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Stealing the Show: A History of Art and Crime in Six Thefts
When he retired as the chief security officer of New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, John Barelli had spent the better part of forty years responsible not only for one of the richest treasure troves on the planet, but the museum’s staff, the millions of visitors, as well as American presidents, royalty, and heads of state from around the world.
For the first time, John Barelli shares his experiences of the crimes that occurred on his watch; the investigations that captured thieves and recovered artwork; the lessons he learned and shared with law enforcement professionals in the United States and abroad; the accidents and near misses; and a few mysteries that were sadly never solved. He takes readers behind the scenes at the Met, introduces curators and administrators, walks the empty corridors after hours, and shares what it’s like to get the call that an ancient masterpiece has gone missing.
The Metropolitan Museum covers twelve acres in the heart of Manhattan and is filled with five thousand years of work by history’s great artists known and Goya, da Vinci, Rembrandt, Warhol, Pollack, Egyptian mummies, Babylonian treasures, Colonial crafts, and Greek vases. John and a small staff of security professionals housed within the Museum were responsible for all of it. Over the years, John helped make the museum the state-of-the-art facility it is today and created a legacy in art security for decades to come.
Focusing on six thefts but filled with countless stories that span the late 1970s through the 21 st Century, John opens the files on thefts, shows how museum personnel along with local and sometimes Federal Agents opened investigations and more often than not caught the thief. But of ultimate importance was the recovery of the artwork, including Celtic and Egyptian gold, French tapestries, Greek sculpture, and more. At the heart of this book there will always be art—those who love it and those who take it, two groups of people that are far from mutually exclusive.
For the first time, John Barelli shares his experiences of the crimes that occurred on his watch; the investigations that captured thieves and recovered artwork; the lessons he learned and shared with law enforcement professionals in the United States and abroad; the accidents and near misses; and a few mysteries that were sadly never solved. He takes readers behind the scenes at the Met, introduces curators and administrators, walks the empty corridors after hours, and shares what it’s like to get the call that an ancient masterpiece has gone missing.
The Metropolitan Museum covers twelve acres in the heart of Manhattan and is filled with five thousand years of work by history’s great artists known and Goya, da Vinci, Rembrandt, Warhol, Pollack, Egyptian mummies, Babylonian treasures, Colonial crafts, and Greek vases. John and a small staff of security professionals housed within the Museum were responsible for all of it. Over the years, John helped make the museum the state-of-the-art facility it is today and created a legacy in art security for decades to come.
Focusing on six thefts but filled with countless stories that span the late 1970s through the 21 st Century, John opens the files on thefts, shows how museum personnel along with local and sometimes Federal Agents opened investigations and more often than not caught the thief. But of ultimate importance was the recovery of the artwork, including Celtic and Egyptian gold, French tapestries, Greek sculpture, and more. At the heart of this book there will always be art—those who love it and those who take it, two groups of people that are far from mutually exclusive.
232 pages, Hardcover
First published August 22, 2019
72 people are currently reading
1086 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 126 reviews
February 3, 2021
Do you have some shrunken human heads in your house? If you do, please do not box them up and send them to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City along with a letter offering them as a donation. They are human remains and should be treated respectfully. Also, they smell bad. Anyway, the author had an expert confirm they were actual human remains. Then the author called the NYPD, which wanted nothing to do with them. Then he convinced some employees of the city morgue to come by and remove them. It's a full life running security at the Met.
Other reviewers have pointed out that the title is misleading and the book is disjointed and full of name-dropping. This is all true, but I enjoyed the book because it rambled and was full of trivia. A teenager decided he wanted an ancient ring, so he grabbed it, stuffed it in his mouth, and walked out of the museum? And he almost got away with it because the Met didn't have cameras back then?? Also, a different teenager went to the rare prints department, presented a fake ID, and stole some incredibly valuable Honus Wagner and Mickey Mantle baseball cards? TEENS. MY WORD. SUCH INITIATIVE, YET SUCH LIMITED FOLLOW-THROUGH.
The audiobook reader, Mack Sanderson, is phenomenal. He handles all kinds of complex terms and foreign words with aplomb.
Other reviewers have pointed out that the title is misleading and the book is disjointed and full of name-dropping. This is all true, but I enjoyed the book because it rambled and was full of trivia. A teenager decided he wanted an ancient ring, so he grabbed it, stuffed it in his mouth, and walked out of the museum? And he almost got away with it because the Met didn't have cameras back then?? Also, a different teenager went to the rare prints department, presented a fake ID, and stole some incredibly valuable Honus Wagner and Mickey Mantle baseball cards? TEENS. MY WORD. SUCH INITIATIVE, YET SUCH LIMITED FOLLOW-THROUGH.
The audiobook reader, Mack Sanderson, is phenomenal. He handles all kinds of complex terms and foreign words with aplomb.
December 31, 2020
I liked this book a lot, it takes you into the background of the Met museum and how the priceless works of art are guarded and it shows a not so regular shined upon face of the art scene and the perils it is exposed every day. The writing is short and to the point, the book narrative is fast and simple enough to be enjoyed by any amateur art lover.
