The Art of the Heist: Confessions of a Master Thief

The Art of the Heist: Confessions of a Master Thief

Myles J. Connor, Jr., Jenny Siler
$18.99
Publication Date: September 7th, 2010
Publisher:
Harper Perennial
ISBN:
9780061672293
Pages:
304
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Description

“One of the most beguiling criminal memoirs ever written. . . . A rare gem of a book.” — T. J. English, New York Times bestselling author of Havana Nocturne

How did the son of a decorated policeman grow up to be one of Boston’s most notorious criminals? How did he survive a decades-long feud with the FBI? How did he escape one jail sentence with a fake gun carved out of soap? How did he trade the return of a famous Rembrandt for early release from another sentence? The Art of the Heist is a roller-coaster ride of a life, the memoir of America’s most infamous art thief Myles Connor.

Once a promising young rock musician, the son of a respected policeman, Myles Connor became one of Boston’s most well-known criminals—a legendary art thief with irresistible charm and a genius IQ whose approach to his chosen profession mixed brilliant tactical planning with stunning bravado, brazen disguises, audaciously elaborate con jobs, and even the broad-daylight grab-and-dash. New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Institution, Boston’s Museum of Fine Art . . . no museum was off-limits. The fact that he was in jail at the time of the largest art theft in American history—the still-unsolved robbery of the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum—has not stopped the FBI from considering him a prime suspect. The Art of the Heist is Connor’s story—part confession, part thrill ride, and impossible to put down.

About the Author

Myles J. Connor grew up in Milton, Massachusetts, the son of a decorated policeman. During the 1960s and '70s he was the leader of a successful Boston rock-and-roll band, Myles and the Wild Ones. He robbed his first museum when he was twenty years old. Shortly after, he gained notoriety for his daring escape from a Maine jail, and for his involvement in a dramatic shoot-out with Boston police. Connor has planned and executed numerous bank robberies and museum heists, several of which are told here for the first time.

Coauthor Jenny Siler, the author of six novels, first met Myles in the fall of 2007. Together, Jenny and Myles have interviewed many eyewitnesses to the events described in the book. For help in reconstructing and corroborating Myles's story, Jenny has combed through numerous documents, including newspaper archives, police reports, court records, transcripts of FBI interviews, and personal correspondence.

Praise for The Art of the Heist: Confessions of a Master Thief

“A gripping tell-all . . . The arc of Connor’s story—the son of a police officer, growing up with a love of the finer things that landed him on the other side of the law—is cinematic, and his book offers a fascinating look inside the mind of an unrepentant criminal.” — Washington Post

“The Art of the Heist is one of the most beguiling criminal memoirs ever written. Myles was a theif, a gun smuggler, and a first-class reprobate, but he is also what the Irish call a seanchie, a storyteller of the hightest order. To anyone interested in the criminal life or a good yarn, this is a rare gem of a book.” — T. J. English, New York Times bestselling author of Havana Nocturne and Paddy Whacked: The Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster

“Connor offers a dizzying account of bank robberies, museum break-ins, drug deals, and violent brushes with the law during a lifetime of thumbing his nose at authority. . . . a glimpse of the world through the eyes of a man who was willing to risk everything, even his own life, for a challenging score.” — Boston Globe

“From his daring 1965 jail break at age 22 to his legendary career pilfering treasures from museums all over New England, Connor’s life is the stuff of adventure novels.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Unapologetic about the thrill of a robbery . . . Connor offers never-revealed details of how he stole and then returned the Museum of Fine Art’s Rembrandt” — The Patriot Ledger