Having been killed in at the Second Battle of Bull Run in the American Civil War, one would have thought that Adam Worth's life was over. But, no it was not for he faked his death and then became a professional 'bounty jumper', earning himself plenty of money into the bargain.Thus began his life of crime and another soldier in the Union Army was later to comment on this part of Worth's career. He was none other than William Pinkerton, later of the famous detective agency and someone who not only...

Another good historical biography of a famous person I'd never heard of. I like this better than the previous Macintyre book I read, but I need to put him aside because I have 5 books and counting that are awaiting me at the library.

When I read a review of this in 1998 I immediately put it on my wish list. As a Sherlock Holmes fan how could I not want to read about the man that was possibly the model for Morriarty? (Quick wikipedia link for Worth for those who are impatient.) And so the book sat in my wish list, but didn't get purchased, because I was forever thinking it'd pop up in ebook form. Finally I gave up and just bought a paper copy, because sometimes you just have to hunt down books that have been on your list too

Since I'm not a Sherlock Holmes aficionado, I didn't realize that Adam Worth was the inspiration for the famous Moriarty until I picked up this book. Worth was the most brazen thief of the Victorian Age, sort of like a Hitchcockian cat burglar of the 19th century. In this bio, we get to learn about the thief and his gang, plus the famous heists. I enjoyed the actual character of Adam Worth, as he kept to a stringent set of values that his enemies lacked.This is a decent good read, perfect for a

A friend passed this on to me, and at first I did not warm to it. But for some reason I decided to keep going, and found it really fascinating as I kept reading. Not that big a Sherlock Holmes fan, so the fact that this was the likely model for arch-villain Moriarty was less compelling than the true life story. The true life story is wild, much crazier than any fiction, as is so often the case. Also really fascinating social history, worth reading on that account alone.This quote from the Pinker...

Unlike the books by Ben Macintyre which I previously enjoyed, this one was plodding and dull with a text that was often strung together with quotes from other sources. I got half-way through before giving up.

Decently-written biography of the man who inspired Arthur Conan Doyle to create Professor Moriarty. Considering that Worth was a professional criminal who was only successfully prosecuted twice in his life, there is a surprising amount of documentary evidence (or at least witness statements) about his career - much of it in the files of the Pinkertons. The author sticks pretty close to the facts, although he does wander a bit into speculation about Worth's obsession with the Gainsborough portrai...

An excellent book on his crimes and friends. With a hat tip to the Pinkertons on who he had respect for and eventual friendship of all things.

Fascinating history that ties together a number of disparate personalities from the Victorian Era. Not as good as Macintyre's later works, but head and shoulders above most books.

What a fun read! And it’s all true. Highly recommended.

“[He had] plenty of time for morals; it was laws he disdained.”Award-winning well-researched and written biography of a criminal no one heard of … even in his own day. His most infamous crime was the theft of a Gainsborough portrait, then the highest priced art in the world. Along the way, he burglarized, robbed, or forged on five continents and became the model for one of literature’s most famous criminal: Arthur Conan Doyle’s Professor Moriarty. “Crime need not involve thuggery.”A notable diff...

Super entertaining and had me rooting for Worth the entire time. A fantastic weekend read.

In-depth study of the life and psychology of a master-thief and the supposed inspiration of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Professor Moriarty (though the inspiration would not approve of the Professor’s violence). While some of the psychological observations seemed a far-reach, the overall study was fascinating. I found the details of the life of famous detective, William Pinkerton, as compelling as the analysis of Adam Worth. A simple summary of this biography would be “crime never pays,” but Macintyre f...

Very good at times, The Napoleon of Crime is an appreciable attempt at the biography of Adam Worth, the man who served as the true-life base for Conan Doyle's Moriarty. The problems with this book are its slow pacing and its constant tangents into the lives of various other criminals, the Pinkertons, aristocrats, and so on. Many times it feels as though the book is a term paper and the author is trying to stretch it to meet a length requirement (which is almost laughable as each page is packed w...

The story was interesting but I wanted more details on crimes and travels and such. But the writing style and repetitiveness wore me down. Way too wordy, too many stretchy assertions comparing people and his love affair of a photo. I have loved every Ben M book I've read but this one seemed like a different author. Good thing I didn't read it first. There are some interesting rid bits of history but only for the strong willed readers.

What a disappointment! It sounded like a terrific book, and I'd recently read another book by McIntyre that was quite engaging. Briefly, Adam Worth was the man whom Arthur Conan Doyle modeled his fictional Professor Moriarty on. Unfortunately, this book takes an extremely plodding approach to the subject -- it's a bit of a dull-witted bobby, if you will. There's lots of material here on the Pinkertons, a famous stolen painting, lots of double dealing, and a roller-coaster of a life, but it's jus...

Another good one by Macintyre, but for a change, not about spies in WWII, but instead a masterful criminal who led the Scotland Yard, the Pinkerton Agency, the French and Belgian police on a merry chase for most of his life. He died, was resurrected as a Henry Raymond, another famous individual who had died, and remained in this identity for the rest of his life. He led a sophisticated gang of criminal forgers, bank robbers, thieves and safe crackers. While he built his empire, he rose from his

Seemed an interesting premise and the first half was fascinating, particularly with how much events influenced Conan Doyle. The second half, was more diminishing returns, whether due to sparsity of source, the eventual fall, or life and career petering out. Certainly seems a fascinating, gifted and contradictory character, and as elusive as his reputation. Well worth the read, to discover the man, and the relationship with the Pinkerton’s which was a surprising feature and turnabout. Would have

I found the book a little gem.Full of history that I knew little of.Makes some of our modern day crooks pale into insignificance.Would recommend to anyone who is interested in history and crime.

This is better than mediocre, and the underlying story is definitely a good one. Unfortunately, the best parts are rather thin, as most of Worth's career was not documented, understandably so as successful crooks are not the ones who brag. The author padded the book by going on and on about the few parts he found documentation for, and the results is unbalanced.