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Dec 31, 2009

Ulrich rated it:

I'm the author of this book and thus ill-suited to write a review. That said, I do think the book is a good, engaging read, and reviewers have been agreeing with me.
“Boser has produced a captivating portrait of the world's biggest unsolved art theft,” noted the Wall Street Journal.

“Boser cracks the cold case of the art world’s greatest unsolved mystery,” said Vanity Fair.

And the Boston Globe noted that "In The Gardner Heist, author Ulrich Boser offers a tant More...

7 comments like (8 people liked it)

Apr 18, 2009

Book rated it:

Empty frames still hang at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston where Vermeer, Degas, and Rembrandt once stood.

In 1990 one of the biggest art heists in history occurred.

Over $500 million worth of art vanished overnight.

This book follows the investigation into the infamous Gardner theft.

A real life crime fit for the movies!

~Ariel, The Book Cellar bookseller

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 09, 2009

dcbcd rated it:

I'm still working though this, but so far, I find it to be very interesting.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 17, 2010

Cameling rated it:

I've been to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum multiple times and have always loved the place, but have also felt sad whenever I visited some of the rooms where the reminders of the stolen masterpieces and artifacts are still left in place.

This is a wonderful piece of researched investigative reporting that attempts to identify all the possible leads the FBI, the police and an amazing man, Harold Smith and then additional investigative follow ups by the author himself. He presents More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Aug 01, 2010

Sandy rated it:

Taking a painting is theft; recovering that painting is another story. It is theatre. On St. Patrick's Day night in 1990, two robbers stole famous, priceless works of art from the Gardner Museum in Boston. The author is a journalist; Harold Smith, the independent fine arts claims adjuster (aka art detective) he interviewed was unsucessful in the recovery of stolen art if you look at the number (15%) but then all other art detective's success rates is only 5%. The vast number of unrecovered s More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 02, 2009

Jemima rated it:

The loss of a dozen masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston is the topic of this true story. Ulrich Boser opens the book with a description of how the theft took place - pieced together using all the available information. The remainder of the book discusses the clues, the suspects and the various detectives who have tried to solve the case. It gives the reader a detailed look at the issue of art theft including the motives and outcomes of these acts. It also describes th More...

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Jun 09, 2009

Barbara rated it:

Simply for reading interest--I'd give it four stars--it's a fascinating story of stolen art, the seedy Boston underworld, lovely museums with lousy security systems, a sweet art detective, Isabella Stewart Gardner, Vermeer, and Rembrandt. Boser generally tells the story well despite the fact that it's difficult to keep track of all the potential thieves (Boston gangsters, shady lawyers, and art dealers) but the reason why I finally gave it three stars rather than four was for the sometimes dis More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Oct 17, 2009

Erin rated it:

Like many people, I'm semi-obsessed with the Gardner heist. I lived in Boston for a time not long after the heist and have done a lot of reading about the case over the years. Just a few weeks ago I stood in front of those empty frames at the Gardner Museum, a very powerful and melancholy experience. Anyway, Boser's book is another entry in the growing collection of Gardner heist research and speculation. There were pros and cons to this effort.

CONS: The author inserts himself in More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 25, 2011

Eloise rated it:

I first heard of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston when I was perusing a book about Vermeer's paintings and saw the word STOLEN in parentheses below a picture of The Concert. I looked on the internet to find out more about the theft and became fascinated by this unsolved mystery.

In 1990 two men posing as Boston police officers entered the museum and stole 13 works of art, including three Rembrandts in addition to The Concert. None of the works has ever been recovered, More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 17, 2009

Lisa rated it:

Really enjoyed the book. I read everything I can about art heists, and as many people know, the Gardner one was one of the largest and most devastating in many years. I think I settled on 4 rather than 5 stars for two little reasons. First, I was intrigued by the author's confession to having become a little obsessed with the case, and among people who study it, that is entirely fair. So it seemed fitting that there would be more narrative about the unfolding of his obsession. Not that I wanted More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 05, 2010

Randy rated it:

There’s not much I can add to the other reviews, so let me just say I found this book hard to put down. I started wondering why. Certainly it has interesting characters, but many of them are thieves whom I don’t care about, while the main character, Mr. Bosner, is not complex enough to be compelling. (Perhaps my only criticism of this book.)

