The Lufthansa Heist: Behind The Six-Million Dollar Cash Haul that Shook the World

Readers who place a premium on truth in their true crime may be disappointed by this account of a legendary 1978 theft from JFK Airport; a preface states that the book's narrative is based in part on "informed judgment," and that the authors recreated scenes and dialogue "with literary technique combined or imagined." Coauthor and former mobster-turned FBI informant Hill, who partook in the heist provides a first-person account of his involvement; the problem is he was absent for the actual execution of the robbery, and thus any contribution he makes to the account of that episode must be second-hand. The authors go too far with including implausible details that suggest fabrication and add nothing to the inherent drama of the story. Purple prose ("due to her overcharged sexual urges, moments of hot flashes often emblazoned the voluptuous Lina") and sloppiness (sharks are described as "man-eating mammals") don't help matters. It's also unsettling to read in the afterword that the identification of the man responsible for murdering one of the Lufthansa robbers in the text was only theoretical. Given Hill's colorful life, much better conveyed in the book Wiseguy (1985), written in collaboration with Nicholas Pileggi, the decision to gild the lily here again and again is baffling and disappointing. (Aug.)