From Publishers Weekly
In the early morning hours of March 18, 1990, thieves posing as cops entered Bostons Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and left with a haul unrivaled in the art world, including three Rembrandts and a Vermeer, valued today at $600 million. Boser, a contributing editor at
U.S. News and World Report, turned amateur sleuth after the death of a legendary independent fine arts claims adjuster, Harold Smith, who was haunted by the Gardner robbery. Boser carried on Smiths work, pursuing leads as varied as James Whitey Bulgers Boston mob and the IRA. Along the way, he visited felons—including the notorious art thief Myles Connor—and Bob Wittman, the FBIs only art theft undercover agent. Bosers rousing account of his years spent collecting clues large and small is entertaining enough to make readers almost forget that, after 18 years, the paintings have still not been found: the museum is offering a $5 million reward for information leading to their return. Photos.
(Mar.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an alternate
Hardcover
edition.
Review
“Boser cracks the cold case of the art world’s greatest unsolved mystery.” (Vanity Fair )
“Boser has produced a captivating portrait of the world’s biggest unsolved art theft.” (Wall Street Journal )
“Boser poetically contrasts the burning, almost unnatural desire art loversfeel for paintings with the cold reality that art theft is one of the easiestand most lucrative types of crime.” (Kirkus Reviews )
“Ulrich Boser presents his solution to the [Gardner] mystery.” (Washington Post )
“The book is a thrill.” (The Guardian )
“Now we read this. It looks like the largest theft since the Devil Rays took what should have been the Red Sox’s 2008 American League championship. I don’t know if those paintings ended up on eBay, but I do know they’re not onmy walls.” (Senator John Kerry )
“A vivid portrait of the high-stakes world of art crime.” (Associated Press )
“In The Gardner Heist, author Ulrich Boser offers a tantalizing whodunit as he embarks on an exhaustive search for the stolen masterpieces.” (Boston Globe )
“Boser’s rousing account of his years spent collecting clues large and smallis entertaining enough to make readers almost forget that, after 18 years,the paintings have still not been found.” (Publishers Weekly )
“Boser’s book on it has the feel of a speedy ride down a mountain road spiked with hairpin turns. (Christian Science Monitor )
“Artfully done... Grade: A Minus.” (Boston Herald )
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
