Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Art Thief:
Fine, let’s do a heist.
Quick synopsis:
The story of Stéphane Breitwieser. The world’s most prolific art thief.
Fact for Non-History People:
It is estimated Breitwieser stole art worth $2 billion dollars. Yes, BILLIONS.
Fact for History Nerds:
Myles Connor Jr. was a member of MENSA and also a touring guitarist with the Beach Boys. Oh, he also stole a Rembrandt.
My Take on The Art Thief:
I have zero interest in ever meeting Stéphane Breitwieser. It would probably be fascinating but also maddening from a moral standpoint. I did enjoy the heck out of reading about him, though.
Michael Finkel’s The Art Thief is fantastic. It chronicles the art thievery of Breitwieser and his girlfriend Anne-Catherine Kleinklaus. The thefts were numerous, and I mean numerous. They would sometimes commit multiple thefts in the same day and even sometimes in the same place. They never used weapons, never committed any violence, and never sold anything. This is a book about stealing, but it is also about a broken psyche.
Finkel presents this story without flourishes and keeps it very compact. It is a short book but in the right way. Finkel tells you everything you need to know without long diatribes about the history of art thefts or endless attempts to diagnose Breitwieser. He lets the story tell itself and, hoo boy, it’s a doozy. Highly recommend it for everyone as it is that good.
(This book was provided as a review copy by the publisher.)
Verdict:
An absolute must read. Buy it here!
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