The bible of bank robbers—This Here's a Stick Up will be the ultimate and only truly comprehensive history of American bank robbing. The author has been given access to FBI reports and documents heretofore unseen and unavailable to the American public. — There is virtually no competition for this title, except for several regional and university press books on individual bank robbers, such as John Dillinger and Bonnie & Clyde. This Here's a Stick Up covers the history of bank robbing in America, from the days of the old West gunslingers like Jesse James and the Dalton Gang, to the infamous bank robbers of the Great Depression (Dillinger, Bonnie & Clyde, Baby Face Nelson) to the infamous Stopwatch Gang, who ripped off a series of Los Angeles banks wearing masks of U.S. presidents. (Their exploits were portrayed in the Keanu Reeves movie Point Break). From the first heister to scribble a demand note to the first cyber criminal to pull off a heist using a laptop and a modem, this book will have it all, and then some. Author Duane Swierczynski will be utilizing information culled from actual FBI files from the 1930s up until today. Additional chapters will include a rundown of the 100 biggest hauls in bank robbing history; another chapter will feature what you should do if you find yourself in a bank that's being robbed; still another chapter will chronicle the 25 oddest bank robberies in history. The book will be written in a breezy, irreverent, and often humorous style and will have much in common with such bestsellers as The World's Dumbest Criminals and The Worst Case Scenario books.