Words on Wednesday: "The Art Thief"

The true story of the world's most prolific art thief—a spellbinding portrait of obsession and flawed genius, from the bestselling author of The Stranger in the Woods. In The Art Thief, Michael Finkel brings us into master theif Stéphane Breitwieser's strange and fascinating world.

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 Stéphane Breitwieser. Carrying out more than 200 heists over nearly 10 years—in museums and cathedrals all over Europe—Breitwieser, along with his girlfriend who worked as his lookout, stole more than 300 objects, until it all fell apart in spectacular fashion.