Then, the more I thought about The Gardner Heist, the more I began to realize that I saw the story as a metaphor for life, for senseless loss – t More...

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Mar 17, 2010

Andrea rated it:

I just realized that it's fitting I'm reading this book at this moment.

This is the 20th anniversary of the Gardner Heist. Fate? Maybe I'll find the thieves!

Or not...This was a great book for me to read since I've been to the Gardner Museum but had very limited knowledge of the theft. The writing is engaging, clear, and with all the information that is out there it could have been confusing, but it never was.

Ulrich Boser had the good fortune of inheriting a More...

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Apr 04, 2011

Buffy rated it:

I enjoyed reading this book since it is a Boston museum and therefore a local story. I thought the author (a journalist who did his own search for the missing paintings) did a fantastic job with the first half of the book. I loved reading him talk about art and its effect on people. I loved learning more about the art world and the people who love it. I loved his background information on Isabel Gardner and definitely put a few books about her on my ever growing list of things to read. I t More...

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Jul 08, 2010

Alicen rated it:

The Isabel Stewart Gardner Museum is my favorite museum on the planet so of course I loved this book. The museum is an oasis in the middle of a bustling Boston and although it feels fresh every time I visit there, the collection actually never changes since it's design is based strictly on Mrs. Gardener's specific instructions before her death. This book describes the author's obsession with the yet unsolved mystery of the Gardner heist, which took place in 1990. Although the book isn't the stro More...

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Jan 08, 2011

Amy rated it:

This is really an amazing story, and Boser presents it in a compelling and eminently readable way. I did think it's a little hilarious that they'd spend so much time following up on tips first reported in the Boston Herald, as though it were a real newspaper, but on the other hand, I suppose that just demonstrates how serious everyone is about getting those paintings back. But, really, the lengths that so many people have gone to in order to recover the paintings when, as the books makes clear, More...

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Oct 04, 2011

Megan rated it:

The premise is intriguing. Isabella Stewart Gardner lost her only son to pneumonia. Unable to have more children she sinks into a deep depression. Only the healing power of art pulls her out of it. She begins collecting. Upon the death of her father and husband she uses her inheritance money to build a house to hold her collection. In her will she requires that all things remain exactly the same. If anything changes, the museum is to sell off its collection and donate the money to Harvard More...

1 comment like

May 16, 2010

Samantha rated it:

I was really looking forward to reading this, as art heists fascinate me and I'm love with Boston, but it didn't live up to my expectations. It started off excellent, but soon became boring and a little strange. It starts by discussing the heist but quickly turns into an account of the author trying to solve this unsolved crime. While some of the events are interesting, most are just accounts of interviews the author conducted that don't really lead anywhere or accounts of the author's random tr More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 10, 2010

Lauren rated it:

Loved this book! I was already intrigued by the mystery of the Gardner robbery, but this only increased my interest. The book describes some very interesting characters and gives some insight into the inner workings of the Boston crime under-world. Who knew!?

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 20, 2010

Robin rated it:

I first learned of the Gardner museum heist while reading The Irish Game: A True Story of Crime and Art. That book intrigued me enough to search out more detail surrounding the robbery. Ulrich Boser's book started out well with descriptions of the background of the museum/art, the robbery and the tale of obsession that many who come close to the case get overwhelmed by. However, after a few chapters tho the story becomes less about the details of the robbery and suspects and more about the autho More...

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Nov 03, 2009

Cynthia rated it:

I was excited about this book because I know very little about the world of fine art, and this seemed like it would be an exciting introduction. I enjoyed the retelling of the heist itself and also the insight into the value of fine art and how one goes about discovering if a painting is an original or a fake. However, the detailed analysis of so many suspects was pure monotony for me to get through. The author thinks he's uncovered who carried out the heist, but no one has ever been prosecut More...