September 27, 2019
Name dropping gets in the way of the stories
The subject was interesting, but the author seemed very concerned about naming every Met and NYPD official who were in place at the time of the incidents. It took away from the stories. There was also a fair amount of self-promotion, as the author took pains to talk about the security improvements he made.
The subject was interesting, but the author seemed very concerned about naming every Met and NYPD official who were in place at the time of the incidents. It took away from the stories. There was also a fair amount of self-promotion, as the author took pains to talk about the security improvements he made.
December 31, 2020
This was a fascinating book, full of thing I love, like tales of art and of the inner workings of my favorite museum. But it felt like it should have been at least half again as long. Several of the stories - and there were more than six, as described in the title, and they weren't all of thefts - felt unfinished. What happened to the Banksy? (All the Banksys, really.) Why did that truck crash? Did the author ever try to locate and interview any of the culprits he talks about, to gain more information and insight - as he did when preparing his doctorate?
Another thing that bothered me - no, two - were, first, the fact that, especially toward the end, every time the author spoke in high praise of someone, I knew that one of the next paragraphs would describe their death. He really did seem to interact with a lot of people just a little time before their deaths. I can't blame him for name-dropping - it would be absurd to not tell those stories - but the overall effect was a bit ghoulish. Or indicative that he brought bad luck.
The second thing was an overriding sense, almost a smugness, of "If I had been in charge things would have gone better." September 11 might not have involved so much loss of life - or might have been prevented, I daresay, if Mr. Barelli had had charge of airport security. Princess Diana might not have died if he'd been in charge of her security. I'm not saying that's not true - some of the smugness seems to have been well-earned. He seems to have been excellent at his job. I just don't think it's too helpful to indulge in this kind of Monday morning quarterbacking, and it's certainly not enjoyable to listen to. Nor is it what I signed up for in a book subtitled "A History of Art and Crime in Six Thefts".
On the whole, I was glad of the book. I love the Met; I love New York. I love a behind-the-scenes look at the former - even when I come away a little depressed that record-keeping used to be so nonexistent they could mislay a couple of Degas sculptures as easily as I misplace my keys. People are people, and actual excellence is rare and fleeting; I just wish I could think it was different at a place like the Met.
The narration was inflectionless, which was perfect for telling this story. I want a lot more anecdotes. (And less hubris.)
Another thing that bothered me - no, two - were, first, the fact that, especially toward the end, every time the author spoke in high praise of someone, I knew that one of the next paragraphs would describe their death. He really did seem to interact with a lot of people just a little time before their deaths. I can't blame him for name-dropping - it would be absurd to not tell those stories - but the overall effect was a bit ghoulish. Or indicative that he brought bad luck.
The second thing was an overriding sense, almost a smugness, of "If I had been in charge things would have gone better." September 11 might not have involved so much loss of life - or might have been prevented, I daresay, if Mr. Barelli had had charge of airport security. Princess Diana might not have died if he'd been in charge of her security. I'm not saying that's not true - some of the smugness seems to have been well-earned. He seems to have been excellent at his job. I just don't think it's too helpful to indulge in this kind of Monday morning quarterbacking, and it's certainly not enjoyable to listen to. Nor is it what I signed up for in a book subtitled "A History of Art and Crime in Six Thefts".
On the whole, I was glad of the book. I love the Met; I love New York. I love a behind-the-scenes look at the former - even when I come away a little depressed that record-keeping used to be so nonexistent they could mislay a couple of Degas sculptures as easily as I misplace my keys. People are people, and actual excellence is rare and fleeting; I just wish I could think it was different at a place like the Met.
The narration was inflectionless, which was perfect for telling this story. I want a lot more anecdotes. (And less hubris.)
January 28, 2021
Summary: It's not really the book you think it is.
This book covers fairly little of the crimes themselves. It provides a lot of background, especially the people involved (primarily on the enforcement side), and drops a lot of names but doesn't go into a lot of detail.
I couldn't find a clear order to the book and it felt a bit scattered. Additionally, if it really wanted to focus on the people, just write at more length, and give a good reason why all of these people are more interesting and important to know in a book about art theft than the art theft itself.
This book covers fairly little of the crimes themselves. It provides a lot of background, especially the people involved (primarily on the enforcement side), and drops a lot of names but doesn't go into a lot of detail.
I couldn't find a clear order to the book and it felt a bit scattered. Additionally, if it really wanted to focus on the people, just write at more length, and give a good reason why all of these people are more interesting and important to know in a book about art theft than the art theft itself.
February 4, 2021
My THOUGHT when I picked this one up was that it would be a light, accessible history of art theft over the centuries. The title sets you up for that, basically begging you to compare it with stuff like The History of the World in Six Glasses.
It's not that, at all. It focuses on one museum - the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City - from rougly the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. Not particularly a HISTORY, so much, and all of it's from the point of view of security lead John Barelli, whose work in preventing and solving art crime is the real through-line here.
So instead of a worldwide scope, it's basically the story of this one guy and this one museum and some thefts that happened there. A little one-note, right?
Wrong! Weirdly, wonderfully wrong! Barelli lays out the different sorts of art theft and crime - outside opportunity, inside opportunity, and pro - and from those basic types lays out six (or more) crimes at the Met that have shaken up the museum during his tenure there. We're talking Roman heads. Tapestries. Baseball cards. And maybe - or maybe not - bronze sculptures. It's all really compelling stuff.
