Thieves! - 9781550379327

Ten classic stories about cunning plans and daring escapades.

Of all the crimes that human beings commit, stealing is probably the most common. Thieves!, the latest in the True Stories from the Edge series, brings ten exciting stories of master thieves and their master crimes.

Willie Sutton was casing a bank when he noticed that the manager looked a lot like Sutton himself, so he walked into the vault, loaded up with banknotes, and calmly walked out. D.B. Cooper hijacked a plane, demanded $200,000 in payment, and parachuted from the aircraft. He was never captured.

Other criminals in this book were no less brazen:

• Arthur Barry, the greatest jewel thief in American criminal history
• Vincente Perugia, who boldly stole one of the world's greatest art treasures
• Amil Dinsio, one of the most accomplished bank vault robbers in the U.S.
• Victor Desmarais and Leo Martial, a hapless duo who bungled their getaway
• James Landis, who stole two bricks of freshly printed banknotes from his employer -- the U.S. Treasury
• Adam Worth, the Napoleon of Crime
• the Great Train Robbers, who planned one of the largest heists of all time
• the five heisters of the Great Purolator Caper, whose ineptitude ensured capture

Readers will find nothing but high-stakes action in Thieves!. Though many of the bandits ended their careers broke and disillusioned, these impresarios of crime make for great reading.