221 followers
May 28, 2023
4.25 ⭐️ — This non-fiction story is written like a novel in the sense that it’s narrative is gripping and has that air of mystery about it where you cannot quite put your finger on what’s not being said. Grann does a great job with this and makes it a truly engaging 1-2 Session read that absolutely flys by but also doesn’t leave you feeling cheated or frustrated in any sense such is the way of its staunchly poetic conclusion.

"The Old Man and the Gun" by David Grann is an exceptional story that as mention above, really does manage to seamlessly blend fact & fiction in order to create an enthralling narrative. Grann's impeccable storytelling skills bring to life the captivating world of a notorious bank robber and his daring escapades. This book kept me engrossed from start to finish, and I highly recommend it to anyone seeking an unforgettable reading experience.

The authors meticulous research shows through in the attention to detail, both shine throughout the novel. His ability to delve deep into the mind of the protagonist, Forrest Tucker, and explore the complexities of his character is truly commendable. With each chapter, the author skillfully reveals the inner struggles, motivations, and aspirations of Tucker, making him a deeply compelling and sympathetic figure.

The author's prose is both elegant and accessible, making it effortless to immerse oneself in the story. Grann's vivid descriptions transport the reader to different eras, capturing the essence of the past with remarkable authenticity. From the heart-pounding bank heists to the intimate moments of reflection, every scene is meticulously crafted, keeping readers on the edge of their seats.

Here are three captivating quotes from "The Old Man and the Gun" that beautifully showcase David Grann's talent for storytelling:

"The first time he'd ever tried to rob a bank, he'd thought of it as a game. Now he thought of it as his art. He'd become addicted to it, its improvisations, the way it defied order, the grace it took."
"In Tucker's twilight years, he would embark on a series of robberies that were less about the money and more about making a statement. The more the law tried to catch him, the more he seemed to escape, becoming a modern-day outlaw, a legend in the making."
"Sometimes the line between what was real and what was not became so blurred that Tucker no longer knew where he ended and the world began. The thrill of being a phantom, a shadow, always one step ahead, became his true identity."
"The Old Man and the Gun" is a mesmerizing novel that captures the essence of a bygone era and the indomitable spirit of a man who defied all odds. David Grann's masterful storytelling, combined with his meticulous research, creates an unforgettable reading experience. If you enjoy tales of adventure, redemption, and the allure of the outlaw, this book is an absolute must-read for anyone whom enjoys a good story that’s also based on real-life.
Profile Image for ♥ Sandi ❣	.
1,646 reviews73 followers
December 22, 2018
3.75 stars

My search for the story of The Old Man and the Gun lead me to two separate books. This one and also The Devil and Sherlock Holmes. Both books are short stories analogies.

The Old Man and the Gun has just been released as a Robert Redford movie, said to be his last. After reading the story, I find it a fitting way for Redford to end his acting career.

Based on a true story, Forest Tucker ended his life of crime the way he started it years before, robbing a bank. He was a bank robber and an escape artist. For 50 years, until last caught in 1999, Tucker was either robbing banks or doing his time, and planning another escape. Having escaped 18 times, incarcerated at seventy-nine years old, frail and showing his age, he still indicated that he had one more escape in his future.

Two other short stories accompany The Old Man and the Gun in this book. I enjoyed one of them, the other one not so much. Reading this book did elevate the author, David Gann, in my eyes, for his work in non-fiction, and encourage me to read more by him.
Profile Image for Dan.
1,249 reviews52 followers
October 4, 2024
The Old Man and the Gun by David Grann

Forest Tucker was an 82 year-old bank-robber who once spent time in Alcatraz and had escaped prison fourteen times before. In 1999, he pulled his last bank heist. Ironically he was well off and did not need to rob the bank. He was caught after the heist and given a thirteen year sentence that would have him released in his mid 90s. He died in prison in 2004. He was portrayed in 2010 by Robert Redford in the film of the same name.