Along the way, Barelli's career intersects with Princess Diana, 9/11, Scotland Yard, and a pair of shrunken heads. Barelli writes like a cop - precise, no-nonsense, occasional jokes - but the world of art and art crime is so bizarre that it makes for a good juxtaposition. I didn't think I was going to like this book at all and I liked it a lot. The old (paraphrased) Ebert adage is true: it's not always what the book is about, it's how it's about it.
It's not that, at all. It focuses on one museum - the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City - from rougly the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. Not particularly a HISTORY, so much, and all of it's from the point of view of security lead John Barelli, whose work in preventing and solving art crime is the real through-line here.
So instead of a worldwide scope, it's basically the story of this one guy and this one museum and some thefts that happened there. A little one-note, right?
Wrong! Weirdly, wonderfully wrong! Barelli lays out the different sorts of art theft and crime - outside opportunity, inside opportunity, and pro - and from those basic types lays out six (or more) crimes at the Met that have shaken up the museum during his tenure there. We're talking Roman heads. Tapestries. Baseball cards. And maybe - or maybe not - bronze sculptures. It's all really compelling stuff.
Along the way, Barelli's career intersects with Princess Diana, 9/11, Scotland Yard, and a pair of shrunken heads. Barelli writes like a cop - precise, no-nonsense, occasional jokes - but the world of art and art crime is so bizarre that it makes for a good juxtaposition. I didn't think I was going to like this book at all and I liked it a lot. The old (paraphrased) Ebert adage is true: it's not always what the book is about, it's how it's about it.
October 19, 2022
As many others have said, the title is absurdly misleading. I would rather have read more about art thefts, and the book could have been much longer. However, I did like the material about the problems of shipping items that are both extremely delicate and very valuable. I found the photographs quite helpful.
March 4, 2020
John should rename the title of this book to, "I'm John Barelli and these are all the famous people I've met: A history of how I installed cameras into a musuem." The amount of interesting content is dwarfed in comparison to the memoir narrative about someone we would have no knowledge about. A mark of a good director of security is never knowing their name, and John Barelli insists we remember his. Sure there are some tidbits of intrigue and humor interspersed in this 150 page CV, but they did far to little to save the story. But perhaps the title is all the more appropriate. John Barelli did in fact steal the show and made it completely about him, leaving us all with the ultimate bait and switch; not surprising from a man with years of security under his belt.
May 11, 2022
The problem with this book isn’t the book itself - it’s the title and summary. The book itself is written just fine, but it is really a memoir of a former head of security at the Met in NYC. It’s NOT a history of art OR crime in six thefts, as the title declares.
I enjoyed the guy’s stories from his career, but whoever titled and summarized this should be locked away in a museum basement for being so misleading it’s basically fraud.
I enjoyed the guy’s stories from his career, but whoever titled and summarized this should be locked away in a museum basement for being so misleading it’s basically fraud.
July 21, 2021
3.5/5 stars
While interesting, I feel like this book is more about security than art theft. The six thefts don’t make up the entire story, and are often spoiled in the captions of the photos the author includes. Never the less, I did enjoy reading about the Met and appreciated the heart the author put into his writing.
While interesting, I feel like this book is more about security than art theft. The six thefts don’t make up the entire story, and are often spoiled in the captions of the photos the author includes. Never the less, I did enjoy reading about the Met and appreciated the heart the author put into his writing.
January 9, 2021
It was surprisingly one of the top books about art, because it gives a very unusual and secretive side of art world. Very eye opening. It also inspired some breakthroughs in my professional sphere - information security for an IT enterprise, company wide
December 3, 2020
Eh. This is an alright book, but it is not the book I was hoping to read. Because despite the title, neither history, art, crime, nor thefts are its central focus.
It's much more accurate to say it's the autobiography of a very high-profile art security expert, and the institution he worked for, which is the MET. It felt a little fluffy. Like Barelli was too loyal and prudent to the museum and its staff to say anything truly scandalous.
Although his work is interesting, I'm glad the book wasn't any longer. It was too much of a love letter to the MET, and to Barelli's own career. He *definitely* waxes starfucker detailing all the dignitaries he escorted about. To be fair, he probably made it as interesting to me as he could've, given that I have zero interest in fairly vanilla details about celebrity bodyguard procedure.
Without question, the best parts of this book are the interesting stories of art theft, and Barelli's attempts to type the art thieves into a handful of categories. There's was a clear way to take this book to the next level: to pair each story about a tiny theft at the MET he had personal experience with a non-MET focused story about a similar kind of theft at another institution. That would've given a much more interesting, universal breadth to the examination of the subject. He sorta does this? But it's halfhearted. It seems like nothing interests him as much as the happenings at the MET.
It's a totally fine quick read. Interesting if not exactly what I wanted. I enjoyed it, but it's not the kind of fascinating piece of nonfiction I'm gonna shove into friends' hands. Which is what I'd hoped it would be.
It's much more accurate to say it's the autobiography of a very high-profile art security expert, and the institution he worked for, which is the MET. It felt a little fluffy. Like Barelli was too loyal and prudent to the museum and its staff to say anything truly scandalous.
