Non-Fiction Pick of the Week: Priceless

Priceless: how I went undercover to rescue the world's stolen treasures by Robert K. Wittman
  
In the world of North American crime, art theft does not rank high on the list of priorities for the FBI. For one man, however, stopping the theft of cultural artifacts is as important as stopping the sale of drugs or solving violent crime cases. Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World's Stolen Treasures is the story of Robert K. Wittman’s FBI career and how he spent years travelling around the globe reclaiming works of art for both museums and personal collections.

Wittman makes a convincing argument for the importance of pursuing the recovery of paintings, sculptures, historic flags, swords, items from archeology sites, and other culturally relevant objects. He notes that their disappearance robs us all of our history, culture, and sense of identity. Wittman details a number of his undercover exploits as he ingratiates himself with members of the criminal underworld to recover works by Rodin, Goya, Rembrandt, and objects such as Geronimo’s eagle feather war bonnet and a crystal ball originally from Beijing’s Forbidden City. He tracks the growth of the fledgling art crime unit within the FBI and its eventual dissolution, while outlining both its successes as well as its failures.