The Art of the Heist: Confessions of a Master Art Thief, Rock-and-Roller, and Prodigal Son (Hardcover)

~ Myles J. Connor (Author), Jenny Siler (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. 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. Now, with the aid of novelist Siler, the notorious art thief recounts his scores and sets the record straight on one of the biggest art heists ever—at Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. The son of a cop, Connor grew up outside Boston. He developed a genuine appreciation for art—especially samurai swords—and after his first robbery, at the Forbes Museum in Milton, Mass., he never looked back. He stole a Rembrandt from Boston's Museum of Fine Arts in broad daylight and used it as a bargaining tool for a decreased prison sentence. Connor compares himself to Robin Hood: an art-world rogue who took pains to avoid violence and truly admired the pieces he stole. When asked whether he masterminded the Gardner heist, despite being behind bars at the time, he replied: You would have known it was me. I would have taken the Titian. (May)
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From The Washington Post

From The Washington Post's Book World/washingtonpost.com Reviewed by Nora Krug Myles J. Connor Jr. is an arts connoisseur with a penchant for Japanese swords and Rembrandt. He is also a thief. Since the mid-'60s, Connor has pilfered works from numerous cultural institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Smithsonian Institute in Washington and the Boston Children's Museum. He's been a convict, an ex-con and a fugitive, once escaping from a Maine prison by threatening guards with a fake gun he'd fashioned out of a bar of soap. Released from federal prison in 2001, Connor has teamed up with novelist Jenny Siler to write a gripping tell-all, "The Art of the Heist." For a master of deceit, Connor is surprisingly candid. "Here's exactly how we did it," he writes, before describing, in detail, the broad-daylight theft of a Rembrandt from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in 1975 (in this case, a real gun was vital). 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: "Stealing from a museum archive is a lot like robbing your grandmother's attic," he writes. "The pieces I took would, I reasoned, not be missed by the overburdened museum staff. I, on the other hand, loved and appreciated them."
Copyright 2009, The Washington Post. All Rights Reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Harper (April 21, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061672289
• ISBN-13: 978-0061672286
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #167,834 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing story of a dreary life, July 2, 2009

By	Phelps Gates (Chapel Hill, NC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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I started this book expecting a gripping story of one spectacular art heist after another, with insights into the glamorous world of high-dollar art. Connor did rob several museums (most famously, by grabbing a Rembrandt and walking out the back door of the Boston Museum of Fine Art). But most of the book just describes a dreary criminal career with little to do with art: bank robberies, shootouts with the police, drug dealing, trials on rape and murder charges (of which he was found not guilty), etc.

Police authorities don't come off very well, since they are portrayed, believably, as repeatedly trying to frame him, but considering the large number of crimes which he admits to and which he was never caught for, he seems to have gotten off easy! Connor portrays himself as often more sinned against than sinning (motivated to steal art because of the way he was treated by snooty curators). Of course, we're getting only his side of the story in the book.

Since most criminals are not smart, and Connor is very smart, he had a more successful career than most. But if you google his name, the first item is a 2008 Boston Herald article with his life story and a picture of him as he is now: a tired old man, having spent much of life behind bars, rather than the earnest young criminal portrayed on the book jacket. Sad.

To give credit, the book is vivid and the narrative hard to put down. I give his co-author, Jenny Siler, credit for an excellent writing job.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars great read, April 23, 2009

By	BBG "BBG" (Worcester, MA USA) - See all my reviews

I lived in Milton and knew of Myles from his rock and roll days. I had heard of his 'adventures' from the press and from friends and was looking forward to the book coming out. I just got it and haven't put it down. I'm sure we will still be left with the question of where is the artwork and who pulled off this heist and I wouldn't expect anything else. But the Isabelle Stewart Gardner heist isn't all there is to Myles Connor.

I'm pretty certain that this will find it's way to the big screen! And that will be great.

It's difficult to read this and realize that this is Myles' life....not just a story. I definitely recommend this.

5.0 out of 5 stars The Art of the Heist, July 24, 2009

By	Susan in Chilmark (Nicasio, CA) - See all my reviews

I loved this book! The true story of an art lover and an intelligent thief. The daring adventures of the author makes the star of Catch Me If You Can look like a wimp. Great summer read. Couldn't put it down. My summer library in Chilmark, MA. had it in their new book section - where I first found it. After reading it and spreading the word - there is now a long wait list. Enjoy.