When I wrote my review of Crichton's novel Prey, I mentioned that it was the first Crichton book I had read. On the contrary, I read this book in my tenth grade history class, long before Prey was even published. I just forgot that Crichton was the author of this great book.

This book is about Edward Pierce and his accomplices for what people in Victorian England literally called "The Great Train Robbery." They gave it this name because it was such an audacious act, and committed by a gentleman, not someone of the criminal class. Pierce spent a year planning and finally, in May 1855, robbed 12,000 pounds of gold that was bound (by train, of course) for the English troops in Crimea.

The robbery was a masterpiece and Pierce was a genius in my eyes. Pierce's meticulous planning and the skill with which he and his partners in crime carry out this act amazed me. All the planning paid off, too...Pierce escaped from jail and was never seen again. The money was never found.

Michael Crichton did a great job with this book. He did his homework and provided an accurate account of the robbery and all its participants, a lot of it based on accounts of the trial. As he describes Pierce's actions, he throws in countless facts about Victorian society. Not only was this book a thrill ride, but I learned something too.