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Jun 11, 2009

Karen rated it:

Though the writing isn't always top quality, author Boser approaches the topic with a big heart, and his writing seems to improve especially when he starts to describe the effect on him, personally, as he becomes obsessed with the who, what, where and why of the 1990 Isabella Stewart Gardner museum theft of two Rembrandts, one his only seascape, as well as Vermeer's The Concert, a Degas and Manet plus other works. The most enlightening portion of Boser's book reveals the connection between th More...

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Mar 01, 2011

Susan rated it:

In the evening of Saint Patrick’s Day, 1990, thieves posing as cops entered a Boston Museum and left with a haul that included three Rembrandts and a Vermeer, uninsured but valued today at $600 million. This is a fascinating nonfiction tale of the robbery, the suspects, and the investigators with digressions on other stolen art and attempts at recovery. What is most absorbing about the story is watching how research turns into investigation and then into obsession. The author manages to convi More...

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Jun 13, 2010

E rated it:

The beginning is unbelievably good; I was expecting dry narration but the prose takes on moods and color and breathes. The book describes events on the night of the theft as well as related events and characters - I especially loved reading about Harold Smith's and Isabella's respective personalities and stories. It also relates so many curious details about art thefts, how they were executed and whether or not the art was recovered, that enraptured me, along with the greater questions of the im More...

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Apr 26, 2010

Doug rated it:

This book is a true crime puzzler, as the crime itself was never solved. In the early 1990's, two criminals dressed as police entered the Gardner Museum in Boston, managed to subdue and handcuff the guards and make off with several paintings, including Vermeer's The Concert and two paintings by Rembrandt. Art Detective Harold Smith is put on the case and begins to follow leads that seem to lead nowhere. Ill health prevents him from completing the case and he dies with the case still unso More...

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Nov 02, 2011

Emily rated it:

This is about the 1990 robbery of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. The thieves took Rembrandts, a Vermeer, and a few Degas sketches, among other things. They estimate the stolen artwork is worth $500 MILLION dollars. And they still haven't found the art, or who did it.

I thought this book was captivating (who did it and how?). It was also maddening (how have they not been caught!) and saddening (I mean, a Vermeer? There are so few of those to begin with).

I o More...

1 comment like

Mar 30, 2009

Beth rated it:

I have been fascinated by the Gardner heist every since I lived in Boston. In 1989 the Isabella Stewart Garner Museum was robbed of what is now estimated to be upwards of $600 million in art including Rembrandt's only seascape. In nearly 20 years there have been a number of dead ends and false leads. I have followed the story over time in print and TV news stories, but I was looking for a source that pulled it all together. This book does that but in a not very compelling way--surprising con More...

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Aug 20, 2011

Jenlyjen rated it:

What a fascinating read. Not only a well-written and researched account of the theft and the subsequent hunt for the art, it also profiles many of the suspects as well as the numerous authorities who have tried to recover the art over the years. He also gives interesting details about Gardner herself, as well as some interesting art history tidbits.

Boser’s background as a journalist serves him quite well as his research is thorough and well-documented. One interesting thing I noticed i More...

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May 20, 2010

Patrick rated it:

What's really amazing about this story is how few definitive facts there are about the actual crime. For a theft that is valued in the 100's of millions we know almost nothing.
In 1990, on the night of St. Patrick's two men dressed as police men gained access to the museum, tied up the guards, and took 13 paintings plus assorted artifacts from their displays. And that's about it.
Almost everything beyond that is speculation. Even what seem like basic questions like how did they g More...

2 comments like

Dec 18, 2009

Melissa rated it:

This book was a well-written and researched book. I went to school for 6 years across the street from the museum, so it has always been a particular interest of mine. The museum is one of the most beautiful museums I've ever seen, and I think Isabella Stewart is a genius.
The book starts off with the scene of the crime and goes from there. The actual accounts of the security guards and witnesses that saw the suspects. He then draws upon his own experiences of interviewing different suspect More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 16, 2010

Meghan rated it:

Interesting, easy read. I learned quite a bit from this book and it was for the most part well written and engaging. I especially like the first 4 chapters or so, but from there the bouncing from one lead to the next, one suspect to another got a little confusing and dull. Every now and then I would notice some funny noir detective lines pop out like "I wasnt going to let myself become one of them" or "..it wouldnt be the last time." (not exact quotes) which amused me in a g More...

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