A good heist

a) I just adore those Ocean's 11 movies. I love a good heist story. cool stuff gets stolen, but no one gets hurt

b) I'm trying to read more non fiction. Just for kicks.

Was at the library the other day, trolling the new releases, and The Art of the Heist leapt off the shelf and into my hands. Its by a dude named Myles Connor, who recently got out of prison. for stealing stuff. like Rembrant paintings.

no kidding.

So in those Ocean's 11 movies, and stories like that, stuff gets stolen, no one gets hurt, hardly anyone gets caught, and no one goes to jail, at least not much.

Myles went to jail. Like, a lot. An avid art and weapons collector, he would do anything to get certain peices for his collection, including stealing them. and there are some bank robberies too. It sounds kind of glamourous, until you realize that Connor and his buddies are packing heat, and although Myles doesn't want to hurt anyone, his cohorts aren't so chivalrous. Great parts about this book involve Connor disguising himself as an art professor to worm his way into museum's back rooms, and his detailed plans for heists. Not so great parts include how he killed time in jail, his horrible character judgement of other people, and the fact that this man is a criminal trying to glamorize what he's done.

so is he a guy who got a bad rap for loving art and weapons too much who deserves a book and a book tour? or is he a spoiled loser who never learned to respect the property of others? not sure.

I haven't read much true crime, or books of this type, so I'm not sure how to digest what I've read. It was a morbidly fascinating read, and Myles Connor is some kind of genius and magnificent actor to get away with the things he's gotten away with. but should it be glamorized? if you can't tell, I'm torn on what to think.