Thrilling Thieves: Thrilling Thieves: Liars, Cheats, and Cons Who Changed History

by Brianna DuMont

Overview

Dramatic True Tales of Thomas Edison, Catherine the Great, Boss Tweed, Queen Elizabeth I, and More

What do Mother Theresa, Honest Abe, and Mahatma Gandhi have in common? They’re all too upstanding to be included in Thrilling Thieves: Liars, Cheats, and Cons who Changed History.

Sure, you’ll find some familiar faces like Queen Elizabeth I and Thomas Edison in here, but you’ll learn that behind their angelic smiles were cunning con artists who stole their way to gold, glory, and greatness.

Follow the twisting trail of twelve troublemakers to learn what really made the Mona Lisa the most iconic painting in the world, meet the most powerful pirate from history (it’s probably not who you’re expecting), and watch empires rise and fall with the theft of a simple tea plant. Turns out our world owes a lot to those who dabble on the dark side.

If you’re not scared of crooks, cons, and criminals, take a peek at this new side of history. Tales of twelve troublemakers inside include:

• The Venetians
• Francisco Pizarro
• Queen Elizabeth I
• Catherine the Great
• Madame Cheng
• Robert Fortune
• Robert Smalls
• William Tweed
• Thomas Edison
• Vincenzo Peruggia
• Klaus Fuchs

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781510701724
Publisher:	Sky Pony
Publication date:	07/03/2018
Series:	Changed History Series
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
File size:	21 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Brianna DuMont is the award-winning author of numerous nonfiction books for middle grade readers, including Fantastic Fugitives, Thrilling Thieves, and Famous Phonies. She lives in Chicago, Illinois, with her husband, two kids, and two cats, but you can visit her at www.briannadumont.com
Brianna DuMont is author of the Changed History series, which makes history come alive by exposing its murky underbelly. The first book in the series, Famous Phonies: Legends, Fakes, and Frauds Who Changed History, includes gems about “I-must-not-tell-a-lie” George Washington and schoolless Shakespeare. When she’s not writing quirky books, Brianna travels the world in search of great museums and historical sites. When she’s at home, she is a full-time writer and researcher who is quickly becoming best friends with her local librarian. She and her family live in Chicago, Illinois.

Table of Contents

Author's Note vii

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 The Venetians 3

Chapter 2 Francisco Pizarro 14

Chapter 3 Queen Elizabeth I of England 26

Chapter 4 Catherine the Great 38

Chapter 5 Napoleon Bonaparte 51

Chapter 6 Madame Cheng 63

Chapter 7 Robert Fortune 74

Chapter 8 Robert Smalls 86

Chapter 9 William Tweed 99

Chapter 10 Thomas Edison 109

Chapter 11 Vincenzo Peruggia 120

Chapter 12 Klaus Fuchs 131

Acknowledgments 143

Notes on Sources 147

Sources 151

Image Credits 163

Index 169

Editorial Reviews

A Junior Library Guild Selection

A Junior Library Guild Selection

From the Publisher

06/01/2018
Gr 5–8—The latest installment in the series is a well-organized collection of minibiographies of historical figures who stole their way into history books, from Elizabeth I and Thomas Edison to Robert Gardner and Madame Cheng. Overall, the text is easy to read. Even students who dislike history will find DuMont's style engaging rather than dry. Chapters are not lengthy and do not go into great detail, but they manage to explain exactly why a specific person fits into the theme. In many instances, the content offers opportunities for discussion about whether or not the term thief, liar, con, or cheat really applies to a subject, such as Robert Smalls, who escaped slavery by stealing a Confederate ship to get himself, his family, and others who were enslaved to freedom. Terminology specific to the era or further elaborations on the vocabulary is highlighted in text boxes alongside paragraphs. The author also includes her sources for students who may wish to do more in-depth reading. VERDICT A solid purchase for collections where nonfiction anthologies, like Georgia Bragg's How They Croaked, are popular.—Paige Garrison, The Davis Academy, Sandy Springs, GA

School Library Journal

2018-05-14
Thieves of the highest magnitude—think Napoleon—get a good tattling from DuMont in a continuation of her Changed History series.These are thieves who really did change history by moving the stolen items around the globe, sometimes in a small span, around Paris, for example, and sometimes from one continent to another. DuMont starts with the Venetians, who not only stole St. Mark's body, but made alarming gains during the Crusades. She moves on to Francisco Pizarro and his conveyor belt of gold and silver from the Incan Empire to Spain. It took Francis Drake six days to empty one of King Philip's Spanish treasure ships of its gold and silver. That is the same Drake to whom Queen Elizabeth gave "more ships to cram more Africans aboard to sell in the West Indies." DuMont can come off as glib, but for the most part she is just throwing sauce in the face of egregious greed. There is also one heroic con man: Robert Smalls, an African-American pilot who ran the Confederate blockade of Charleston to take freedom for himself and a good number of slaves. DuMont also names secondary characters, which is particularly satisfying, as in introducing Vivant Denon, Napoleon's choice to direct his growing art hoard and inventor of the modern museum.A sassy, historically sound visit with some of the more (mostly) rudely audacious characters who have taken what wasn't theirs. (Nonfiction. 11-16)

Kirkus Reviews