SKU: 52723114591

Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World's Stolen Treasures

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Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World's Stolen TreasuresThe Wall Street Journal called him "a living legend." The London Times dubbed him "the most famous art detective in the world." In Priceless, Robert K. Wittman, the founder of the FBI's Art Crime Team, pulls back the curtain on his remarkable career for the first time, offering a real life international thriller to rival The Thomas Crown Affair. Rising from humble roots as the son of an antique dealer, Wittman built a twenty year career that was

The Wall Street Journal called him "a living legend." The London Times dubbed him "the most famous art detective in the world."

In Priceless, Robert K. Wittman, the founder of the FBI's Art Crime Team, pulls back the curtain on his remarkable career for the first time, offering a real-life international thriller to rival The Thomas Crown Affair.

Rising from humble roots as the son of an antique dealer, Wittman built a twenty-year career that was nothing short of extraordinary. He went undercover, usually unarmed, to catch art thieves, scammers, and black market traders in Paris and Philadelphia, Rio and Santa Fe, Miami and Madrid.

In this page-turning memoir, Wittman fascinates with the stories behind his recoveries of priceless art and antiquities: The golden armor of an ancient Peruvian warrior king. The Rodin sculpture that inspired the Impressionist movement. The headdress Geronimo wore at his final Pow-Wow. The rare Civil War battle flag carried into battle by one of the nation's first African-American regiments.

The breadth of Wittman's exploits is unmatched: He traveled the world to rescue paintings by Rockwell and Rembrandt, Pissarro, Monet and Picasso, often working undercover overseas at the whim of foreign governments. Closer to home, he recovered an original copy of the Bill of Rights and cracked the scam that rocked the PBS series Antiques Roadshow.

By the FBI's accounting, Wittman saved hundreds of millions of dollars worth of art and antiquities. He says the statistic isn't important. After all, who's to say what is worth more --a Rembrandt self-portrait or an American flag carried into battle? They're both priceless.

The art thieves and scammers Wittman caught run the gamut from rich to poor, smart to foolish, organized criminals to desperate loners. The smuggler who brought him a looted 6th-century treasure turned out to be a high-ranking diplomat. The appraiser who stole countless heirlooms from war heroes' descendants was a slick, aristocratic con man. The museum janitor who made off with locks of George Washington's hair just wanted to make a few extra bucks, figuring no one would miss what he'd filched.

In his final case, Wittman called on every bit of knowledge and experience in his arsenal to take on his greatest challenge: working undercover to track the vicious criminals behind what might be the most audacious art theft of all.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Broadway Books
Published: 06/07/2011
ISBN: 9780307461483
Pages: 324
Weight: 0.60lbs
Size: 8.12h x 5.14w x 0.76d
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SKU: 52723114591

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Ashlee G.
Cuba, US
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Love this shelf
Size: 6 tier, Color: Black Brush Silver, Size: 6 tier, Color: Black Brush Silver
Great quality easy assembly.hardwear included. Just beautiful
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Jason Brown
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Awesome Shelf for a Great Price!
The shelf is very sturdy and built well. I did not expect the quality to be so good. I honestly don't think you could build one with parts from the hardware store for less money. It was not very difficult to assemble, but it would have been easier if the were unions used with the pipes. I had to turn the whole shelf to tighten it. I also added some lights and the wires were difficult to snake through the pipes but I had planned on that not being easy. I did need help hanging the shelf. I don't think it can be done without help. I am extremely happy with the product and have got several compliments. Now I have to buy one for my mom because she likes mine so much. Shipping was super fast, it got to my house 1 day before I expected it. Thanks, I will be buying another one as soon as it gets back in stock
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ME
Los Angeles, US
★★★★★ 4
Looks great, not super sturdy
Size: 6 tier, Color: Black Brush Silver, Size: 6 tier, Color: Black Brush Silver
Putting the shelf together was simple and it looks nice. The shelf is not super study though. Word of advice, DO NOT use the drywall anchors that come with the shelf; buy your own. The instructions say to use a 5/16 drill bit and the included anchors. The anchors are terrible; the 5/16 bit was too big and the anchors went right through the wall when we tried to put the screws in. It was a huge frustration to put eight holes in the wall that we then had to patch up and repaint over because the included materials are terrible. Luckily a couple of the screws line up with the studs so it's fairly sturdy, but use our own anchors.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2022
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chet
Los Angeles, US
★★★★★ 5
So good I bought two
Size: 6 tier, Color: Black Brush Silver
These shelves are GREAT. Why? They arrive in a compact well protected package, they go up in minutes, are super tall, and they look fantastic. The price is perfect. The components are not 'real' iron pipes (I've built my own iron pipes shelves before and it's extremely heavy), but some kind of lighter weight metal. That's fine by me! The shelves appear to be real wood (!!). If you buy cheap furniture you know what fake wood looks like. You can tell. Guests can tell. This is probably a pretty cheap wood but who cares--it's REAL, is stained nicely with a distressed look, and overall looks amazing once books and items go on it. If you are deciding between these and some cheaper similar thing, pay a biiiit more and get something with real wood. I just bought a second for my office and they'll hold my books, art, and speakers.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2021
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Mr. Joshua C. Brasher
Fort Morgan, US
★★★★★ 5
Perfect. Sturdy. Super easy to assemble.
Size: 6 tier, Color: Black Brush Silver
I don’t rate a lot of items but I’m in love with this one. I just received it today. It was packaged incredibly well, took 15 min or less to put together and looks amazing!!! I’m tempted to order another one for another room in the house. It’s sturdy, well-made and I can’t stress how easy it was to assemble. Great product, highly recommend. (The owners even sent a hand-written note thanking me for ordering - what a nice touch!) Edit: ordered a second one after living first one so much
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Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2020

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