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The Art Thief
The Art Thief | Michael Finkel
28 posts | 28 read | 30 to read
The true story of the worlds most prolific art thief, who accumulated a collection worth over $1.4 billion. A spellbinding portrait of obsession and flawed genius, from the bestselling author of The Stranger in the Wood. 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 Stphane Breitwieser. Carrying out more than 200 heists over nearly ten years - in museums and cathedrals all over Europe - Breitwieser, along with his girlfriend who worked as his lookout, stole more than 300 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, he never stole for money, keeping all his treasures in his home, where he could admire them to his hearts content. Possessed of a remarkable appreciation for art and an innate ability to assess practically any security system, Breitwieser managed to pull off a breathtakingly 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, and an insatiable hunger to possess beauty at any cost. As a real page-turner that seems almost unbelievable in its twists and turns, The Art Thief explores the true story of the art collector who went to extreme lengths to expand his personal collection and the thrill of the heist that kept him going.
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DebinHawaii
The Art Thief | Michael Finkel
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#SpringSkies

I used this book that #InvolvesArt for a different prompt about a month ago & mentioned my library e-book hold was 16 weeks. Today it‘s 10 weeks! We‘re moving on up! ? The book is about Stéphane Breitwieser, a French art thief who stole around 300 pieces of art. ?️

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Perfect 🎨 3w
Eggs Fascinating 🖼️! 3w
61 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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perfectlywinged
The Art Thief | Michael Finkel
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This nonfiction book about a guy who stole art just so he could look at it from his bed is psychologically riveting.

16 likes1 stack add
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DebinHawaii
The Art Thief | Michael Finkel
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#ItTakesAllKinds

The latest #TrueCrime book in my TBR, I‘ve been waiting on the library e-book hold for a while now & it‘s still 16 weeks out. ??‍♀️

(I borrowed the background from a New Yorker article about the book‘s subject, art thief Stéphane Breitwieser) ?️

Eggs Fascinating 🖌️ 2mo
47 likes1 stack add2 comments
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CSeydel
The Art Thief | Michael Finkel
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I‘m so ready for the #hyggehour readathon this week. No photos because I‘m sick 😫 The worst of it was yesterday, so tonight I‘m in my jammies at 8 pm but feeling better enough to get some reading in.

Lreads I hope you feel better soon! 💕 2mo
CSeydel @Lreads Thanks! Me too 🤧 2mo
AllDebooks Wishing you a speedy recovery x 2mo
See All 7 Comments
Librarybelle Hope you feel better soon! 2mo
Chrissyreadit Hope you feel better soon 💛 2mo
KathyWheeler Feel better! 2mo
TheBookHippie Hope you‘re feeling tip top soon!!! 2mo
44 likes7 comments
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Sapphire
The Art Thief | Michael Finkel
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Road trip today with hubby. Tagged book is our chosen audio to accompany us.

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mcctrish
The Art Thief | Michael Finkel
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Pickpick

Bag #3 done of Family Celebration and so is The Art Thief. This book ? I love that I‘ve been to some of the museums Stéphane stole from but what a misguided sense of entitled nonsense; he was above working, SB felt museums didn‘t allow people to interact enough with the art so he took it for himself so he could. His mother is the real monster

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mcctrish
The Art Thief | Michael Finkel
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My latest Lego set : Family Reunion Celebration 🧧I‘m hoping to have this done for the Lunar New Year ( also this book is bat shit )

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mcctrish
The Art Thief | Michael Finkel
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Now on audio. Sometimes I think narrators sound familiar and this one really does - Edoardo Ballerini - so I googled him. He read The Last Painting of Sarah de Vos which I listened to ( amongst many many others)

41 likes2 stack adds
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Erynecki
The Art Thief | Michael Finkel
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Pickpick

Really well written. Engaging and fast paced chapters. But, dang, this story is depressing. A prolific art thief, an addict really, and a crime spree that eventually ended but so much of the art was damaged or destroyed. I knew a lot of this story from newspaper reports, but this absorbing story definitely fleshes it out in a riveting story of the most prolific art thief of all time.