In another story, we learn of a Polish author and egomaniac who wrote a sordid fictional book about murder and other grizzly crimes. When the book didn't sell well, he decided to commit a grizzly murder similar to that described in his novel.

In the last story we learn of the Frenchman Frederic Bourdin, called the Chameleon, who says he impersonated hundreds of people in his forty years. His targets included missing children. He went to jail multiple times including a six year prison sentence in Texas in a particularly egregious case. Ironically the family of the missing child in Texas went along with their son's return because they may have had something to do with their real son's disappearance. Multiple films have been made about Bourdin.

4 stars. Overall this short book was a good read. Grann is also the author of the blockbuster book 'Killers of the Flower Moon'.
Profile Image for Rod Brown.
7,396 reviews284 followers
December 24, 2018
I enjoyed the Robert Redford film, so I was happy to see this move tie-in collecting the original New Yorker article on the shelf at the library. In addition to the story about bank robber and escape artist Forrest Tucker, the book includes two additional true-crime tales about Krystian Bala, who was fingered for a murder because he seemed to write a confessional novel of the crime, and Frederic Bourdin, a French professional imposter who went too far when he pretended to be a missing boy from Texas.

All the stories are engaging in a magazine article sort of way, compressing a lot of facts, details, and people into very small spaces. They are tantalizing, leaving you wanting a deeper dive on the subject, so I can see how the movie producers were easily able to embellish and develop a two-hour film out of a mere 30 pages.

My main problem is that reading true crime sometimes makes me feel uncomfortable. While Forrest Tucker's outlaw ways seem almost innocent, the other two stories of missing persons and murder verge on feeling a bit lurid and unseemly by not focusing more on the victims and their survivors.
Profile Image for Repix Pix.
2,558 reviews539 followers
May 25, 2019
¡Qué tres historiones! Me ha encantado.
Profile Image for Mike.
806 reviews26 followers
October 15, 2018
I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I have read some of the author's previous longer works. This one provided the reader with three vignettes on true crimes. I vaguely remembered the stories. Grann provides a factual look at the crimes with interviews with the perpetrators. I was looking for a light read and found a very short, well written book. It was exactly what I was looking for at the time.

This book is a great book for fans of quirky true crime. It is not an in depth look, but it is much deeper and more factual than what is published in the press and put out on the news. I recommend it for any true crime fan who is looking for a quick read.
Profile Image for Michelle Skelton .
454 reviews10 followers
July 23, 2023
What a fun romp! The non-fiction reads as a "you'll never believe this tall tale" true crime caper. Three true crime stories, succinctly told, by a talented, thorough journalist. I was especially entertained by the true story of the most elusive 70 year old bank robber who escaped Alcatraz, stole millions, and broke many hearts. I would almost not believe it if I hadn't already known the story.
Profile Image for Diana.
571 reviews38 followers
January 23, 2025
Very good collection of true crime essays. Murder, identity theft and armed robberies expertly researched and told without melodrama or histrionics. By the author of Killers of the Flower Moon. A quick read like in depth articles from the author’s workplace, The New Yorker.
Profile Image for Jonathan Maas.
Author 31 books367 followers
June 15, 2019
Three quick tales from the master of True Crime, David Grann

Three quick tales, three tales that are now movies.

All of them incredible. I hope to write a full review soon.
Profile Image for Mark Donald.
246 reviews5 followers
December 27, 2022
Christmas present from HD 2022.

Fun and fascinating read! Three crazy stories of true crime.
Profile Image for JZ.
708 reviews93 followers
March 19, 2019
I found all three stories fascinating, not because they were new to me, (none were) but because of the amount of detail that they covered.

It's difficult to hit a happy medium between the briefness of a story designed for consumption by young adults, something longer for busy people who like the facts, and those who have all the time in the world to pursue every fact ever found about a criminal, a la Ann Rule's books.

I personally don't want a list of every band that Forrest Tucker robbed, or every date. I don't need more detail on how he broke out of the easier jails. As with "Dark Waters", when I felt that the details of the Christmas party in the submarine went on just about 20 pages too long.