Although his work is interesting, I'm glad the book wasn't any longer. It was too much of a love letter to the MET, and to Barelli's own career. He *definitely* waxes starfucker detailing all the dignitaries he escorted about. To be fair, he probably made it as interesting to me as he could've, given that I have zero interest in fairly vanilla details about celebrity bodyguard procedure.
Without question, the best parts of this book are the interesting stories of art theft, and Barelli's attempts to type the art thieves into a handful of categories. There's was a clear way to take this book to the next level: to pair each story about a tiny theft at the MET he had personal experience with a non-MET focused story about a similar kind of theft at another institution. That would've given a much more interesting, universal breadth to the examination of the subject. He sorta does this? But it's halfhearted. It seems like nothing interests him as much as the happenings at the MET.
It's a totally fine quick read. Interesting if not exactly what I wanted. I enjoyed it, but it's not the kind of fascinating piece of nonfiction I'm gonna shove into friends' hands. Which is what I'd hoped it would be.
July 23, 2022
As other reviewers have pointed out, the subtitle "A History of Art and Crime in Six Thefts" is a bit of a misnomer. It implies, perhaps, that historic art heists will be detailed in this book, and while they do pop up tangentially from time to time, really this is the memoir of John Barelli, the longtime head of security at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.
With that caveat out of the way, Barelli has lived an incredibly interesting life, one worthy of being documented in a memoir. Whether it's juggling the myriad security concerns surrounding visits to the museum from heads of state, or deciphering the ongoing puzzle of how to protect art while still keeping it accessible to the public, or visiting law enforcement and museums abroad to learn they're practices, Barelli did it all in his career and the stories that come out of those experiences are fascinating. As is his incredibly poignant account of September 11, 2001, and the way he and his staff coped with protecting the museum and it's collection in the aftermath of that terrible attack.
Engagingly written and charmingly narrated by Mack Sanderson in the audiobook form, title issues aside, this is one I'm glad I gave a shot.
With that caveat out of the way, Barelli has lived an incredibly interesting life, one worthy of being documented in a memoir. Whether it's juggling the myriad security concerns surrounding visits to the museum from heads of state, or deciphering the ongoing puzzle of how to protect art while still keeping it accessible to the public, or visiting law enforcement and museums abroad to learn they're practices, Barelli did it all in his career and the stories that come out of those experiences are fascinating. As is his incredibly poignant account of September 11, 2001, and the way he and his staff coped with protecting the museum and it's collection in the aftermath of that terrible attack.
Engagingly written and charmingly narrated by Mack Sanderson in the audiobook form, title issues aside, this is one I'm glad I gave a shot.
March 16, 2023
to be fair, i went into this having a degree in art history with a focus on theft and looting so i came into this book probably with a bit more general info than most readers but …?
this book is marketed as thefts that changed the art world and instead we got a few thefts and then just basically a play by play of this guy’s greatest hits in his career working at the MET. i’m not saying it wasn’t interesting, but i just didn’t understand how the chapters progressed from different thefts that happened at the MET and then suddenly we were just chatting about his night with princess diana and security.
interesting stuff - didn’t know the story of catherine the great’s pistols so that was enjoyable to read - but not what the book was marketed as
this book is marketed as thefts that changed the art world and instead we got a few thefts and then just basically a play by play of this guy’s greatest hits in his career working at the MET. i’m not saying it wasn’t interesting, but i just didn’t understand how the chapters progressed from different thefts that happened at the MET and then suddenly we were just chatting about his night with princess diana and security.
interesting stuff - didn’t know the story of catherine the great’s pistols so that was enjoyable to read - but not what the book was marketed as
April 7, 2021
John Barelli shares insights and anecdotes from his long career in charge of security of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, including a variety of art thefts that occurred during his tenure, freak accidents, notable events and celebrity visits, and much more. An entertaining and quite interesting look behind the scenes.
May 17, 2022
This was a gem! I loved reading about the art thefts and the people who committed them at The Met and other prestigious museums. It’s fascinating to get a glimpse inside the minds of these criminals and learn the “why.” It’s not always what you might think!
February 7, 2024
Interesting, but not overly captivating part memoir, part historical tidbits written by a former chief of security at the MET Museum. I’m a huge fan of the MET, so that added some interest, and I might be on the lookout for the art pieces he mentioned in his book next time I visit. But there is a lot of name dropping and personal achievements kind of a thing, while I went in for more art talk and history, hence my 3* rating.
June 4, 2020
Been a long time since I haven’t finished a book but here we are. Imagine my excitement when I found a book on art crime. Now imagine my disappointment when I wasn’t willing to finish it because it’s so poorly written. I’m no masochist. We’re going through enough already these days. Don’t be fooled by the introduction. It’s more about the author’s career running security at The Met than anything else. Maybe the author gets into the art crimes after my stopping point. Maybe he doesn’t. I’ll never know but I’ll find a way to live with it. This book is all over the place. I don’t know whether to assign blame to the author or editor. My feeling is that there’s enough to go around. To be fair, it would probably work much better as assigned reading for an introductory level Museum Security class. I’m open to suggestions of books dealing with art crime in general as well as specific thefts. Looks like it’s another Thomas Crown Affair viewing for me in the meantime.