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britt_brooke
The Art Thief | Michael Finkel
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Mehso-so

⭐️⭐️⭐️ I was super intrigued, and excited, to read this story, but hoped for more of a narrative style. It‘s a bit dry. Still, Stéphane Breitwieser is a unique thief. Supposedly it wasn‘t about the monetary value, but rather, being surround by beauty … which he and his girlfriend accomplice kept hidden in his mom‘s attic. The mom is easily my fave person in this whole bizarre debacle.

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451Degrees
The Art Thief | Michael Finkel
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Pickpick

The true story of Stéphane Breitweiser, an art thief who stole over three hundred paintings, statues, and ceramics from museums beginning in the 90's. He stole not for the resale value of the pieces but instead made his own gallery in his attic room free of security and the ability to intimately study and interact with the pieces. The book very much reads like a fictitious story which made it very easy to follow and was absolutely fascinating

33 likes2 stack adds
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TEArificbooks
The Art Thief | Michael Finkel
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Pickpick

Very amazing true story and brilliantly written. I read it in one sitting. And with finishing this book, I have completed all my reading goals for the year. #wintergame #teamevergreen @Clwojick

1,085 pts

Gissy Congratulations for your reading goals completion 📚📚📚📚🎉🎉🎉Amazing 🤩👏👏👏 4mo
41 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Bluebird
The Art Thief | Michael Finkel
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Pickpick

Stendhal syndrome: a clinical phenomenon in which the presence of a beautiful artwork causes intense physical/mental symptoms. Stephane Breitwieser thinks he has it. 🤔 He stole more than 300 artworks in 10 yrs, estimated to be worth over one billion dollars. He kept them crammed in his tiny attic room for his own pleasure. He stole from museums, castles & churches…during their open hours with no advance planning! Incredible! Fascinating account!

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TheSpineView
The Art Thief | Michael Finkel
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#Movie2BookRecs @Klou
Movie: Capote

Both the book and movie are based on real events. Also, they both are about obsession.

Klou Brilliant!! 4mo
49 likes2 comments
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catiewithac
The Art Thief | Michael Finkel
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Pickpick

This author delights in writing novelistic non-fiction about eccentric anti-social dudes. This true story about a dangerous obsession is really good.

62 likes1 stack add
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Chelsea.Poole
The Art Thief | Michael Finkel
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Pickpick

A quick read about an incredibly prolific French art thief. Finkel focuses only on the thief and his accomplice gf who were focused and brazen in their pursuit of collecting stolen artifacts for their own personal collection. What makes them unique in the world of art theft is that they stole art to keep and not to sell. They ended up with hundreds of artifacts crammed in their upstairs room of his mother‘s apartment. Good audio!

87 likes2 stack adds
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Rissreads
The Art Thief | Michael Finkel
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Pickpick

This book was bloody fascinating! An art thief who stole from various museums in Europe not to make money but to surround himself with beauty. 2 BILLION dollars of beauty! Displayed in one room! Over 200 heists across 10 yrs. Sometimes fact is stranger than fiction.

Lizpixie I LOVE that painting!! 6mo
Rissreads @Lizpixie I bought it from an artist in Athens last year on holiday. I can‘t remember his details off hand but when I do I‘ll send you them. (edited) 6mo
Lizpixie @Rissreads Thank you lovely!😘♥️ 6mo
29 likes3 comments
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Sharpeipup
The Art Thief | Michael Finkel
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25 likes1 stack add
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mrp27
The Art Thief | Michael Finkel
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Pickpick

#summerendreadathon

I don‘t know much about art but boy do I love a good art heist mystery. This non fiction book tells the story of Stephane Breitwieser, art thief extraordinaire who stole what they estimate to be over 1 billion dollars worth of art from museums in Germany, France and Switzerland. I was fascinated by his audacity and sped through this book quickly. There are some dry moments but overall a fun read.

TheBee 🤓📕💚 7mo
TheSpineView Fantastic!😊 7mo
29 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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mrp27
The Art Thief | Michael Finkel
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#weekendreads

Spent the day celebrating my mom‘s birthday now it‘s time for my Saturday night plans…

27 likes1 stack add
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BC_Dittemore
The Art Thief | Michael Finkel
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Pickpick

At just over 200 pages, Finkel keeps things tight, his focus solely on prolific art thief, Stephane Breitwieser, so it makes for a quick, compelling read. On the other hand, he barely skims the dark and complex subculture of art thieves.

