An interesting story, though not quite as gripping as dolnick's rescue artist, which I highly recommend. I particularly enjoyed the details of how the forgeries were done, the section about magicians and the monuments men parts. ( )

True story of a Dutch forger who fooled many in the art world with his "Vermeer's". The book slowed down in the middle pages ... seemed to get repetitious. But overall, it was an informative and interesting read. ( )

Not being an art person, I wasn't sure how I would like this, but i absolutely loved this book. I learned so much about the world of art forgery that I'd never heard before. The book does get a little tedious towards the end, but it is still well worth reading. ( )

The author clearly did a lot of research for this book. Interesting detail into the efforts by the forger to get his materials - certain hues of oils, the canvases, etc. - to be able to pass muster. It's a bit of a choppy read, getting all this incredible information together - but I found it well worth the effort. If you appreciate art as well as a good WWII story, you'll enjoy it. ( )

This an incredible book that weaves the art of art forgery (see what I did there?) with Hermann Goering and Adolf Hitler's frenzy for art perceived to be of value, and not "de-generate". The very well researched, at times sad, at other times funny. How the forger was caught was a fluke. By being outed as a forger, it probably saved VanMeegeren life - instead of a Nazi Sympathizer, it made him into a hero who fooled the enemy.

The information about art critics, and how they assess a painting well done, and got to the heart of the it- art critics are human, and believe that they can spot a fake a mile off. When evidence is provided to show otherwise, they will often double down on the belief its a legit painting, to protect their "gut feeling" as much as to not be outed as a bad critic. ( )