August 23, 2020
A better title for this book would be "Emperors and Theives: My Time Working Security at the Met." It's very clearly a transcript of Mr Barelli telling his story verbally, but was remarkably poorly edited, to the point where a previous reader had penciled in some notes and edits to make sentences and entire pages readable.
I did learn from this book and don't regret reading it, but this is no Art History book. This is a memoir and history of the modern Met museum.
I did learn from this book and don't regret reading it, but this is no Art History book. This is a memoir and history of the modern Met museum.
July 29, 2021
I think that I would have liked this a lot more if the title hadn’t been so misleading. I went into this expecting that it would be about art thefts and how thieves are caught, but it was much more a biography of a longtime head of security at the Met. Interesting in places, and I would’ve loved it had it been primarily about the art.
May 6, 2025
I feel robbed (pun intended).
Before I embarked on my journey to read this book, I had certain expectations. These expectations were let down for reasons which were not at all my fault but entirely the book's. The title promises "A History of Art and Crime in Six Thefts." The contents of the book, however, mostly comprised of security, a whole lot of back-pats to the author, and the MET. It was extremely disappointing reading this book, hoping till the very end that it would deliver on its promise, only to fail.
There has not been an attempt to impress on the reader *why* they should be concerned about art theft, let alone artwork in general. There is little to no mention or discussion of some of the *actual* greatest art crimes in history. There is also no critical examination of the word 'theft' or the politics of it, considering most museum collections host stolen and looted artwork which they are unwilling to return to the original countries. And while the writer does describe art thefts that have occurred in the museum, he does not linger on its consequences (personal, professional or cultural) or its aftermath, simply brushing it off as a sad disappointment and moving on until the artwork turns up again years later.
It was interesting how many measures that I considered common sense now, probably due to having been exposed and used to them already, were revolutionary and creative back then (I can't believe they did not document the artwork they bought and displayed back then).
The author's hubris is incredibly evident in his writing. There's a lot of self-praise on his improvements to security, on how he could have provided better security in unrelated incidents, and even more name-dropping of his connections and the people he's met (pun unintended) through the MET. All of this would've been fine if the book was advertised as a memoir, not as a history of art crime.
There's only so much one can read about security measures before it becomes uninteresting. There's more info about the author's colleagues than the art. There also just isn't much build up for the theft and the process of recovering it, so rather than coming across Sherlock Holmes-like, it's just anticlimactic. I would, in fact, say that Princess Diana's guest appearance in this book had more of a dramatic reveal and build-up than the crimes. I did not know that a book about art thieves could be boring, but here I am.
The only two instances (I counted) I was actually engaged was during his anecdotes about the shrunken heads ("donated" to the MET, who found it a home in a mortuary), and this one paragraph where William Lieberman is called to identify whether the paintings confiscated by the FBI:
"...[Bill] said nothing to acknowledge me or the roomful of special agents waiting eagerly for a determination. Bill looked at the first painting and said, “I don’t know who painted this.” He went on to the second and said, “I don’t know who painted this.” Then the third, “I don’t know who painted this.” Remarking on the first group of “Picassos,” he said, “I have no idea who painted these paintings.” When he got to the fourth painting, presumably a Pissarro, he declared, “And the person who painted this one should have his hand cut off.” He then said, “I hope this was helpful. Nice meeting you all. Good bye.” He turned and left the room as abruptly as he had entered."
There. Now you don't have to waste your time reading the entire book.
[1.5 stars, rounded down]
Before I embarked on my journey to read this book, I had certain expectations. These expectations were let down for reasons which were not at all my fault but entirely the book's. The title promises "A History of Art and Crime in Six Thefts." The contents of the book, however, mostly comprised of security, a whole lot of back-pats to the author, and the MET. It was extremely disappointing reading this book, hoping till the very end that it would deliver on its promise, only to fail.
There has not been an attempt to impress on the reader *why* they should be concerned about art theft, let alone artwork in general. There is little to no mention or discussion of some of the *actual* greatest art crimes in history. There is also no critical examination of the word 'theft' or the politics of it, considering most museum collections host stolen and looted artwork which they are unwilling to return to the original countries. And while the writer does describe art thefts that have occurred in the museum, he does not linger on its consequences (personal, professional or cultural) or its aftermath, simply brushing it off as a sad disappointment and moving on until the artwork turns up again years later.
It was interesting how many measures that I considered common sense now, probably due to having been exposed and used to them already, were revolutionary and creative back then (I can't believe they did not document the artwork they bought and displayed back then).
The author's hubris is incredibly evident in his writing. There's a lot of self-praise on his improvements to security, on how he could have provided better security in unrelated incidents, and even more name-dropping of his connections and the people he's met (pun unintended) through the MET. All of this would've been fine if the book was advertised as a memoir, not as a history of art crime.
There's only so much one can read about security measures before it becomes uninteresting. There's more info about the author's colleagues than the art. There also just isn't much build up for the theft and the process of recovering it, so rather than coming across Sherlock Holmes-like, it's just anticlimactic. I would, in fact, say that Princess Diana's guest appearance in this book had more of a dramatic reveal and build-up than the crimes. I did not know that a book about art thieves could be boring, but here I am.
