The Art of the Steal: Inside the Sotheby'S-Christie's Auction House Scandal

Rating:
Summary: Confusing, boring -- and biased?
Review: After reading nearly 500 pages, I was still confused over who the author thought was the real criminal in the conspiracy, I just knew he wanted to clear Al Taubman (who went to jail after being -- rightly -- convicted of price-fixing.) He points a lot of fingers at other people who may not deserve it, but never gets to the bottom of the whole matter.
If you're not Taubman's best friend, skip this, because Mason appears to be.

Rating:
Summary: The Art World Gone Mad!
Review: Christopher Mason reveals the ins and outs of the complex and deceptive art world in London and New York. He has the inside scoop of what really happened. Sure makes the courtroom drama seem like only part of the story was told on the stand. The careers that were destroyed were not only Mr. Taubman's and Mrs. Brooks's. The reputation of these two premier huoses in thrown into question forever. A good read, and a quick one. The writer brings you along and you are hanging on the side of your seat to see who does what. I recommend it without question.

Rating:
Summary: Tar and Feather Her!!!!!
Review: Dede Brooks is portrayed as a brilliant but flawed individual who is a Meglomaniac, with a capital M. Those of us who knew her well would agree! She denied her involvement in a commission fixing scheme for several years and finally woke up and realized what she did. The reputation of both Sotheby's and Christie's are ruined forever in my eyes. What a sad story of power, greed and mental illness. The anonymous sources tell the real secrets of what happened. A trail of damage was left in her wake...and now she sits in her Manhattan apartment or in her Hobe Sound $4 million getaway, alone and without friends. She made her own grave and she sound be tarred and feathered! Why didn't she go to jail? Thank you to Christopher Mason for uncovering a true mystery.

Rating:
Summary: A Gripping Read
Review: This book is a real page turner and yet is packed with fascinating and well researched details of both the art world in general and the auction house scandal in particular. Mason manages to give fascinating character descriptions of all the main players laying out both their qualities as well as their, sometimes fatal, flaws. While reading like a thriller, The Art of the Steal is both a social and economic commentary on our times and a historical document. I would recommend this book highly.