Stealing Rembrandts: The Untold Stories Of Notorious Art Heists (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
This is a fascinating, well-researched and well-written book about art theft. To be able to touch upon even a fraction of art thefts from around the world, it focuses specifically on thefts of works by Rembrandt (or those believed to be by Rembrandt), including thefts that were successful and some that went comically wrong. I had no idea how truly pervasive art theft is and the wide variety of ways it can be carried out, let alone some of the horrible conditions that stolen works of art have been returned in. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who has ever enjoyed visiting an art gallery, to better understand some of the challenges that museums face every day when they decided to open to the public. Very interesting subject matter, but the writing style and organization were a little awkward. In particular, the authors had a tendency to write in a way which circled around to the main story, including several tangents. It's not that the tangents weren't interesting, but it felt like they were trying to cram in more information than there was room for, and the book could have benefited from a bit of streamlining. I also got the impression that the book was designed to be readable chapter by chapter, rather than strictly from start to finish, which is a perfectly legitimate choice, but made a straight reading a little repetitive. I would also have appreciated it if the paintings stolen were pictured at the beginning of each chapter, and in color, rather than all together in the middle and in black and white, but I suppose it was a cost-saving measure.
What do You think about Stealing Rembrandts: The Untold Stories Of Notorious Art Heists (2011)?
Interesting read on art theft, but feel like it could flow a little better.
—alexarene8654
Interesting information, but pedestrian writing style.
—angel
great information and interesting stories of art theft
—ChrisDesu
Not a bad book but got a little slow at times.
—TheFaultInOurCourtney
