The Art of the Steal; the Artistry of the Return

Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World’s Stolen Treasures by Robert K. Wittman, Founder, FBI Art Crime Team

Bob Wittman spent a good chunk of his time at the FBI retrieving stolen treasures. He helped recover golden Peruvian armor; hundreds of war relics, including swords and flags; Native American ceremonial objects and priceless works of art by Degas, Rembrandt, and Rockwell. While it is interesting to see how Wittman recovers these treasures (lots of undercover work and research), I found myself intrigued by the thieves. These are not the daring men of Hollywood that are in love with the objects they steal, these are guys out to make a buck. Some are smart, most are not, and all are quite shady. Each chapter outlines a different retrieval, or a pivotal event in the author’s life, which makes for a very quick read. The final case Wittman outlines is the most famous: the theft of ten priceless pieces of art from the Gardner Museum in Boston. Bureaucracy, confusion and serendipity intertwine as multiple agencies from multiple countries attempt to retrieve these lost masterpieces.

Does this book sound like one you’d want to read? Love a good mystery? Always looking for a new book because you’ve read EVERYTHING by your favorite author? Or do you just really enjoy reading mysteries? Come and join our Mysterious Morning discussions!

A list of suggested authors and titles are available at the Bridgewater Library and books will be on display about a month prior to the discussion. (If you’re a voracious mystery reader you can read more than one.)

If it’s a mystery or true crime book and it features a main character somehow involved with art or archaeology, or the theft/recovery of a piece of art, then it fits this month’s sub-genre. It’ll be interesting to compare the fiction and non-fiction when we meet in September!

September's Mystery Type: The Art of Mystery

Wednesday, September 1st

9:30am - 11:30am
Bridgewater Library, Meeting Room A