Showing results for "the thieves" in Politics & Social Sciences

On the 8th August 1963 a gang of 15 men stopped a mail train in Buckinghamshire and proceeded to steal sacks of money worth £2.6 million. It was the biggest heist ever carried out in the UK and frontpage news around the world. The mastermind behind this most audacious crime of the twentieth century was Bruce Reynolds. Perhaps the last of the 'gentlemen villains'; Reynolds epitomised that particular breed of sharply dressed post-war criminals who mixed with royalty and movie stars, and never carried a gun. They thrived on adventure and glamour, and the Great Train Robbery was their last ride.

Queen of Thieves is the gritty, fast-paced story of Fredericka "Marm" Mandelbaum, a poor Jewish woman who rose to the top of her profession in organized crime during the Gilded Age in New York City. During her more than twenty-five-year reign as the country’s top receiver of stolen goods, she accumulated great wealth and power inconceivable for women engaged in business, legitimate or otherwise.

From ruined towns on the edge of Siberia to Bond-villain lairs in Knightsbridge and Manhattan, something has gone wrong with the workings of the world. Once upon a time, if an official stole money, there wasn't much he could do with it. He could buy himself a new car or build himself a nice house or give it to his friends and family, but that was about it. If he kept stealing, the money would just pile up in his house until he had no rooms left to put it in, or it was eaten by mice. And then some bankers in London had a bright idea.

In recent years, techno-scientific progress has started to utterly transform our world - changing it almost beyond recognition. In this extraordinary new audiobook, renowned philosopher Slavoj Zizek turns to look at the brave new world of Big Tech, revealing how, with each new wave of innovation, we find ourselves moving closer and closer to a bizarrely literal realisation of Marx's prediction that 'all that is solid melts into air'. 

Hampton Court has been an arc of monarchy, revolution, religious fundamentalism, sexual scandals, and military coups. In this rich and vivid history, Gareth Russell moves through the rooms and the decades, each time focusing on a different person who called Hampton Court their home. Fascinating and engaging, The Palace is as atmospheric as it is gossipy and through the many sovereigns and servants that lived and worked in its halls reveals the personal tragedy and political importance of this extraordinary place.

Eighteenth-century Cornwall is crippled by debt and poverty while the gibbet casts a shadow of fear over the land. Yet when night falls, free traders swarm onto the beaches and smuggling prospers. Terrified by a thief-taker’s warning as a child, Jenna has resolved to be good. But when her brother asks for her help to pay his creditors, Jenna finds herself entering the dangerous world of the smuggling trade. Jack Penhale hunts down the smuggling gangs in revenge for his father’s death. Drawn to Jenna at a hiring fayre, they discover their lives are entangled. But as Jenna struggles to decide where her allegiances lie, the worlds of justice and crime collide, leading to danger and heartache.

A Thief and a Hero tells the extraordinary story of Gentle Johnny Ramensky: the son of Lithuanian immigrant parents who went on to become a household name as the foremost safe-blower in the country. His daring escapes from prison would further endear him to the public and eventually bring him to the attention of the British army. When the Second World War broke, he was hand-picked to join the Commandos and rechristened himself Ramsay.

As Hitler was attempting to conquer the western world, his armies were methodically pillaging the finest art in Europe, from Michelangelos to Vermeers, all stolen for the Führer. The Monuments Men had a mandate from President Roosevelt to find these artworks, but no vehicles, typewriters, or authority. In a race against time to save the world’s greatest cultural treasures from destruction at the hands of Nazi fanatics, each man constructed his own treasure map....

Thieves of Baghdad immerses the listener into the rich culture, the colorful characters, the double-dealing, and the derring-do, to sort out once and for all what actually happened during the chaos of the Baghdad invasion, exactly how the thefts took place, and how the most notable objects were retrieved. We hear Bogdanos and his team going on raids and negotiating recoveries, blowing open safes, and mingling in the marketplaces, often encountering an assortment of rogues and villains.

