The Wall Street Journal called him “a living legend.” The London Times dubbed him “the most famous art detective in...
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Oct 18, 2011
Jonathan
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In this stunning autobiography, former FBI undercover agent Robert K. Wittman details his 20-year career investigating the murky world of art theft. Adopting the false but carefully documented identity of Bob Clay, a shady art dealer with a taste for contraband, Wittman successfully infiltrated domestic and international criminal networks to recover more than $225 million worth of stolen cultural property — items ranging from a Rembrandt self-portrait to an original copy of the U.S. Bill of Righ
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Jan 10, 2011
Rebecca
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This was a fascinating and compelling read. Written by and about a retired FBI agent who spent 20 years working undercover to catch thieves and recover works of art worth millions, the cases he outlines are varied and sometimes practically unbelievable. Wittman did an excellent job of educating the reader about the history and value of the artifacts he recovered, without making it feel like reading a textbook. He also has no difficulty describing some of the bureaucratic frustrations he faced wi
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Feb 04, 2012
Artguy
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Very enjoyable and fascinating read as you get the insider perspective on the world of art crime. He was the FBI's only art crime investigator, and takes you through several cases as he went undercover to lure stolen treasures from their hiding place. Well written, spending most of the time on the cases themselves. Keeps moving right along.
It does beg two questions: the seemingly arbitrary value of the art world's masterpieces, and how art represents both the pride of a nation and More...
It does beg two questions: the seemingly arbitrary value of the art world's masterpieces, and how art represents both the pride of a nation and More...
Jan 07, 2012
Karencita
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This was a book club selection that I was not able to read last year, but one that always intrigued me....so, when I found a copy on the shelves at the local library, I had to pick it up. I am glad that I did! This "true life" story is actually almost unbelievable! A normal "everyday joe" - from Baltimore, no less! - becomes entangled in the dangerous world of art crime and over the course of his career rescues millions of dollars of historic art and artifacts from around
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Dec 21, 2011
Kelli
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Bob Wittman, aka Bob Clay, headed the FBI Art Crime Department for 30 years and he has got the stories to prove it. He writes about his busts both great and small, from the commonly trafficked pieces like Native American eagle feathers to his work on probably the most mysterious art theft in American history, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum art heist. His stories are so detailed and interesting you start to wonder why the FBI hasn't locked him up for giving away all their secrets.
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Aug 14, 2011
Leslie
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The history behind the world's priceless art and antiquities - how did they come to be, and where have they traveled, and with whom, and why - is nearly as fascinating as the genius that created them. This book explores these factors (the last of which are called the provenance, the ownership history of a work of art) as they relate to significant art crimes. Although it editorializes considerably on the FBI's attitude towards prioritizing solving art crime (as portrayed, less than entirely enth
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Jun 12, 2011
Ningerbil
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You don't have to be an art connoisseur or even much of an art fan to appreciate this book. Here, Robert Wittman, now retired from the FBI, relates how he made a career of tracking down and recovering stolen art and artifacts. He recovered hundreds of millions of dollars worth of important historical artifacts and art through his career. Some highlights include the recovery of the 14th Bill of Rights, which was stolen during the Civil War; uncovering and exposing the scandel connected with two
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Jan 01, 2011
Converse
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I also posted a very similar review on Amazon.com.
Wittman was an FBI agent who ended up specializing in solving art crimes. One difference between dealing with art crime and other property crimes is that with the former the object is unique. Consequently, getting the object back is an important consideration, possibly more important than punishing the criminals.
Most of the book is about Wittman working undercover to retrieve art and arrest the criminals. Typically Wittman pos
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Dec 26, 2010
Linda
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Robert Wittman recovered hundreds of millions of dollars of "priceless" paintings and antiquities. This is his story. It is one of the seedy, murky underbelly of the art world, where lives are lost, where money is exchanged, where, often, those who pilfer the works have little care for what they rob.
One of my top reads this year is The Gardner Heist. Naturally, when I saw this book at the library, I had to read it. I was not disappointed with this suspenseful, well-written st More...
One of my top reads this year is The Gardner Heist. Naturally, when I saw this book at the library, I had to read it. I was not disappointed with this suspenseful, well-written st More...
