HEIST: An Inside Look at the World's 100 Greatest Heists, Cons, and Capers

by Pete Stegemeyer, Rebecca Pry (Illustrator)

Unlock the cultural obsession with high-stakes robberies in Heist, a collection of the world's greatest real-life break-ins. From the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum's famous art heist to the disappearance of the Marie Antoinette watch, these 100% true stories will have you on the edge of your seat--and double checking the locks on your doors! Have you ever watched a movie like Ocean's Eleven and There's no way that could ever actually happen, right? Wrong. In the US alone, there have been dozens, if not hundreds, of heists, from bank break-ins to museum plunders. In this premium compendium, we'll walk through the most impressive ones, diving into the details behind each case, the detectives that led the investigations, how the events unfolded, and what mysteries remain. The hardcover book will explore the top 50 incidents, 1. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Heist : In March of 1990, two men dressed up as police officers and sweet-talked their way past security at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, MA. After tying up the real guards, these men dismantled and packed up 13 works of art, loaded them onto a truck, and drove off into the night, making the 81- minute breach one of the most expensive in modern history. Today, it remains the single largest property theft in the world. 2. The Great Train Robbery : Not all heists happen in buildings. In fact, one of the most popular ones was the 1963 train robbery in which nearly 2.6 million pounds was lifted from a Royal Mail train headed to London. Using intel provided by a man on the inside dubbed The Ulsterman, the group rigged the railways traffic light system to bring the train to an extended stop, during which time, they funneled the money from one of the carriages into a waiting truck by way of a human chain. 3. The French Bank Vault Tunnelers : On the morning of July 19, 1976, workers from a safe manufacturing company were called to the Société Générale bank to fix a faulty vault door that appeared to be jammed. When they drilled into the vault and peered in to diagnose the problem, though, what they found was not a loose screw or broken hinge, but a door that has been welded shut...from the inside. Also scattering the room was a couple of wine glasses, a portable stove, and a giant tunnel system that proved to be the method of transport for thieves, who had dug their way into the bank, spent the weekend there, and left with ten million in cash. 4. D. B. Cooper's Escapades : The subject of many conspiracy theories, D. B. Cooper (not his real name) hopped on a Boeing 727 in a trench coat and sunglasses in 1971. When the plane had reached cruising altitude, Cooper hijacked it, extorting 200,000 dollars before strapping on a parachute, jumping out of the plane, and disappearing into thin air. This aerial heist remains unsolved to this day and remains one of the FBI's most frustrating open cases. 5. The Botched Crown Jewels of England Theft : Back in 1671, a man named Thomas Blood (a cool name, by any standard) Eh, I'm gonna steal the Crown Jewels. He reached out to Talbot Edwards, the keeper of the stones, with a if you give me a private viewing of the gemstones, I'll have my nephew marry your daughter (a nephew who, naturally, turned out to not exist). At this private viewing, Blood knocked out Talbot, smashed the jewels into pieces and threw the shards into his pockets, hoping to make a run for it. Though he didn't manage to escape, he did manage to escape jail The King at the time was so amused by this failed attempt that he let Blood off scot-free. And that's just the start of it. Plastered with gorgeous photography and big, sleek pages, Heist looks as good as it is captivating. Crack the code of the world's most elusive capers, from the popular tales your great grandad told you about to the ones that have been long forgotten.

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook, Crime, History

224 pages, Hardcover

Published October 19, 2021

Reviews

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun read.

[Keith Bruton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book by Pete Stegemeyer. I had so much fun reading all the many heists from around the world. The book covers heists in banks, on planes, boats, trains, museums, online and many more.
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Fans of heist movies will love this read!

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

This nifty little book was very entertaining to read. The author describes in the narrative the best known and largest heists throughout the world dating back to medieval times. Also included in the book are a variety of illustrations that complement the text well. The thing I liked most about the book, though, was that the publisher agreed to plant one tree for every ten copies of the book they sold. Very cool!!

[Becky Ginther · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book about some crazy heists. I enjoyed hearing some of the more interesting stories, and some were so unbelievable I found myself constantly talking about it to others as I was reading ("did you know about this XYZ robbery?? Let me tell you all about it!).

Some are historic, some are much more recent. Maybe this weekend's jewel heist from the Llouvre will make it into the next edition...

[Teresa Liebl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so informative and just a really cool book. It covered my absolute favorite heist (I'm talking about you DB) and tons that I didn't even know about before. I will definitely be reading more about some of them. The only thing I didn't like about this book was the teeny tiny 5 point font. I needed my glasses plus a bright light plus a magnifying glass to even read it. Maybe I'm too old for tiny writing. This was a very good book anyway. Maybe I will check out the author's podcast. I've never listened to one before. His would be a good one to start with probably.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun compilation full of heist stories for those of us who enjoy true crime but get weighed down by the constant barrage of murder stories. It was nice to explore details of some of the world’s best known heists along with many lesser known ones.

I was not familiar with the author’s podcast prior to reading this, but might give it a listen now. I found his narrative style to be light and enjoyable, making this book a quick read.

[Rich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed it. The author gives compelling accounts of some of the most famous heists in history. Also has little blurbs covering "tools of the trade." You can feel their enthusiasm for the subject in the writing. Easy, entertaining read.

[Krista | theliterateporcupine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an Entertaining Overview into the most famous heists from around the world. From the Ancient Romans trying to steal a river to remote hackers gaining access to Bitcoin, this Short book had it all. The narrator was absolutely horrendous.

Thanks to libro.fm for an ALC.

[Mehmed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed these stories. A perfect way to end the evening in bed when you are too tired to read a full chapter of your normal book and want something light and easy.

[Madi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book on sale, and glad I did. It was interesting, but had a few typos throughout that I couldn’t ignore.

[Andi Argo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun, Quick Look at lots of heists in the past, some of which worked, and some that definitely didn’t.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook

There was a lot in this book. Some was interesting. Would have liked to get more detail about some of these heists.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative but the ending is a bit abrupt