Covering all manner of robberies, from the sack of a city (Panama in 1671), the attempt in 1876 to steal Abraham Lincoln's body and hold it for ransom, to traditional tales of train robberies and audacious bank heists, Heists is a collection of amazing crime stories.

Beginning with the story of Henry Morgan, a charismatic Welshman who in the 1650s set out from England to the New World and over the next 20 years plundered the Caribbean, Heists takes in more than 300 years of bold attempts to run off with the loot. Some robberies netted a miserly amount - their efforts were hardly worth it when Jesse James and his bandits left Minnesota's First National Bank with a paltry $26.70 - while others were ambitious and well rewarded; Lee Murray and his gang left with a 'Thank you for the cooperation!' and a cool £53 million after the Securitas Robbery in 2006 in Tonbridge.

Sometimes it paid to risk everything for the 'tickle' - English slang for that big score that would provide an easy life and early retirement.

Other titles in this series:

Mutinies

Spy Stories

Imposters

Under Siege

Prison Islands