This was a pleasant read: well-written, concise, with no purple prose or needless repetition. (See my recent review of Michael Capuzzo's "The Murder Room.") What a relief. Bravo!
Profile Image for Sungyena.
667 reviews128 followers
June 18, 2025
This walked so his big books could run. This is what’s fascinating to read a beloved writer’s entire body of work: see the dna in them all; a stoic but nonetheless sympathetic current of humanism unearthing the depths of the human soul in struggle. More open ended, smaller/slightly less devastating stories of ppl living in the margins.
Profile Image for Trux.
389 reviews103 followers
February 24, 2020
Entertaining & interesting. I read it because my wife wants to see the movie. Realized partway in that the middle story is one we started watching / knew a little bit about from a true crime tv show.
Profile Image for John.
1,692 reviews130 followers
July 18, 2024
Three short stories about true crime. An American geriatric holdup man on which a film was made starring Robert Redford in 2010. Forrest Tucker wanted fame and had a career of robbing banks dressing well and being polite.

The second story was about a Polish murderer who murdered someone he thought was having an affair with his wife. He also was a writer who published a book in which a Polish detective picked up similarities with the brutal murder. Bala Krystian book Amok was a Crime and Punishment with sadistic sexual practices and horrific content.

The Chameleon is about a Frenchman Frederic Bourdin who impersonated teenagers and ended up in Texas pretending to be a missing boy. Very odd and bizarre that for five months he lived with the missing boys family before being discovered.

Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction.
Profile Image for TJ Wilson.
589 reviews6 followers
April 15, 2020
Actually, the titular story is not as good as the other three.

But, so good. Great writing and reporting by Mr. Grann. Becoming one of my favorite writers.
Profile Image for Molly.
74 reviews
March 25, 2024
A collection of true crime short stories written by the best author in true crime / historical nonfiction. Each story was more absurd than the one that came before it. I want more.
28 reviews
July 28, 2023
These stories are so ridiculous. I can't believe they're true!
Profile Image for Justin.
561 reviews50 followers
May 13, 2025
David Grann is an incredible nonfiction writer that I've come to really enjoy. This particular book, however, wasn't great. While it's titular short story was probably my least favorite (I found it a tad boring), True Crime and The Chameleon were at least pretty interesting. Even still, nothing too spectacular, just a pretty average 3 star book.
6 reviews
January 25, 2019
In just 133 pages, David Grann unveiled three criminals and their honest criminal histories. The Old Man and the Gun and Other Tales of True Crime includes three stories written in the perspective of a reporter. The first story is the main focus of the book’s title, telling the life of a man named Forrest Tucker. The story is only told in a brief 36 pages of the book, but David Grann’s is able to indulge the reader in the fast pace format and fully develop the character of Tucker as well as explain his crimes in more than enough detail. Grann employs an exquisite talent in descriptive writing, for his precise retelling holds no need for examples and redundant explanations. He gains the trust of the reader by including loads of information about the crimes from outside sources and from the criminal themselves, which showcases the substantial amount of research and effort Grann must have invested in his work. This also holds true in the latter stories of the book. The second story tell of a homicide in Poland, which is one thing I really enjoyed about this book; the author does not submit to only one country or part of the world, instead he spreads his knowledge to crimes across the Atlantic that the reader may be less familiar with. The meticulous details and processes that David Grann explained in this story entice the reader to really ponder the actions of characters and the unexplainable functions of their minds. Lastly, Grann tells the story of a French man, who, for the sake of avoiding spoilers, commit crimes of fraud through his identity. This story was a perfect ending to the book because of its insanity.
The stories in this book are some of the most absurd and yet amazing crimes ever committed, and Grann’s style of retelling made it even more captivating. One hundred and thirty-three pages is already short, but after reading the book it felt even shorter as I longed for more. Learning about such bizarre events opened my eyes to the creativity of crime. For future reference, as soon as you think you’ve heard it all, stop thinking and read.
1,893 reviews50 followers
September 30, 2018
This book consists of a handful of articles about true crime. A bank robber with a talent for escaping from prisons (usually only for a very short time), a French man who made a career out of pretending to be an abandoned teen in order to receive services from child-care departments in various countries, a Polish writer-wannabe-philosopher, whose only published work seems to corroborate the circumstantial evidence linking him to the murder of a businessman, those are the themes. The topics are interesting, but the writing is no more than OK. These seem to be journalistic pieces dashed off on a deadline, when it was more important to get the reporting straight (these criminals love to be mysterious about their past) than to buff up the writing.
Profile Image for Café de Tinta.
560 reviews186 followers
September 19, 2019
Curiosa recopilación de relatos, que me han permitido conocer mejor estos casos y me han invitado a buscar más información sobre ellos.
Profile Image for Shaie F.
237 reviews10 followers
January 1, 2024
I think the plea of the wife of the murder victim summarizes my reaction to these three stories, “At the trial, Janiszewski’s widow pleaded with the press to stop making Bala out of be an artist rather than a murderer.”
I’m probably not the target audience for these stories. I don’t find criminals sympathetic or stylish, especially when they hurt other people to achieve their ends. The Frenchman who pretended to be the long-lost son of a Texas family so he could escape Interpol? Not okay. The twisted philosophy student who tortured a man to death and then celebrates his artistic flair in doing so? Not okay. Even the eponymous old man with the gun who robs banks and marries women under a fake name, making them think he is a great family man before they find out he is a lying thief? Not okay.
I found the stories themselves intriguing, and the study of the criminal mind fascinating, but there are too many victims in the wake of these crimes to make me feel anything but disgust for the perpetrators.
Profile Image for A. Felipe Martínez.
101 reviews4 followers
May 20, 2025
¡Uuuufff!

