Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History
The heist of the century!
Ten years before the recent Brussels diamond theft, daring diamond thieves made off with gems worth almost twice as much. On February 15, 2003, thieves broke into an allegedly airtight vault in Antwerp, never tripping an alarm, and made off with over $108 million worth of diamonds and other valuables.
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 a mystery.
Scott Andrew Selby, a Harvard Law grad and diamond expert, and Greg Campbell, author of Blood Diamonds, embarked on a global chase to uncover the true story behind the stunning heist. Tracking the threads of the crime 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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Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History
The heist of the century!
Ten years before the recent Brussels diamond theft, daring diamond thieves made off with gems worth almost twice as much. On February 15, 2003, thieves broke into an allegedly airtight vault in Antwerp, never tripping an alarm, and made off with over $108 million worth of diamonds and other valuables.
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 a mystery.
Scott Andrew Selby, a Harvard Law grad and diamond expert, and Greg Campbell, author of Blood Diamonds, embarked on a global chase to uncover the true story behind the stunning heist. Tracking the threads of the crime 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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Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History
Ten years before the recent Brussels diamond theft, daring diamond thieves made off with gems worth almost twice as much. On February 15, 2003, thieves broke into an allegedly airtight vault in Antwerp, never tripping an alarm, and made off with over $108 million worth of diamonds and other valuables.
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 a mystery.
Scott Andrew Selby, a Harvard Law grad and diamond expert, and Greg Campbell, author of Blood Diamonds, embarked on a global chase to uncover the true story behind the stunning heist. Tracking the threads of the crime 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.
Scott Andrew Selby is a graduate of UC Berkeley, Harvard Law School, and Sweden's Lund University, where he wrote his master's thesis on diamonds.
Don Hagen started narrating audiobooks in 1997, as a volunteer at Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D), which was recently renamed Learning Ally. Don has spent time in a variety of booths. His voice has been heard on a wide range of projects, from radio/TV commercials to documentaries to audiobooks. In addition to his freelance voice work, he is a member of the audiobook narration team at the Library of Congress. But he spends most of his time recording commercial audiobooks in his home studio in a neighborhood of Washington, DC.
What People are Saying About This
Douglas Preston
"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)
Julian Rubinstein
"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)
Lee Gruenfeld
"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)
Tom Zoellner
"[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)
Gregg Olsen
"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)
Ulrich Boser
"Part whodunit, part mob tell-all, part diamond underworld reportage, Flawless is simply too good to miss."--(Ulrich Boser, author of The Gardner Heist)