The only two instances (I counted) I was actually engaged was during his anecdotes about the shrunken heads ("donated" to the MET, who found it a home in a mortuary), and this one paragraph where William Lieberman is called to identify whether the paintings confiscated by the FBI:
"...[Bill] said nothing to acknowledge me or the roomful of special agents waiting eagerly for a determination. Bill looked at the first painting and said, “I don’t know who painted this.” He went on to the second and said, “I don’t know who painted this.” Then the third, “I don’t know who painted this.” Remarking on the first group of “Picassos,” he said, “I have no idea who painted these paintings.” When he got to the fourth painting, presumably a Pissarro, he declared, “And the person who painted this one should have his hand cut off.” He then said, “I hope this was helpful. Nice meeting you all. Good bye.” He turned and left the room as abruptly as he had entered."
There. Now you don't have to waste your time reading the entire book.
[1.5 stars, rounded down]
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 7, 2020
I heard John Barelli on NPR and was excited to read his book. I was also working on a book challenge that included a book on art. I thought a book on art theft would be more interesting than a book on art.
Well, I was disappointed. First of all, it's not really about a history of art in six thefts. It's about the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Barelli's career as its security director. It reads like it was written by the Met's PR department. And, while I don't want the nation's premier arts institution to burn down like the National Museum of Brazil, or experience a devastating burglary like the Isabella Stuart Gardiner Museum in Boston, it would be nice to read something other than superlatives. The Met must screw up once in a while.
Also, Barelli comes across like Mr. No Fun. When Diana, the Princess of Wales, came to New York for the Costume Institute's Gala, in 1997, Barrelli was in charge of security. Poor Diana went home alive, but she certainly couldn't have enjoyed herself much. She wanted to dance with the guests at the Temple of Dendur. Nope, can't do that. She couldn't even go to to store across the street from her hotel to buy Game Boys for her children. Someone else bought them for her.
The Met undoubtedly has some major characters working there. While John McPhee, in his wonderful book, A Roomful of Hovings, unearths a wealth of very funny anecdotes about Thomas Hoving, the Director of the Metropolitan in the late 60s and early 70s, in general, all we hear about Met curators from Barelli is, he/she is the foremost authority on...blah blah blah. There was one funny story about a time when a curator was asked to authenticate stolen paintings thought to be by a European old master. The curator came in, spoke to no one in the room, looked briefly at the paintings, announced, "I don't know who painted this," after inspecting each one, and stalked out.
Anyhow, the whole book was a "meh."
Well, I was disappointed. First of all, it's not really about a history of art in six thefts. It's about the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Barelli's career as its security director. It reads like it was written by the Met's PR department. And, while I don't want the nation's premier arts institution to burn down like the National Museum of Brazil, or experience a devastating burglary like the Isabella Stuart Gardiner Museum in Boston, it would be nice to read something other than superlatives. The Met must screw up once in a while.
Also, Barelli comes across like Mr. No Fun. When Diana, the Princess of Wales, came to New York for the Costume Institute's Gala, in 1997, Barrelli was in charge of security. Poor Diana went home alive, but she certainly couldn't have enjoyed herself much. She wanted to dance with the guests at the Temple of Dendur. Nope, can't do that. She couldn't even go to to store across the street from her hotel to buy Game Boys for her children. Someone else bought them for her.
The Met undoubtedly has some major characters working there. While John McPhee, in his wonderful book, A Roomful of Hovings, unearths a wealth of very funny anecdotes about Thomas Hoving, the Director of the Metropolitan in the late 60s and early 70s, in general, all we hear about Met curators from Barelli is, he/she is the foremost authority on...blah blah blah. There was one funny story about a time when a curator was asked to authenticate stolen paintings thought to be by a European old master. The curator came in, spoke to no one in the room, looked briefly at the paintings, announced, "I don't know who painted this," after inspecting each one, and stalked out.
Anyhow, the whole book was a "meh."
March 11, 2020
I like Art History - and I like heists, decided to give this a read.
It's not a BAD BOOK - just not quite what was advertised. It does talk about heists, but then will get lost in a tangent or five. The tangents about museum inner workings were pretty entertaining so I'm not going to cry too loudly. Some people argue he's tooting his own horn about the added precautions and innovations of his work. I disagree, if you work at any job for long enough you are going to change the geography of the workplace. So talking about the innovations of the security felt on topic - and he did make a point to credit his coworkers and staff. So his ego in that point wasn't bad.
But some of the tangents I really didn't care about, I skimmed over a bit when he explained baseball players to get to the topic of stolen cards. Legit just tell me these cards are valuable - if I care to know the player I'll google him.
Not an unpleasant read but very unpolished. Which I sort of expected from a first time writer memoir. He was/is a cop and explains details like one. Not in a fun narrative way but in a "this guy worked here - and now is here - and we now back to the theft."
The ending chapter or so drops all the museum thefts and goes on about security and celebrity events which I really wasn't invested in. I respect the guy's work - but do not care to hear about that time he felt bad for Princess Di.