Luego de leer 'Los Asesinos de la Luna' quedé encantado con Grann.
Así que pacientemente esperé el siguiente que cayera en mis manos y así fue. Una exploración, breve a mi parecer y por eso 4/5 ⭐️😅, de cómo el alma humana adquiere un matiz casi de película. lo que no deja de ser un poco inquietante al caer en cuenta de dudar realmente quién es el que tengo a mi lado.
Todos tenemos un lado oscuro que no le enseñamos a nadie y entre estos tres relatos que se suceden ('El viejo y la pistola", 'Misterio de un asesinato posmodernidad' y 'El camaleón') hacían que a veces mi capacidad de asombro me revolviera el estómago. Pero no por ellos menos interesantes.
El único pero, como.dije arriba, es que es demasiado corto, y quería más.

Ya me está haciendo ojitos 'La ciudad perdida de Z', pronto estaré allá.
Profile Image for Chuck Sherman.
210 reviews8 followers
February 1, 2024
Only 130 pages, read it in two days. I loved killers of the flower moon and the wager by the same author so I thought I would try this. Consists of three short true crime vignettes each about 60 pages. Kind of disappointing. The stories were interesting but each one is just the facts. Reminded me of one of my former prosecutor colleagues whose method of examining a witness was: “ and then what happened “ “ and then what happened “, “ and then what happened “?
So I wouldn’t recommend this.
Profile Image for Dean Jobb.
Author 33 books244 followers
June 13, 2019
David Grann’s thorough reporting and immersive storytelling make this collection of true crime stories of murder, robbery, prison breaks and confidence tricks - all previously published in The New Yorker - an engrossing read.
Profile Image for Eric Keegan.
Author 11 books23 followers
February 5, 2021
An okay crime read with a fascinating, all too quick first story that was made into the subsequent cinematic hit. The second story held my interest, although was drastically darker in comparison to the first, and the other story didn’t have much appeal to it at all.
29 reviews
July 27, 2021
This was a good book. A little on the short side but all 3 stories are well written. The only one I have never read and/or heard about is the one titled “True Crime”. But all in all a very entertaining read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 229 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.