I finished this book feeling sympathetic for Breitwieser. I don‘t think he is a bad person, I think he is ill. Without explicitly meaning to be, this book is a perfect example of the stigma around mental health.

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LMJenkins
The Art Thief | Michael Finkel
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*sigh of contentment*

wanderinglynn That looks like a lovely spot to be! 8mo
Chelsea.Poole Love this scene 🌞 also, looking forward to this book! 8mo
28 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Christine
The Art Thief | Michael Finkel
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Pickpick

Loved this! Could the author have gone even deeper? Sure, but it was also great as is. An ideal quick slumpbuster or (as it was for me) audio distraction during busy/stressful times.

39 likes1 stack add
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jlhammar
The Art Thief | Michael Finkel
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Pickpick

Stéphane Breitwieser stole more than 300 irreplaceable artworks, worth around $2 billion, from museums throughout Europe so that he could turn his mother‘s attic, where he lived, into a treasure chest. His mother‘s actions were even more shocking (and disturbing). A crazy and compelling read.

76 likes4 stack adds
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Hooked_on_books
The Art Thief | Michael Finkel
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Pickpick

Michael Finkel has a knack for finding the stories of unusual men (so far, it‘s always men) who live in a distinctive way. Here he follows a man who started stealing art simply because he liked it, and kept up at a rate unheard of in the art theft world. And he simply kept it all to enjoy. Really interesting, quick read.

jlhammar Great review! I'm about a third of the way through and enjoying it so far. 9mo
Hooked_on_books @keithmalek Thanks for the link! I look forward to checking that out! 9mo
55 likes1 stack add3 comments
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MallenNC
The Art Thief | Michael Finkel
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Pickpick

This was a wild story about a man who stole art from several places in Europe with the help of his girlfriend, seemingly just because he could. Interestingly for me, I had just visited Gruyères Castle, one of the places he stole from. I cannot imagine trying something like that! I read The Stranger in the Woods by this author so I knew he would do a good job with an unusual story. The book cover is pretty ugly in my opinion, but the story is good!

31 likes2 stack adds
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Cinfhen
The Art Thief | Michael Finkel
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Pickpick

Such a wild story and of course expertly researched and detailed by Michael Finkel. Stéphane Breitwieser stole more than 200 objects of art in broad daylight in multiple countries across Europe over the course of 10 years with the aim to own them for his pleasure and never sought to sell them for monetary gain. While he was daring & stealth his girlfriend almost always accompanied him & served as his lookout. It‘s a shocking story of audacity!

Cinfhen Loved the audio narration- I think you‘d like this one @Megabooks 10mo
vivastory I recently added to my TBR. This sounds wild! 10mo
Megabooks I‘ve already read it! It was the last week of June when I was too tired to write reviews or a book report. I really enjoyed it too! 😁😁 10mo
See All 8 Comments
Megabooks Thanks for thinking of me! 😘😘 10mo
Cinfhen It‘s definitely worth a borrow @vivastory 10mo
Cinfhen Glad we agree on another one @Megabooks - just started this one and so far it‘s good 10mo
LeahBergen I‘ve been eyeing this one 👍 10mo
Cinfhen It‘s another one of those 🍌👖stories @LeahBergen 10mo
73 likes2 stack adds8 comments
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Cinfhen
The Art Thief | Michael Finkel
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When life gives you mushy 🍌🍌🍌🍌😁 Enjoying this new book from Michael Finkel. Boring audio cover compared to the awesome hardcover design. It‘s also pretty short. Listening time under 5 hours.

Cathythoughts They look good 👍🏻 🍌 10mo
squirrelbrain Yum! 😋 10mo
BarbaraBB Looking good 😊 10mo
Cinfhen They are really yum and I only used two TBSP of sugar @Cathythoughts @squirrelbrain @BarbaraBB 10mo
Centique I am always on the hunt for over ripe bananas but my son eats the bananas too fast! We have had to set a banana limit of 3 per day 😂😂 10mo
77 likes5 comments