Overall not a bad book - I don't regret reading it but it's not really what the cover promises and I'm probably not going to recommend it to folks.
It's not a BAD BOOK - just not quite what was advertised. It does talk about heists, but then will get lost in a tangent or five. The tangents about museum inner workings were pretty entertaining so I'm not going to cry too loudly. Some people argue he's tooting his own horn about the added precautions and innovations of his work. I disagree, if you work at any job for long enough you are going to change the geography of the workplace. So talking about the innovations of the security felt on topic - and he did make a point to credit his coworkers and staff. So his ego in that point wasn't bad.
But some of the tangents I really didn't care about, I skimmed over a bit when he explained baseball players to get to the topic of stolen cards. Legit just tell me these cards are valuable - if I care to know the player I'll google him.
Not an unpleasant read but very unpolished. Which I sort of expected from a first time writer memoir. He was/is a cop and explains details like one. Not in a fun narrative way but in a "this guy worked here - and now is here - and we now back to the theft."
The ending chapter or so drops all the museum thefts and goes on about security and celebrity events which I really wasn't invested in. I respect the guy's work - but do not care to hear about that time he felt bad for Princess Di.
Overall not a bad book - I don't regret reading it but it's not really what the cover promises and I'm probably not going to recommend it to folks.
October 15, 2021
While it was valuable to my studies (I am a museum studies student), I was not exactly blown away by this book. The author is all over the place and jumps from topic to topic within one paragraph, thus making it hard to follow the story. He also talks about quite a few things that are not really relevant to the topic of museum security, and he talks about more than 6 thefts. Also...I caught a few typos and punctuation errors. Yikes.
It seemed as though he was just trying to get out his whole museum experience in one book. I enjoyed the theft stories, however, and what steps they took to follow the chain and bring lost art back to the Met. I also enjoyed the pictures throughout the book of things he was referring to- very helpful! The book would have been much more enjoyable if it was told chronologically and without so much backstory and side notes. Overall, I would not really recommend it to people looking for a cool thrill-type book of real museum crimes, but more so for people who are interested in museums or security. It provided a great glimpse into both subjects and would be beneficial to anyone considering those fields. Also, John Barelli, thank you so so much for your many years of service to the Met and your efforts to keep both the incredible art and visitors safe. I commend you!
It seemed as though he was just trying to get out his whole museum experience in one book. I enjoyed the theft stories, however, and what steps they took to follow the chain and bring lost art back to the Met. I also enjoyed the pictures throughout the book of things he was referring to- very helpful! The book would have been much more enjoyable if it was told chronologically and without so much backstory and side notes. Overall, I would not really recommend it to people looking for a cool thrill-type book of real museum crimes, but more so for people who are interested in museums or security. It provided a great glimpse into both subjects and would be beneficial to anyone considering those fields. Also, John Barelli, thank you so so much for your many years of service to the Met and your efforts to keep both the incredible art and visitors safe. I commend you!
May 29, 2023
Disaster and emergency preparedness are parts of my job that I enjoy and this year’s May focus for me was theft reporting procedures, which made Stealing the Show timely reading. But I wanted the book that this one’s subtitle describes and this isn’t it. (I’m bummed since Managing Expectations: A Memoir in Essays did such a good job, well, managing expectations with its subtitle.)
What I did take away from this one in the positive column is the ways that Barelli helped establish what are now industry standards in museum security (although I’d be remiss if I didn’t shout out the amazing work that the Getty does – and shares with other institutions, something the Met is not known for). This one is short, coming in just shy of 200 pages and I wonder if a retooling away from a personal history and instead a focus more heavily on the art and antiquities would have made this a better read for me. But – I might be the wrong audience for this, knowing too much about the field.
full review: https://faintingviolet.wordpress.com/...
What I did take away from this one in the positive column is the ways that Barelli helped establish what are now industry standards in museum security (although I’d be remiss if I didn’t shout out the amazing work that the Getty does – and shares with other institutions, something the Met is not known for). This one is short, coming in just shy of 200 pages and I wonder if a retooling away from a personal history and instead a focus more heavily on the art and antiquities would have made this a better read for me. But – I might be the wrong audience for this, knowing too much about the field.
full review: https://faintingviolet.wordpress.com/...
February 15, 2023
John Barelli was the chief of security at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York for almost forty years. In this book, he gives an account of the day to day museum life, what the massive amounts of visitors were like, and a lot of information about the artwork in the museum. There was a lot more information about what it was like making the entire museum safe for the guests and visiting dignitaries than about the thefts, which did make the title seem misleading, but I was not disappointed.
This book really made me want to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art more than I already wanted to. I would love to see the amazing collections housed in this museum, especially the ones that I have heard stories about now. I would be over the moon in the Egyptian treasures, Warhol, and Rembrandt rooms. I think it would be a very fun experience to work in a museum of any type, which is something I would have loved to do with my history degree. The behind the scenes look into museum life in this book was exciting and informative to me. This book is currently available on Audible Plus, and is about a five hour listen.
