1960s
A01=Nate Hendley
Age Group_Uncategorized
Age Group_Uncategorized
Author_Nate Hendley
automatic-update
bank robbery
Beatles
capital punishment
Category1=Non-Fiction
Category=BTC
Category=DNXC
COP=Canada
death penalty
Delivery_Delivery within 10-20 working days
disguise
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
FN rifle
gun control
gun shop
guns
hanging
heist
insanity defense
jail
Language_English
mental illness
murder
murder trial
Neil Young
North York
PA=Available
Price_€10 to €20
prison
PS=Active
revolution
robbery
Royal Canadian Navy
schizophrenia
shoot out
softlaunch
Toronto
Product details
- ISBN 9781459748101
- Weight: 311g
- Dimensions: 139 x 215mm
- Publication Date: 27 Jan 2022
- Publisher: Dundurn Group Ltd
- Publication City/Country: CA
- Product Form: Paperback
- Language: English
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The sensational true story of how a bank robber killed a man in a wild shootout, sparking a national debate around gun control and the death penalty.
WINNER of the 2022 Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book
On July 24, 1964, twenty-four-year-old Matthew Kerry Smith disguised himself with a mask and a Beatle wig, hoisted a semi-automatic rifle, then held up a bank in North York, Ontario.
The intelligent but troubled son of a businessman and mentally ill mother, Smith was a navy veteran with a young Indigenous wife and a hazy plan for violent revolution.
Outside the bank, Smith was confronted by Jack Blanc, a former member of the Canadian and Israeli armies, who brandished a revolver. During a wild shootout, Blanc was killed, and Smith escaped — only to become the object of the largest manhunt in the history of the Metropolitan Toronto Police Force.
Dubbed “The Beatle Bandit,” Smith was eventually captured, tried, and sentenced to hang. His murderous rampage had tragic consequences for multiple families and fuelled a national debate about the death penalty, gun control, and the insanity defence.
WINNER of the 2022 Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book
On July 24, 1964, twenty-four-year-old Matthew Kerry Smith disguised himself with a mask and a Beatle wig, hoisted a semi-automatic rifle, then held up a bank in North York, Ontario.
The intelligent but troubled son of a businessman and mentally ill mother, Smith was a navy veteran with a young Indigenous wife and a hazy plan for violent revolution.
Outside the bank, Smith was confronted by Jack Blanc, a former member of the Canadian and Israeli armies, who brandished a revolver. During a wild shootout, Blanc was killed, and Smith escaped — only to become the object of the largest manhunt in the history of the Metropolitan Toronto Police Force.
Dubbed “The Beatle Bandit,” Smith was eventually captured, tried, and sentenced to hang. His murderous rampage had tragic consequences for multiple families and fuelled a national debate about the death penalty, gun control, and the insanity defence.
Nate Hendley is a journalist and author. His books include The Boy on the Bicycle, The Big Con, and Bonnie and Clyde. Nate lives in Toronto.
