The Art Thief: A True Story of Love Crime and a Dangerous Obsession (Large Print)

Description

One of the most remarkable true-crime narratives of the twenty-first century: the story of the worlds most prolific art thief Stephane Breitwieser. In this spellbinding portrait of obsession and flawed genius the best-selling author of The Stranger in the Woods brings us into Breitwiesers strange world-unlike most thieves he never stole for money keeping all his treasures in a single room where he could admire them. For centuries works of art have been stolen in countless ways from all over the world but no one has been quite as successful at it as the master thief Stephane Breitwieser. Carrying out more than two hundred heists over nearly eight years-in museums and cathedrals all over Europe-Breitwieser along with his girlfriend who worked as his lookout stole more than three hundred objects until it all fell apart in spectacular fashion. In The Art Thief Michael Finkel brings us into Breitwiesers strange and fascinating world. Unlike most thieves Breitwieser never stole for money. Instead he displayed all his treasures in a pair of secret rooms where he could admire them to his hearts content. Possessed of a remarkable athleticism and an innate ability to circumvent practically any security system Breitwieser managed to pull off a breathtaking number of audacious thefts. Yet these strange talents bred a growing disregard for risk and an addicts need to score leading Breitwieser to ignore his girlfriends pleas to stop-until one final act of hubris brought everything crashing down. This is a riveting story of art crime love and an insatiable hunger to possess beauty at any cost.