While the Nazi party was being condemned by much of the world for burning books, they were already hard at work perpetrating an even greater literary crime. Through extensive new research that included records saved by the Monuments Men themselves, Anders Rydell tells the untold story of Nazi book theft, as he himself joins the effort to return the stolen books. When the Nazi soldiers ransacked Europe's libraries and bookshops, large and small, the books they stole were not burned. Instead, the Nazis began to compile a library of their own.

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The United States federal government spent over $10 billion on medical protective wear and emergency supplies, yet as COVID-19 swept the nation, life-saving equipment such as masks, gloves, and ventilators was nearly impossible to find. In this brilliant nonfiction thriller, called “revelatory” by The Washington Post, award-winning investigative reporter J. David McSwane takes us behind the scenes to reveal how traders, contractors, and healthcare companies used one of the darkest moments in American history to fill their pockets.

Vienna Art Thieves is about saying yes, opening doors, and inviting others to be in on the secret, too. It is about being daring, resourceful, and game for the adventure of life. Follow us into the City of Secrets, letting your imagination lead the way as you step across thresholds and peer behind walls. Leave behind the world of must-dos and to-dos and enter a realm of play, where everything is possible. This is Vienna: a city of palaces and passageways; hidden courtyards and priceless treasures; mysteries and enigmas behind every wall and below every cobblestone. In this city, we all have ...

Vampire Empire: Big Thief's Haunting Melody and Unexpected TikTok Takeover Big Thief, the critically acclaimed indie rock band known for their raw emotion and poetic lyricism, surprised fans and the music world alike with the unexpected virality of their song "Vampire Empire" on TikTok. Released in May 2022 as part of their fifth studio album "Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You," the song has transcended its indie rock roots to become a trending sound on the social media platform. This essay explores the history of "Vampire Empire," its musical elements, and the intriguing phenomenon of...

Olive Oil Wars! How Climate Change and Surging Markets Invite Chainsaw-Wielding Thieves. Olive Oil Thefts Threaten Growers and Consumers Olive oil thefts are on the rise in Greece, Spain, and Italy, driven by surging olive oil prices caused by a two-year drought in Spain. Thieves are targeting olive groves and warehouses, stealing branches, trees, and even entire harvests. This is having a devastating impact on olive growers, who are already dealing with high production costs and climate change. Farmers are pleading with police to take action, and some are taking matters into their own hands ...

“Kleptocracy” (noun): “rule by thieves” — a form of corruption that allows the ruling class to accumulate great wealth and power while neglecting the mass of citizens. FBI special agent and all round badass Debra LaPrevotte singlehandedly created the FBI’s first kleptocracy department, exposing leaders whose corruption has fueled war crimes and other atrocities, including the current war in Ukraine. Hosted by actor Justin Shenkarow, “A Nation for Thieves” delves into how Debra recovered over $1 billion dollars of dirty money from the world’s most corrupt leaders. She takes ...

Vassilis Paleokostas, aka “Greece’s Robin Hood,” has been on the lam for 14 years. In his absence, legends of his generosity have grown. But no one knows where he is, or if the stories are even true. Here’s what we do know: there’s a million Euro bounty out for Vassilis, and a 24-hour task force trying to track him down. When he robs banks, he shares the money with the poor. When he kidnaps industrialists -- and he only kidnaps those who are known for unfair labor practices -- they give baffling interviews showing how he opened their minds. And when he escapes heavily reinforced ...

Artist/activists Nick Fracaro and Gabriele Schafer tell the story of their three years living in the “tipi on the hill,” by way of their radical alternative theater work leading up to it, their 40+ year creative partnership, and reflections on a life lived together at the intersection of art, culture, politics, and spirituality.In the middle of the night in 1990, Nick and Gabriele covertly erected a replica of a Lakota tipi in the center of New York City’s longest-existing homeless encampment known as The Hill. The tipi was dedicated on the centenary of the Wounded Knee Massacre “in ...

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