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Product Description
Review
Praise for FLAWLESS:
—Booklist (Starred Review)
“…a riveting narrative…” —Boston Globe
"Exciting, well-crafted tale...Selby and Campbell (Blood Diamonds: Tracing The Deadly Path of the World's Most Precious Stones, 2002, etc.) provide an engrossing nonfiction thriller...an effective, well-researched collaboration, in which the classic heist story illustrates the seamy underbelly and criminal lure behind the bright facade of the diamond industry. Sure to appeal to armchair rogues and, like Blood Diamond, cinema-ready." -- Kirkus Reviews
“Part whodunit, part mob tell-all, part diamond underworld reportage, Flawless is simply too good to miss.” —Ulrich Boser, author of The Gardner Heist
“With Flawless, Scott Andrew Selby and Greg Campbell take the genre of true crime to a new level. Reading it, you realize that sometimes reality can be more fantastic than most action films.”—Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi, New York Times bestselling authors of The Monster of Florence
“The first ‘must-be-read-with-popcorn’ book ever. Selby and Campbell’s propulsive and cinematic narrative shimmers with truth, hubris and knowing details. I loved it.”—Gregg Olsen, New York Times bestselling author of Starvation Heights
“That real life often outdoes fiction is no longer surprising, but when a true story is brilliantly told, it's a discovery worth shouting about. Flawless will leave you gasping as the authors gradually peel back the covers on one of the most audacious acts of high stakes mischief in the history of thievery.”—Lee Gruenfeld, co-author of Confessions of a Master Jewel Thief
“In Flawless, Selby and Campbell expertly dissect this audacious crime in a compellingly expansive investigation ranging from the intricacies of the diamond industry to the history of the mob in Italy. A story that could have been ripped from the pages of a movie script but which is rooted in fact, Flawless is a rare true crime story—a real diamond in the rough.”—Julian Rubinstein, author of Ballad of the Whiskey Robber
“[D]azzling. Scott Andrew Selby and Greg Campbell take us into the minds of top-drawer jewel thieves who view every lock as a challenge, every cop as a fool and everyone else’s diamonds as their own birthright. Handle with discretion—you might be up all night reading.”—Tom Zoellner, author of The Heartless Stone and Uranium
“Flawless is flawless. This is a one-hundred carat gem of a book. Flawless is an incredible, true, page-turning account of a half-billion dollar diamond robbery—the boldest, most daring diamond theft in the world.”—J. North Conway, author of King of Heists
“The gripping story of an incredible crime. This tale of old-fashioned criminal enterprise has been told with a level of research that immerses you in a fascinating journey into the hidden world of diamond trading.”—Neil Forsyth, author of Other People's Money
“You could not invent a better crime story. From the very first step into that ransacked vault, Selby and Campbell have you.” —Kevin Krajick, author of Barren Lands
“A thoroughly modern and riveting tale of the world's biggest diamond heist. With vivid storytelling and fascinating detail, Selby and Campbell piece together every step of mastermind Leonardo Notarbartolo's plan, and the investigation that left detectives dumbfounded. Full of intrigue and suspense, Flawless is a terrific read.”—Gilbert King, author of The Execution of Willie Francis
Product Description
On February 15, 2003, a group of thieves broke into an allegedly airtight vault in the international diamond capital of Antwerp, Belgium and made off with over $108 million dollars worth of diamonds and other valuables. They did so without tripping an alarm or injuring a single guard in the process.
Although the crime was perfect, the getaway was not. The police zeroed in on a band of professional thieves fronted by Leonardo Notarbartolo, a dapper Italian who had rented an office in the Diamond Center and clandestinely cased its vault for over two years. The “who” of the crime had been answered, but the “how” remained largely a mystery.
Enter Scott Andrew Selby, a Harvard Law grad and diamond expert, and Greg Campbell, author of Blood Diamonds, who undertook a global goose chase to uncover the true story behind the daring heist. Tracking the threads of the story throughout Europe—from Belgium to Italy, in seedy cafés and sleek diamond offices—the authors sorted through an array of conflicting details, divergent opinions and incongruous theories to put together the puzzle of what actually happened that Valentine’s Day weekend.
This real-life Ocean’s Eleven—a combination of diamond history, journalistic reportage, and riveting true-crime story—provides a thrilling in-depth study detailing the better-than-fiction heist of the century.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
It is All in the Planning,
By
This review is from: Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History (Hardcover)
Whenever I read books that profile professional thieves and their "successes", I wonder what their lives would be like if they pursued an honest line of work. The bandits in Flawless are members of a group of professional thieves known as The School of Turin. They employ incredible strategic planning and cunning to accomplish the seemingly impossible. This is actually two books in one: the story of the heist and one of the diamond industry itself and both are fascinating. In fact, Hollywood could not have written a better fictional script. The detail the authors provide accurately mirrors the meticulous planning that Italian jewel thief Leonardo Notarbartolo employed. Yet, the detail does not limit the excitement, suspense, and grudging respect that must be paid to both the bad (and good guy's) dedication to their roles.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.8 out of 5 stars (40 customer reviews) 24 of 27 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Flawless" is Flawless,
By ScanMyPhotos - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History (Hardcover)
Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History.You can't help but read this book non-stop. The details, action and polished descriptions are riveting. I read Flawless right away, as soon as it arrived from Amazon. I couldn't put it down. It reads like "Devil in the White City"--true crime come to life! No one dies in this book, but it still was an exciting read. And I learned about diamonds. Can't wait for seeing what I read in the theaters - it too will be a blockbuster. 11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating tale!,
By Inspired Reader - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History (Hardcover)
I absolutely could not put this book down! Flawless is, well, flawless. If you love true crime, can't pull yourself away from cop dramas, and are a fan of espionage tales, then this book is for you.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A perfect caper.......flawless,
By Robert Busko - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History (Hardcover)
Scott Selby and Greg Campbell's Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History is a nail biting, page turning romp through a real life caper. You may not recognize Selby's name, but Greg Campbell wrote Blood Diamonds, a pretty good read in itself. It is hard not to compare Flawless to Ocean's Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen although the comparison is unfair. Flawless actually happened. These movies were just made up glitz; interesting, but made up none the less.The nighttime theft happened Valentines weekend, 2003 when the thieves broke into the Diamond Center in Antwerp. The Diamond Center isn't Fort Know, but it was guarded by every security device one could think of; round the clock gaurds, motion and vibration sensors, and an 18 steel vault door and locks requiring multiple keys and combinations. While the author's tell us a lot about the crime, who committed it, and how it was done, certain aspects are left unreported. How the actual vault door was compromised, for example is missing. I suspect this is to be expected. The authors also examine the diamond industry, literally from top to bottom. Well researched and told in a "novelistic" manner, Flawless is one book you have to read, especially if you're a true crime fan. I highly recommend this page turner and time burner. You'll enjoy it. Peace |
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