the gripping story of an esteemed rare-map dealer who made millions stealing priceless maps
The story of an infamous crime, a revered map dealer with an unsavory secret, and the ruthless subculture that consumed him. Once considered a respectable antiquarian map dealer, E. Forbes Smiley spent years doubling as a map thief until he was finally arrested slipping maps out of books in the Yale University library. The Map Thief delves into the untold history of this fascinating high-stakes criminal and the inside story of those who deal in the collecting and sale of rare and priceless maps. Moreover, although Smiley swears he has admitted to all of the maps he stole, libraries claim he stole hundreds more and offer intriguing clues to prove it. The Map Thief interweaves Smiley's escapades with the stories of the explorers and mapmakers he knew better than anyone.
