03072cam a2200301 i 45000010018000000050017000180080041000350100017000760200029000930350269001220350024003910400159004150420008005740430012005820500016005941000030006102450096006402640039007363000093007755000057008685040041009255201661009666000036026276500039026636500028027026550024027306550016027549911712481980434120250321124640.0221103r20242023nyuabf        000 0deng    a  2022049664  a9781471186264qpaperback  a(OCoLC)1346615839z(OCoLC)1382331897z(OCoLC)1388672988z(OCoLC)1389565419z(OCoLC)1390468821z(OCoLC)1390830560z(OCoLC)1394141087z(OCoLC)1398519102z(OCoLC)1423715999z(OCoLC)1427569394z(OCoLC)1428671898z(OCoLC)1432817835z(OCoLC)1441602939z(OCoLC)1452836713  a(OCoLC)on1346615839  aDLCbengerdacDLCdBDXdOCLCFdGK8dOCOdJTHdRNLdFHPdCGPdYDXdYUSdETCdCPGdQS3dQJKdOCLdHQDdOCLCOdAUMdGYGdSTWdIOUdVLWdCQAdIG#dAUNTLdNLE  apcc  ae-fr---  aHV6665.F73   aFinkel, Michael,eauthor.14aThe art thief b: a true story of love, crime and a dangerous obsession c/ Michael Finkel. 1aLondon :bSimon & Schuster,c2024.  a221 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates :billustrations (chiefly colour), maps ;c22 cm  aFirst published in the USA by Alfred A. Knopf, 2023.  aIncludes bibliographical references.  aOne of the most remarkable true-crime narratives of the twenty-first century: the story of the world’s most prolific art thief, Stéphane Breitwieser.

In this spellbinding portrait of obsession and flawed genius, the best-selling author of The Stranger in the Woods brings us into Breitwieser’s 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 Stéphane 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 Breitwieser’s 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 heart’s 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 addict’s need to score, leading Breitwieser to ignore his girlfriend’s 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. 0aBreitwieser, Stéphane,d1971- 0aArt theftsxInvestigationzFrance. 0aArt thievesvBiography. 0aTrue crime stories. 0aBiographies