Finkel, Michael

"For centuries, works of art have been stolen in countless ways from all over the world, but no one has been quite as successful at it as the master thief St?phane Breitwieser. Carrying out more than two hundred heists over nearly ten years-in museums and cathedrals all over Europe-Breitwieser, along with his girlfriend who worked as his lookout, stole more than three hundred objects, until it all fell apart in spectacular fashion. In The Art Thief, Michael Finkel brings us into Breitwieser's strange and fascinating world. Unlike most thieves, he never stole for money, keeping all his treasures in a single room where he could admire them to his heart's content. Possessed of a remarkable athleticism and an innate ability to assess practically any security system, Breitwieser managed to pull off a breathtakingly number of audacious thefts. Yet these strange talents bred a growing disregard for risk and an addict's need to score, leading Breitwieser to ignore his girlfriend's pleas to stop-until one final act of hubris brought everything crashing down"--Provided by publisher.

"The true story of a man who lived alone in the woods of Maine for 27 years"--Amazon.com.

"The true story of a man who lived alone in the woods of Maine for 27 years"--Amazon.com.

"The true story of a man who lived alone in the woods of Maine for 27 years"--Amazon.com.

Michael Finkel recalls how, shortly after he was fired from New York Times Magazine, he found out that a suspected murderer on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List had fled to Mexico and taken on his identity. After the man, Christian Longo, was taken into custody, Michael Finkel was the only reporter that he agreed to talk to. Finkel describes his attempts to uncover the truth about really happened to the family Longo was accused of killing.

Professional skier and sports columnist Michael Finkel shares stories of his ten years of skiing experiences across six continents, and dozens of countries, telling of skiing Mount Killimanjaro, flying off an Olympic ski jump, and making a first-ever run down an remote Alaskan peak.

The author tells the true story of Christian Michael Longo, his arrest for murdering his family, and how he fled to Mexico and assumed Michael Finkel's identity; and relates his own firing from the New York Times magazine.