The OtherArena

[jdw]

Thought I'd break these up into genres that stuff can be added to. :)


John

[jdw]

The Rescue Artist by Edward Dolnick

The case of the 1994 theft of Edvard Munch's The Scream is the foundation the author uses to look into the world of Art Theft. Around it he gives a bit of modern history to art theft, gives a good presentation of the detective working to recover the painting, and gives a fair amount of insight into the mentality of art crooks.

Despite touching on two areas that I know next to nothing about (art and art theft), it's an extremely fast read as opposed to feeling bogged down as a reader. The pacing is brisk and it's a page turner.


John

[jdw]

Ballad of the Whiskey Robber: A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives, and Broken Hearts

This is an entertaining read on the life and times of a post-Communist bank robber in Hungry. While a lot of the reviews mention that it's full of comedy, it's actually less wall-to-wall humor than a sad look at what happened to Hungry after Communism fell and the "free market" came to town. The Whiskey Robber is almost a case study of it while also being a backdrop for author Julian Rubinstein to tell a larger story.

Despite that sounding like this is a deep, heavy book, it's actually a fast paced, quick read. One turns the pages to find out what happens next, even if one pretty much knows what happens in the end. But it's also nice to find a book that's both an entertaining page turner that also gives you a glimpse into a larger story in Europe.

John