This book really made me want to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art more than I already wanted to. I would love to see the amazing collections housed in this museum, especially the ones that I have heard stories about now. I would be over the moon in the Egyptian treasures, Warhol, and Rembrandt rooms. I think it would be a very fun experience to work in a museum of any type, which is something I would have loved to do with my history degree. The behind the scenes look into museum life in this book was exciting and informative to me. This book is currently available on Audible Plus, and is about a five hour listen.
December 15, 2024
it is definitely not the book that the title advertises - mainly a memoir of the chief of security in the met - but i enjoyed it anyway. i learned a lot of funfacts and curious insights into museum security, and while mr barelli perhaps has a tendency to namedrop a bit, i get it and i did find him quite the sympathetic and eloquent narrator. he clearly has a great passion and respect for his field of work, and thats what made tje book so enjoyable.
when you're studying to be a curator, it's easy to think the museum is just that - curators and the director. but as my current job as a museum cafe waitress and this book reminds me, the museum is comprised of so many more people - the guards, the recepcionists, the hospitality employees, the cleaners, and only all together we can create the experience of a museum for the visitors. like, idk, this week i was doing catering for the rijksmuseum staff christmas party, and i stood there with other waitresses, next to all the guards, receptionists, marketing people, curators, and the director was doing a speech, and he pointed at all of us and he said that we are all rijksmuseum and whatever maybe cheesy but its so true - and i think this book holds the same moral
when you're studying to be a curator, it's easy to think the museum is just that - curators and the director. but as my current job as a museum cafe waitress and this book reminds me, the museum is comprised of so many more people - the guards, the recepcionists, the hospitality employees, the cleaners, and only all together we can create the experience of a museum for the visitors. like, idk, this week i was doing catering for the rijksmuseum staff christmas party, and i stood there with other waitresses, next to all the guards, receptionists, marketing people, curators, and the director was doing a speech, and he pointed at all of us and he said that we are all rijksmuseum and whatever maybe cheesy but its so true - and i think this book holds the same moral
May 7, 2023
Despite it's title and summary, this book is not a history of art or crime or a set of six vignettes on art-related crime. Instead, this book is basically Barelli's memoir. He tells the story of his career managing security at the Met (and at other venues/for famous figures) and discusses the nuances associated with protecting such a coveted and popular venue with valuable artifacts and high-profile visitors and guests.
Some of Barelli's stories were interesting, but overall I found this book a bit self-important. I would have loved to learn more about some of his achievements in his career, like installing surveillance cameras or the nitty-gritty of certain investigations. Instead, he mainly focused on the big names he interacted with and glossed over a lot of the details and did not say anything particularly transgressive or novel. Overall, I thought this was a fairly quick and mildly interesting read for anyone interested in the history of art museum security, but I would not recommend it.
Some of Barelli's stories were interesting, but overall I found this book a bit self-important. I would have loved to learn more about some of his achievements in his career, like installing surveillance cameras or the nitty-gritty of certain investigations. Instead, he mainly focused on the big names he interacted with and glossed over a lot of the details and did not say anything particularly transgressive or novel. Overall, I thought this was a fairly quick and mildly interesting read for anyone interested in the history of art museum security, but I would not recommend it.
December 21, 2019
A lot more memoir than art crime, but I was fine with that.
As I recently visited the Met for the first time, I really enjoyed the amount of detail about the locations of various events and artifacts in the museum.
I think that the title does not accurately convey how much of this book is a memoir, and so people are reasonably disappointed there is not as much content about the art crimes themselves.
I mostly enjoyed hearing the personal details of the author meeting and working with various people, but I can understand why others found this boring. In terms of the name dropping, I’m pretty sure if I spent a day with Princess Diana I’d be putting that in my own memoir haha, so while it’s a bit pretentious it did not overly bother me.
In my opinion, the interesting parts more than make up for the slower portions. There’s definitely enough about art crime to make it worth reading, and if you’re bored by the personal stories you can always skip those portions.
As I recently visited the Met for the first time, I really enjoyed the amount of detail about the locations of various events and artifacts in the museum.
I think that the title does not accurately convey how much of this book is a memoir, and so people are reasonably disappointed there is not as much content about the art crimes themselves.
I mostly enjoyed hearing the personal details of the author meeting and working with various people, but I can understand why others found this boring. In terms of the name dropping, I’m pretty sure if I spent a day with Princess Diana I’d be putting that in my own memoir haha, so while it’s a bit pretentious it did not overly bother me.
In my opinion, the interesting parts more than make up for the slower portions. There’s definitely enough about art crime to make it worth reading, and if you’re bored by the personal stories you can always skip those portions.
June 3, 2021
This book had a lot of potential - the author is a really interesting person and clearly has many unique life experiences worth sharing. However, I found myself disappointing in its execution. Somewhere in between true crime and memoir, the author attempts to be both in under 200 pages, giving brevity to what I considered more interesting anecdotes and spending pages noting less important figures. I honestly think that the main problem is the organization and the editing - this was co-written with Zachary Schisgal, an editor, so I attribute the main weaknesses of the book to his lack of a heavy-hand editing. That being said, Barelli certainly knows his stuff and has some great stories. If you approach the book like you're listening to your dad talk about his day at work (unnecessary details, a little bias, and questionable storytelling) rather than a professional art crime novel, you may like it - and it's pretty short if you do want to give it a whirl.
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