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Outlaw: Author Armed & Dangerous
Memoirs of celebrated criminals purvey vivid personal stories while spawning sharp questions about the cultures that produced them. In Outlaw: Author Armed & Dangerous, Rédoine Faïd, of Algerian immigrant parents, born and raised in the housing projects surrounding Paris, recounts his career as an infamous and renowned bandit. Drawing inspiration and instruction from a host of films and television series, Faïd styled himself and was known to friends and accomplices as "Doc" — after Steve McQueen in the legendary suspense thriller, The Getaway.
With self-discipline and a striking ability to learn from experience, Faïd carried off his first robberies while still a teenager. He soon graduated from petty thievery to armed robbery, targeting computer component suppliers, jewelry stores, banks, and most memorably, armored trucks. A master of disguise, with bulletproof vest and a .357 Magnum as a prop to encourage compliance, he led a crew that operated with careful planning but eschewed bloodshed and physical violence.
In imitation of Michael Mann's Heat, Faïd and his cohorts donned hockey masks for one job, sometimes even quoting from other famous heist films during their capers. When bold plans went wrong, he reacted with fast thinking that served him well — until it didn't, and he was arrested and imprisoned in 1998.
Outlaw was first published in France in 2009, after which Faïd was imprisoned again. Subsequently, his dramatic escapes from jail, in 2013 and 2018, made front-page news in France and around the world.
Interviewed by journalist Jérôme Pierrat, who specializes in crime and investigative reportage, Rédoine Faïd tells his own story with panache and humor, darkened by introspection and cautionary tales. His story, like that of a character out of a Jean-Pierre Melville film or Dassin's Rififi, is not only intriguing, it is also as compelling as any high-grade thriller. Three months after his daring helicopter escape from Réau Prison in 2018, Faïd was captured again. He currently remains in jail.
With self-discipline and a striking ability to learn from experience, Faïd carried off his first robberies while still a teenager. He soon graduated from petty thievery to armed robbery, targeting computer component suppliers, jewelry stores, banks, and most memorably, armored trucks. A master of disguise, with bulletproof vest and a .357 Magnum as a prop to encourage compliance, he led a crew that operated with careful planning but eschewed bloodshed and physical violence.
In imitation of Michael Mann's Heat, Faïd and his cohorts donned hockey masks for one job, sometimes even quoting from other famous heist films during their capers. When bold plans went wrong, he reacted with fast thinking that served him well — until it didn't, and he was arrested and imprisoned in 1998.
Outlaw was first published in France in 2009, after which Faïd was imprisoned again. Subsequently, his dramatic escapes from jail, in 2013 and 2018, made front-page news in France and around the world.
Interviewed by journalist Jérôme Pierrat, who specializes in crime and investigative reportage, Rédoine Faïd tells his own story with panache and humor, darkened by introspection and cautionary tales. His story, like that of a character out of a Jean-Pierre Melville film or Dassin's Rififi, is not only intriguing, it is also as compelling as any high-grade thriller. Three months after his daring helicopter escape from Réau Prison in 2018, Faïd was captured again. He currently remains in jail.
264 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2020
109 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 5, 2025
A window into the world of a high-stakes thief & choosing a life of crime. While I initially chose this book because I am intrigued by jailed criminals who use helicopters to escape (seemingly not that uncommon, especially in France), the book didn't cover that era of Faïd's life other than in a post-note. Action movies (Heat, Scarface, Reservoir Dogs, etc.) are referenced often by Faïd & I think he aims to please in a similar manner -- a "big" job from the planning through execution & beyond; an over-the-top, exciting story; a "likeable"/wise/relatable criminal; an overall fun ride. You know you are being conned by his stories but they are still entertaining. While Faïd is currently in jail for the next few decades, I wouldn't be surprised to hear of him escaping yet again. 3.5 stars.
December 14, 2020
"Lesson of the day: fucked-up human resources! And a problem that would never end because in this line of work, good thieves are hard to find…" (p 81).
"In the end we got to know all the guards and gave them each a nickname: Mustache, Baldy, Fatso, Babar, Jean Carmet" (p. 103).
"Arabs and Jews, in terms of the thief-ocracy, worked hand in hand, and it's too bad that in politics they don't find a way to get along just as well! Even politicians got into debating why the Israeli and Palestinian mafias got along like brothers" (p. 116).
"Every gangster needs to know somebody honest who has a place where he can sleep or leave papers and things" (p. 118).
"You can admire thieves who do the right thing in prison or out, but those types are very, very few. The ones who are on the up and up, who don't talk shit, I won't fucking lie to you, are very few" (p. 201).
"In the courtroom during the hearing, the armored truck guards waved to me. One of them would leave his address with my lawyer that I might write to him. He'd found me to be decent: the Stockholm Syndrome is more powerful than you can imagine" (pp. 219–20).
"'Freedom is not given,' said Peter Kropotkin. 'It's taken.' In prison, I read books, too" (p. 230).
"In the end we got to know all the guards and gave them each a nickname: Mustache, Baldy, Fatso, Babar, Jean Carmet" (p. 103).
"Arabs and Jews, in terms of the thief-ocracy, worked hand in hand, and it's too bad that in politics they don't find a way to get along just as well! Even politicians got into debating why the Israeli and Palestinian mafias got along like brothers" (p. 116).
"Every gangster needs to know somebody honest who has a place where he can sleep or leave papers and things" (p. 118).
"You can admire thieves who do the right thing in prison or out, but those types are very, very few. The ones who are on the up and up, who don't talk shit, I won't fucking lie to you, are very few" (p. 201).
"In the courtroom during the hearing, the armored truck guards waved to me. One of them would leave his address with my lawyer that I might write to him. He'd found me to be decent: the Stockholm Syndrome is more powerful than you can imagine" (pp. 219–20).
"'Freedom is not given,' said Peter Kropotkin. 'It's taken.' In prison, I read books, too" (p. 230).
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews