Where the Money Is: True Tales from the Bank Robbery Capital of the World [Paperback]

Gordon Dillow (Author), William J. Rehder (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2004

"With the style and pacing of a good novel...should become a standard in the genre."—Publishers Weekly

FBI Special Agent William J. Rehder, the man CBS News once described as "America's secret weapon in the war against bank robbers," chronicles the lives and crimes of bank robbers in today's Los Angeles who are as colorful and exciting as the legends of long ago. The mild-mannered antiques dealer who robbed more banks than anyone else in history. The modern Fagin who took a page out of Dickens and had children rob banks for him. The misfit bodybuilders who used a movie as a blueprint for a spree of violent robberies.

In a fast-paced, hard-edged style that reads like a novel, Where the Money Is carries us through these stories and more—all within a pistol shot of Hollywood, all true-life tales as vivid as anything on the big screen.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With the style and pacing of a good novel, Rehder portrays the great variety of bandits he pursued in his more than 30 years with the FBI, almost all of it in Los Angeles. Reaching a peak in 1992 of 2,641 hits, the number of bank heists in the City of Angels is surprising, as is the small take on most jobs, often under a thousand dollars. The numbers raise questions about what motivates people to go into robbery, and Rehder wisely spends more time discussing the bandits, their psychology and their MOs than he does the minutiae of law enforcement. In fact, he repeatedly describes the FBI strategy as hoping the guy pulls another job and screws up this time. Rehder focuses on five main subjects: the most prolific one-on-one bandit (when a single robber holds up a bank teller) in history, a gang leader who ran takeover jobs using mostly kids, an unapprehended group that tunneled into a Hollywood bank, a bank manager who helped her policeman boyfriend get more than $700,000, and a pair of loners who died in a North Hollywood shootout. He fattens the package with innumerable anecdotes from other heists, as variations on a theme-and the pages turn quickly. Crime reporter Dillow is probably responsible for the gritty turns of phrase, but the book is entirely in the first person, and Rehder himself emerges from the beginning as a compelling and complex character. This should become a standard in the genre.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Retired L.A. FBI agent Rehder chronicles the techniques of modern-day bank robbers, getting much sarcastic mileage from mocking the mistakes made in such heists, which lends his narrative a slangy, streetwise swagger. Denizens of true-crime literature will relish Rehder's undertone of humorous contempt for the stupidity of criminals stymied by time locks, exploding die packs, and silent alarms. Bank robberies take several basic forms, and Rehder, along with police-beat journalist Dillow, tells a tale representative of each style: announcing stick-ups sotto voce to a teller; inside jobs and after-hours break-ins; and the scariest version, the guns-drawn takeover, which Rehder illustrates with an unbelievably violent 1997 shoot-out by two movie-fantasizing lunkheads who were, fortunately, the only people killed. In addition to his many insightful comments about the criminal mind, Rehder packs plenty of action into this crime-fighting memoir. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (July 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039332575X
• ISBN-13: 978-0393325751
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #317,300 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling,fascinating read, July 28, 2003

By 

Ann L. Wapstra (Tucson, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Where the Money Is: True Tales from the Bank Robbery Capital of the World (Hardcover)

Ran across this, took it home and ended up spending half the night not being able to put it down. The authors present a compelling and often humorous look into the criminal mind of bank robbers. I've always enjoyed a good true crime book and this is one of the best I've seen in ages. Hope we see more from these two.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can't put it down!, August 20, 2003

By 

Amanda Kervella (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Where the Money Is: True Tales from the Bank Robbery Capital of the World (Hardcover)

This book is the best I have read in years!! Each story brings the reader in for an adventurous ride - you won't be able to put it down! A MUST READ for anyone interested in crime.

This book would make an excellent movie.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique Insight, October 7, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Where the Money Is: True Tales from the Bank Robbery Capital of the World (Hardcover)

William Rehder and Gordon Dillow have teamed up to provide an exciting book which gives the reader an insight into the motives and techniques of bank robbers while feeling like he is reading a fast-paced novel. From his perspective as a prominent FBI agent, Rehder shares much information and insight into the field as he relates an overview of his 33 years of involvement with bank robbers. The book is thoroughly engaging as it relates the history of five major cases, each with a different theme. Where the Money Is provides a truly amazing and unique look at the crime of bank robbery. At the conclusion of the book, the reader feels as if he has shared the life, experiences and attitudes of an outstanding man who is passionate about his career in law enforcement.