Nov 16, 2010
Chris
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I'm a sucker for any book about art theft, so this was a title for me. You'd think, then, that the impressive tales Wittman tells of going undercover and cleverly fooling art thieves at their own con would have been the high points of the book for me. But no--what fascinated me the most is the author's love/hate relationship with the FBI, and the overwhelming sense of disappointment that remains after years of trying to do his good work within its system. Here's a man who went into the FBI thi
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Aug 19, 2010
Jose
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Another author courting a movie deal. You have the bad official guys in search of good publicity but not wanting to risk resources. The hero driven by personal tragedy (he killed his colleague in an accident). The real bad guys who are robbers in search of money and have no appreciation for art or what it means to society. And of course, the priced booty, a famous museum with insufficient security and many neglected masterpieces.
Not worth the time unless you really care about art he More...
Not worth the time unless you really care about art he More...
Aug 23, 2010
Lisa
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This is the second best of the books I've read about art crime. (Better than The Rescue Artist by Edward Dolnick, easier to read but not as significant as The Rape of Europa by Lynn H. Nicholas, and not quite as good but perhaps having broader appeal than The Lost Painting by Jonathan Harr). Wittman's adventures as an FBI special agent trying to develop an undercover specialty in recovering priceless art and artifacts (and eventually succeeding)--and trying to help the FBI understand the differe
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Jan 01, 2011
Lynn
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Interesting book about FBI art recovery expert. It's bookended (if that a word -- perhaps I should say framed-- no, that has another context with law enforcement) by attempts to recover paintings stolen from the Gardner Museum in Boston some years ago.
I had watched a documentary on that theft within the past month, so it was doubly interesting. Opening and closing chapters dealt with events transpiring to recover the art.
The inner machinations of the FBI were discouraging More...
I had watched a documentary on that theft within the past month, so it was doubly interesting. Opening and closing chapters dealt with events transpiring to recover the art.
The inner machinations of the FBI were discouraging More...
Dec 01, 2010
Alicia
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So I'm sure that one day a bunch of friends got together and were telling stories about their jobs. And Bob Whittman is like "ok, and then there was this one time where I went down to Brasil to get some Norman Rockwell paintings. . . " Oh, and this other time that I went to New Mexico and bought some Indian Headdresses" and "Oh, and another time the guy came to the exchange meeting with a gun and a hacksaw. He was planning on stealing the money (that was in the suitcase attac
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Jul 22, 2011
Dave
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The author weaves together his personal biography, thoughts on the FBI in general, and some of his crime investigations all into one. I think this was the main reason why I found myself skipping chunks of this book. I was only interested in the investigations and the stories surrounding them.
The book did highlight some things of interest, among them -- the art is not always terribly difficult to steal, but very difficult to sell. Those who want it either have to claim that a) It's More...
The book did highlight some things of interest, among them -- the art is not always terribly difficult to steal, but very difficult to sell. Those who want it either have to claim that a) It's More...
Jun 23, 2011
Amanda
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As both a memoir and an account of the current state of the FBI, the priorities of international and local policing of art crimes, and a look into the life of an undercover detective, this book was an incredibly entertaining episodic compilation of a topic that can easily become complex and confusing. So, while I read it all in the space of 24 hours, I sort of wished the writing was more, perhaps, literary? Erudite? I don't know, it just felt unevenly colloquial (in places where it shouldn't be)
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Dec 29, 2011
Bonnie
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Priceless is the memoir of a former FBI undercover agent tasked to recover priceless works of art, antiquity, and historical items where they are being sold on the black market. I found it to be very interesting, though the ending was (realistically) disappointing. I enjoyed reading how Robert Wittman came to his FBI career and how he trained to become specialized in the arts. Art theft ranks behind only drugs, money laundering and illegal weapons in international crime and is cited as a $6 b
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Feb 22, 2011
Emily
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Feb 10, 2011
Julia
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I'm in the arts for a living, so a book with the subject of just about anything about any aspect of art will fascinate me. I loved the premise of this book--an autobiography of a G-man's career finding stolen art and, ideally, bringing those who stole it to justice--and did enjoy it, but as I was reading it I found myself more interested in the author's description of the nuts-and-bolts of going undercover and of how the FBI works than in the stories of the rescued artworks. It is not a partic
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Sep 09, 2010
Stefanie
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I'm currently bogged down in the middle of a 750-page Dumas novel, so this was a palate cleanser, and a good one at that. Obsessed as I am with Burn Notice and Leverage, I was looking for a true story angle on art-world cons, and in that sense, the book delivered. I can appreciate the unique perspective Wittman has (not many people work in this field, especially on the law-enforcement side of the equation), and I learned a lot about art as well as the people who steal and retrieve it. Yet someth
