- Hardcover: 349 pages
- Publisher: Harper; 1st Edition edition (1 July 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0060825413
- ISBN-13: 978-0060825416
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 16.3 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 886,207 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Fascinating insight into the forger's craft using the life of one of the greatest forgers of the twentieth century to explain the how to as well as the why of this strange profession. It is intimately mixed in with the greatest crimes of the second world war. A good read.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
40 reviews
54 of 59 people found the following review helpful
Not as good as the Rescue Artist
10 July 2008
Format:Hardcover
When I saw this book mentioned in the New York Times, I went out and bought a copy because I had really enjoyed Edward Dolnick's previous book, The Rescue Artist. I wasn't anywhere near as impressed with The Forger's Spell. What made The Rescue Artist so good was the way Dolnick described the detective Charlie Hill on the hunt for a stolen painting. Hill was a really great, quirky character that Dolnick made come to life on the page. In The Forger's Spell, there's no character like that. The forger, Hans Van Meegeren, is interesting for what he was able to do - sell a forged Vermeer to Hermann Goering - but you never get much sense of who he was. Dolnick presents Van Meegeren as a greedy, second-rate painter who managed to fool a bunch of art experts and rich people because they were stupid and easy marks. It's not so compelling, and there's way too much padding here - a lot of chapters that don't advance the plot, and are pretty easy to skip. I would recommend buying Tom Hoving's book, False Impressions, which is a really good book about forgery. The Forger's Spell is nowhere near as good or interesting
34 of 40 people found the following review helpful
interesting story, disappointing book
4 July 2008
Format:Hardcover
I am a fan of Edward Dolnick's book The Rescue Artist, but I have to say that I was disappointed in The Forger's Spell. I bought it as soon as it came out because I was interested in the story of Han Van Meegeren. Van Meegeren was a fascinating crook who figured out how to fool people into seeing what they wanted to see. But I had already read Van Meegeren's story in John Kilbracken's book The Master Forger and, unfortunately, I didn't learn anything new in Dolnick's book. Anyone interested in Van Meegeren should look at Kilbracken's book, which does a better job of bringing the story to life. I wouldn't recommend The Forger's Spell.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Put it On Your Paperback List for Summer 09
1 Aug 2008
Format:Hardcover
Dolnick has a good story with a lot of hooks: big money, Vermeer, Nazi intrigue, etc. And, I think he delivers with an interesting core story and a lot of good side notes on Nazi personalities, art forgery and art history -- especially of the Dutch school in the 17th cent.
But, where his more frenetic style payed dividends in "The Rescue Artist," I think it takes something away from this subject. The book is composed of dozens of very short chapters and bounces around -- sometimes without real solid continuity.
Which is why I recommend the paperback. If you're looking for something to read in short bursts on the train or at the beach, this book is very manageable, tells a good story and brings you out of the Evanovich-level mass market fiction zone.
But, where his more frenetic style payed dividends in "The Rescue Artist," I think it takes something away from this subject. The book is composed of dozens of very short chapters and bounces around -- sometimes without real solid continuity.
Which is why I recommend the paperback. If you're looking for something to read in short bursts on the train or at the beach, this book is very manageable, tells a good story and brings you out of the Evanovich-level mass market fiction zone.
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