The Transy book heist
The US college students who hatched an elaborate and oddball scheme to steal some of the world’s most valuable books.
In 2004, American students Spencer Reinhard and Warren Lipka - along with two other friends - hatched an elaborate and oddball scheme to steal some of the world’s rarest and most valuable books. Inspired by Hollywood heist thrillers and a desperate urge to escape their mundane suburban lives, they disguised themselves as old men and prepared to infiltrate the treasured archive of their own college library. However, everything that could go wrong, did. Their story is featured in the film American Animals. This interview was first broadcast in September 2018.
What can a doodle tell us about the person who drew it? Erik Kwakkel is a Dutch book historian who searches for the secret meanings of doodles and scribbles in medieval manuscripts. This interview was first broadcast in March 2017.
Presenter: Saskia Edwards
Producer: Maryam Maruf
Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com
(Photo: Still from American Animals. Credit: The Orchard)
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