King of Heists
The Sensational Bank Robbery of 1878 That Shocked America
-
-
4.0 • 2 Ratings
-
-
- $9.99
-
- $9.99
Publisher Description
ANOTHER TRUE CRIME STORY FROM J. NORTH CONWAY—NOW IN PAPERBACK!The riveting story of one of America’s most notorious crimes and the mysterious man behind it “Engrossing. . . . Conway skillfully paints a backdrop of fierce and flamboyant personalities who paraded across the Gilded Age. . . . [H]e capably recounts his story against a background of glitter and greed.” —Publishers Weekly “A page-turning account of one of the most brazen crimes of our time.” —Reader’s Digest “Conway, a college prof and ex-newspaper man, covers this ancient tale in a way that makes it feel like a hot news story.” —New York Post King of Heists is a spellbinding and unprecedented account of the greatest bank robbery in American history, which took place on October 27, 1878, when thieves broke into the Manhattan Savings Institution and stole nearly $3 million in cash and securities—around $50 million in today’s terms. Bringing the notorious Gilded Age to life in a thrilling narrative, J. North Conway tells the story of those who plotted and carried out this infamous robbery, how they did it, and how they were tracked down and captured. The robbery was planned to the minutest detail by criminal mastermind George Leonidas Leslie—a society architect and ladies’ man whose double life as the nation’s most prolific bank robber led him to be dubbed the “King of the Bank Robbers.” An absorbing tale of greed, sex, crime, betrayal, and murder, King of Heists blends all the richness of history with the thrills of the best fiction.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Conway (American Literacy) relates the engrossing tale of "the greatest bank robbery in American history." The central figure is architect George Leslie, who was 27 when he arrived in Manhattan in 1869 seeking success and adventure. With impeccable manners and good looks, Leslie led a double life, inserting himself into the Gilded Age city's most elite circles, while assembling a gang of "the cleverest criminals in New York City's underworld" to carry out a series of bank robberies. His biggest was the October 27, 1878, theft from the Manhattan Savings Institution of some $3 million in cash and securities (the equivalent of $50 million today). Conway skillfully paints a backdrop of fierce and flamboyant personalities who paraded across the Gilded Age, from Brooklyn Bridge engineer John Roebling to Marm Mandelbaum, "queen of the criminals." The author overstates his claim to be following in John Dos Passos's footsteps in quoting real newspaper headlines and stories of the period as well as song lyrics, but he capably recounts his story against a background of glitter and greed.
