ABOUT \;THE ART THIEF
\nNEW YORK TIMES \;BEST SELLER &bull\; \;One of the most re markable true-crime narratives of the twenty-first century: the story of t he world&rsquo\;s most prolific art thief\, Sté\;phane Breitwieser. &bull\; &ldquo\;The Art Thief\, like its title character\, has confidence\ , é\;lan\, and a great sense of timing.&rdquo\;&mdash\;The New Yorke r
\n&ldquo\;Enthralling.&rdquo\; &mdash\;The Wall Street Journal
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In thi s spellbinding portrait of obsession and flawed genius\, the best-selling author of \;The Stranger in the Woods \;brings us into Breitwieser &rsquo\;s strange world&mdash\;unlike most thieves\, he never stole for mo ney\, keeping all his treasures in a single room where he could admire the m.
\nFor 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 a s the master thief Sté\;phane Breitwieser. Carrying out more than tw o hundred heists over nearly eight years&mdash\;in museums and cathedrals all over Europe&mdash\;Breitwieser\, along with his girlfriend who worked as his lookout\, stole more than three hundred objects\, until it all fell apart in spectacular fashion.
\nIn \;The Art Thief\, \;Mich ael Finkel brings us into Breitwieser&rsquo\;s strange and fascinating wor ld. Unlike most thieves\, Breitwieser never stole for money. Instead\, he displayed all his treasures in a pair of secret rooms where he could admir e them to his heart&rsquo\;s content. Possessed of a remarkable athleticis m and an innate ability to circumvent practically any security system\, Br eitwieser managed to pull off a breathtaking number of audacious thefts. Y et these strange talents bred a growing disregard for risk and an addict&r squo\;s need to score\, leading Breitwieser to ignore his girlfriend&rsquo \;s pleas to stop&mdash\;until one final act of hubris brought everything crashing down.
\nThis is a riveting story of art\, crime\, love\, an
d an insatiable hunger to possess beauty at any cost.
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