The Man Who Robbed the Pierre: The Story of Bobby Comfort and the Biggest Hotel Robbery Ever
Aug 2014 · Diversion Publishing Corp.
3.5star
2 reviewsreport
Ebook
318
Pages
family_home
Eligible
info
reportRatings and reviews aren’t verified Learn More
About this ebook
This Pulitzer Prize–winning author’s true account of the thief behind the famed 1972 heist is “an engrossing crime biography . . . [and] a fast-paced romp” (Kirkus Reviews).
Growing up in Rochester, New York, Bobby Comfort wanted to be a good something. It just so happened that he was great at being a criminal.
In January 1972, men in tuxedos robbed the Pierre, the luxurious Manhattan hotel, and got away with eleven million dollars’ worth of cash and jewelry. The police were baffled by how such a large-scale operation could go off so smoothly. The answer lay in the leader of the thieves, a man by the name of Bobby Comfort. He had taken to crime from a young age with card sharping and petty theft. Eventually, taking money from the rich was where he excelled. Sort of like Robin Hood—except for the part where he kept the loot himself—Comfort masterminded what was, at the time, the most lucrative heist in history, while appearing to his neighbors like an ordinary suburban family man.
In this blend of insightful biography and true crime, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Ira Berkow chronicles the story, using first-hand accounts to weave together a fascinating portrait of a criminal and “a corking good cops-and-robbers tale” (Library Journal).
Growing up in Rochester, New York, Bobby Comfort wanted to be a good something. It just so happened that he was great at being a criminal.
In January 1972, men in tuxedos robbed the Pierre, the luxurious Manhattan hotel, and got away with eleven million dollars’ worth of cash and jewelry. The police were baffled by how such a large-scale operation could go off so smoothly. The answer lay in the leader of the thieves, a man by the name of Bobby Comfort. He had taken to crime from a young age with card sharping and petty theft. Eventually, taking money from the rich was where he excelled. Sort of like Robin Hood—except for the part where he kept the loot himself—Comfort masterminded what was, at the time, the most lucrative heist in history, while appearing to his neighbors like an ordinary suburban family man.
In this blend of insightful biography and true crime, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Ira Berkow chronicles the story, using first-hand accounts to weave together a fascinating portrait of a criminal and “a corking good cops-and-robbers tale” (Library Journal).
Ratings and reviews
3.5
2 reviews
About the author
Ira Berkow was a sports columnist and feature writer for the New York Times for more than twenty-five years. He won the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. He is the author of numerous books, including The Corporal Was a Pitcher, Rockin' Steady, and Summers in the Bronx, the bestsellers Maxwell Street: Survival in a Bazaar and Red: A Biography of Red Smith, as well as two memoirs, Full Swing and To the Hoop. He was the coauthor and editor of Hank Greenberg: The Story of My Life, which was a primary source for the award-winning documentary The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg. He lives in New York City.
Rate this ebook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
