Join us at the GPL for our bi-monthly book discussion as we explore different authors and genres. This month we are exploring True Crime  with Michael Finkel’s book The Art Thief: a true story of love, crime, and a dangerous obsession.

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. In The Art Thief, Michael Finkel brings us into Breitwieser’s strange and fascinating world.  Unlike most thieves, Breitwieser never stole for money.  Carrying out more than two hundred heists over nearly eight years, in museums and cathedrals all over Europe, he displayed all his treasures in a pair of secret rooms where he could admire them to his heart’s content. 

Possessed of 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.

Copies of the book are available at the library.

For more information, contact Pamela McBride at librarian@greenfieldpubliclibrary.org or call (413) 772-1544. 

This program, made possible through the generosity of the Friends of the Greenfield Public Library, is free and intended for ages 14 and up.