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Sep 26, 2010
LeeAnn
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I had hopes for this book. The intersection of true-crime caper, thwarting the bad guys who are never as smart as they think they are but twice as dangerous, with priceless art, should have been a shoe-in for me. But the book should have been titled "My Fabulous Whine-Fest: How screwed up the FBI is and how they didn't really back me when I accidentally killed a fellow agent." (Trust me, even the part about accidentally killing a fellow agent, just sad, not really interesting.) And
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Jun 08, 2010
Cynthia
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What a life Wittman lived as an undercover FBI agent hunting down stolen treasures. I ‘m amazed he was able to use the same undercover name for twenty years without the bad guys catching up with him. I’d assumed the art theft underworld was fairly small and maybe it is for criminals with some art knowledge but they mostly seem to be inept bumblers who see an opportunity and take it. So many museums are under secured it’s a shame. In the end it was interconnectedness of the criminals and the
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Nov 17, 2010
Tom
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Fun book that details the life of a FBI agent who goes undercover to recover some of the world's greatest art and treasures. In fact, I just saw a new book out that goes into depth of one of the original "Bill of Rights" that was stolen over 130 years ago and where it went, who had it, who was willing to sell it, at what price, etc. and also the recovery of that work by the author/FBI agent of the book I read, 'Priceless'. He didn't spend a lot of pages on that particular case but it
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Feb 16, 2011
Chris
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This book almost feels bipolar. At times, it is a very good book about the stealing of art. Other times, it is a personal story about an FBI agent.
Sadly, the personal story is really boring and amounts to digressions that really, really take too long. While Wittman's background is told quickly, when he joins the FBI he seems to spend too much time that on things that have nothing to do with the title. While one particular event is important because it impacts him, other events ar More...
Sadly, the personal story is really boring and amounts to digressions that really, really take too long. While Wittman's background is told quickly, when he joins the FBI he seems to spend too much time that on things that have nothing to do with the title. While one particular event is important because it impacts him, other events ar More...
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Dec 06, 2010
Katie
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This book was written by a former undercover FBI agent who investigated stolen art treasures. How could it not be good?? It was good, and I found it fascinating--from the information about art and art history, to all the behind-the-scenes glimpses at undercover FBI work. It was one of those nonfiction books paced like a fiction pageturner of a thriller. Confirmed that I could NEVER do undercover work... I'd be stressing out about it constantly, and I found it amazing that Mr. Wittman said he ne
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Dec 20, 2011
Jaclyn
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Wittman, the founder of the FBI’s Art Crime Team, has some seriously fascinating stories to tell. Although he dismisses the film portrayals of art crime as glamorous or exciting as incorrect, nothing in his book dispels the fact that art crime (and stolen art hunting) is like no other aspect of law enforcement. Wittman may not be hunting characters straight out of National Treasure or The Thomas Crown Affair, but he was hunting works of art worth tens of millions of dollars and going undercover
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Feb 05, 2011
Leslie
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Story of FBI agent who makes career of retrieving stolen works of art and, sometimes arresting the thieves or dealers. I love art and enjoy crime stories. There have been several books written about stolen art that were very engaging, Priceless is only so-so. While I find the author likable and he's had a fascinating career, the book lacks drama and suspense. Each chapter tells story of one case, and the writer will tell you that the situation was risky and dangerous but never conveys those feel
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Oct 15, 2011
Efox
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I love White Collar on USA and knowing that, one of my good friends got this book for me for my birthday. It was a great read. Wittman chronicles his life as an FBI agent. His career path took him from the usual solving of thefts to Art Crimes. His first art case was a museum smash and grab and his last was a multi national attempt to get back the single largest property theft in American history, also a museum theft. Throughout the book Wittman talks about how the FBI works, how Art Crime has c
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Jun 23, 2011
Alexis
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This is a fascinating look into FBI agent Bob Wittman's life as an undercover agent who specialized in recovering artworks. He tells a little about how he got into art recovery and the establishment of a tiny section of the FBI responsible for art theft. Compared to a number of European countries which might have several hundred law enforcement people involved in art recovery, the FBI had only one or two when Bob was an agent. Towards the end of the book he brings up the internal politics of
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Jan 25, 2011
Colleen
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What an excellent read! This memoir has all the action and adventure of a great thriller with the added kick that it all really happened. Wittman eloquently describes how he found himself pulled into the rough and tumble world of undercover operations designed to recover stolen works of art, and shares his frustration that the issue generates so little attention in the U.S. and at the FBI itself. Gangsters, museum thieves, art scholars- this book has a little bit about them all and makes for a g
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