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Hot Art: Chasing Thieves and Detectives Through the Secret World of Stolen Art by Joshua Knelman
kimberly88's review against another edition
4.0
I love reading about art crimes. I find them fascinating, but I'm not sure why. I think this quote from the book says it perfectly:
"Once you start thinking about this subject, you will never be able to stop thinking about it. Every time a painting is stolen somewhere in the world and you read about it in the news, you will feel compelled to think about it, and to know where that painting went. It grabs you and never lets you go." - p. 321
Overall, a very enjoyable and informative read about the art world, why thieves steal art, and what the detectives are trying to do to recover those stolen artifacts of great historical and cultural value. I would totally be an art cop.
"Once you start thinking about this subject, you will never be able to stop thinking about it. Every time a painting is stolen somewhere in the world and you read about it in the news, you will feel compelled to think about it, and to know where that painting went. It grabs you and never lets you go." - p. 321
Overall, a very enjoyable and informative read about the art world, why thieves steal art, and what the detectives are trying to do to recover those stolen artifacts of great historical and cultural value. I would totally be an art cop.
marginaliant's review against another edition
5.0
A really excellent book. Knelman takes you from the FBI to the house of a notorious art thief, following how stolen art enters the market and where it goes next. He doesn't focus much on anything earlier than the 1960's, which is fine by me, and he's much more current than other books I've read on the topic. He's plenty critical of the unregulated art market, so don't expect an entirely fair treatment or much testimony from the dealers, curators, and auction houses that end up buying the stolen art, but if you want to know about the underbelly of the art trade this is a great place to look.
melanie_reads's review against another edition
5.0
Turns out the art world is corrupt and nobody (i.e. rich folks that buy art) aren't particularly interested in doing anything about it. Not shocking, but enlightening nonetheless.
jennlcollier's review against another edition
3.0
It was an interesting read learning about the world of art theft. I especially enjoyed reading about the individual cases. The only negative aspect of the book was it repetitive nature. I felt like a good 50-75 pages could have been cut, because of this.
writerlibrarian's review
4.0
A good investigating piece of journalism on the very grey and mucky waters of the Art World. Knelman went on the hunt and interviewed most of the important players in the cat and mouse chase between the law and the criminals.
The art world is one of the last area where a hand shake and cash are the normal currency. The games played between the thieves, the art dealers, the auction houses and the clients are grey at best.
This is an informative and well written book, easy to access for the neophyte of the subject and it goes into the details enough to keep the attention of the more knowing readers
The art world is one of the last area where a hand shake and cash are the normal currency. The games played between the thieves, the art dealers, the auction houses and the clients are grey at best.
This is an informative and well written book, easy to access for the neophyte of the subject and it goes into the details enough to keep the attention of the more knowing readers
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