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A review by phidgt
The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession by Michael Finkel
4.0
This story is absolutely wild.
It is told in the style of narrative non-fiction, but all of the events did happen. I don’t actually know how to explain the book without giving too much away, however, the title already clues you in on the subject matter. I suppose what is truly astonishing is not that Breitwieser was an art thief, but how prolific and brazen of an art thief he was. He didn’t steal just one piece of art or even two or three or ten or a hundred. Breitwieser was able to amass a collection of stolen art that numbered well over two hundred and thirty individual pieces. It had been estimated that his horde of ill gotten treasure was valued at around $2 billion.
So how did he pull off all of these heists? This is where the brazenness of his thefts comes in. He basically walked in, saw the item he desired and simply took it. Stealing pieces of art became his obsession and his eventual ruination.
The book is relatively short, just over 200 pages, but the author spent more than a decade researching and interviewing to ensure that everything was told accurately. It’s crazy tale well worth reading and enjoying.
It is told in the style of narrative non-fiction, but all of the events did happen. I don’t actually know how to explain the book without giving too much away, however, the title already clues you in on the subject matter. I suppose what is truly astonishing is not that Breitwieser was an art thief, but how prolific and brazen of an art thief he was. He didn’t steal just one piece of art or even two or three or ten or a hundred. Breitwieser was able to amass a collection of stolen art that numbered well over two hundred and thirty individual pieces. It had been estimated that his horde of ill gotten treasure was valued at around $2 billion.
So how did he pull off all of these heists? This is where the brazenness of his thefts comes in. He basically walked in, saw the item he desired and simply took it. Stealing pieces of art became his obsession and his eventual ruination.
The book is relatively short, just over 200 pages, but the author spent more than a decade researching and interviewing to ensure that everything was told accurately. It’s crazy tale well worth reading and enjoying.