The Gardner Heist: The True Story of the World's Largest Unsolved Art Theft by Ulrich Boser

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The Gardner Heist: The True Story of the World's Largest Unsolved Art Theft
by Ulrich Boser
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/11509934/

I picked up this book at the Boston BookCrossing gathering on the day that I tried to go to the Isabella Gardner Museum (it happens to be closed on Tuesdays). I'm sure it would be more interesting to see it in the spring when the courtyard is in bloom. I had no idea about this heist until tobysrus told me about it and this book. I also didn't know about the way the museum was structured and what provisions were made to keep it looking just as Gardner intended until she told me. Maybe by the time I finally end up at the museum, the pieces will be back where they belong!

It was fascinating to read about the museum and the details about the heist in this book. I'm sure the author left out a lot of paths that were explored and resulted in nothing. But it really felt like every little detail and avenue were thoroughly explored and explained on these pages. It was engaging and a bit heartbreaking as well. Recently, the theft has made it into the news again, so I guess only time will tell about where the paintings have been all this time and what has been done with them.

I really enjoyed this account, watching the author go from spectator to obsessed investigator. There were so many different possibilities, so many different angles. I liked being taken down the different paths, as though I were in any position at all to decide which was the most plausible, as if I might solve the crime somehow by noticing some detail in the book that was overlooked in the actual investigations. Mostly, though, I just liked the appreciation for art and the passion and desire to recover these precious works. And though the prospect of the paintings seems unlikely, the author does leave us with at least some hope.

I also really liked the photos throughout and to be able to see images of the works that had been stolen.

Funny fact: I take the METRO to DC (I can't stand driving in the city) and I read a book on the trip there and back. I brought this one with me to read today, in hopes of finally finishing it up (which I did). I also brought a copy of The Swan Thieves with me to wild release. It didn't occur to me until I was walking up the stairs to the National Gallery of Art that I was carrying exactly two books with me and BOTH were about stealing works of art from museums!