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Book: A Burglar’s Guide to the City

Whatever the title of this book makes you think of, you’re likely to be wrong. This book is incredible and original.

Paul Dettmann

Jan 29, 2022

Whatever the title of this book makes you think of, you’re likely to be wrong. This book is incredible and original.

I’ve always enjoyed trying to find books you might have missed. This 2016 paperback is from the US publisher FSG, so is not widely known in the UK. It deserves the attention of anyone who is into true crime or espionage. It takes an architect’s understanding of the built environment and mixes it with law enforcement expertise to produce something that will genuinely make you re-think the buildings you use and occupy every single day.

I love this book. It’s great for the general reader, the crime writer, or anyone else in your life who enjoys a dose of mystery and surprise. It’s probably not great for burglars because it’s not a “how-to” guide. But for the curious, it is one of the most original books I have seen in a very long time.

Learn More Geoff Manaugh writes a great blog called BLDGBLOG along similar lines.