American Animals is a 2018 memoir by Erick Borsuk. Warren, Spencer, and Eric are childhood friends. Disillusioned with freshman year of college and determined to escape from their mundane Middle-American existences, the three hatch a plan to steal millions of dollars worth of artwork and rare manuscripts from a university museum.

In December 2004, four college freshmen attempted to steal several volumes of rare books from the Transylvania University Library. Warren Lipka, Spencer Reinhard, Eric Borsuk, and Chas Allen intended to steal a first edition of On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin, four Birds of America by James Audubon, and several other books. The four spent months planning this heist; however, it was still flawed. The group only managed to leave with the smaller books they had placed in their backpacks after being forced to leave the Audubon books behind. About two months after their heist, the four men were arrested, and all pled guilty to federal robbery and transporting stolen goods.

I gave this book four stars on Goodreads. There were parts of this book that I found were unnecessary, such as the chapter detailing Warren, Spencer, and Eric’s trip on the Appalachian Trail or the discussion of his tennis class. These two sections did nothing to contribute to the book heist. I assume they were included to showcase the depression and struggles he was going through, as he claims this was why he participated in the heist in the first place.

I also gave it four stars because I don’t sympathize with the four men. Borsuk states that the only reason he, Lipka, and Reinhard committed the heist was that they wanted to escape their privileged life. Chas Allen only participated because he wanted the money (which he stated he did not need). All of them did this because they were bored.

Overall, I do recommend this book. It’s a quick and interesting read. I wish Borsuk would have gone into more detail about why they went through with the plan, especially him, seeing as he wanted to back out several times throughout. I feel parts of this book are lacking, but that is because it is only told from one perspective when four people were involved.