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The Map Thief: The Gripping Story of an Esteemed Rare-Map Dealer Who Made Millions Stealing Priceless Maps
by Michael Blanding
- Used
- Hardcover
- Signed
- first
- Condition
- Like New
- ISBN 10
- 1592408176
- ISBN 13
- 9781592408177
- Seller
-
Stamford, Connecticut, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Avery, 2014-05-29. Hardcover. Like New. 8x6x1. Author inscribed to previous owner and signed First edition, first printing tight and otherwise unmarked in price intact jacket. Please email for photos.
Synopsis
The story of an infamous crime, a revered map dealer with an unsavory secret, and the ruthless subculture that consumed him Maps have long exerted a special fascination on viewers—both as beautiful works of art and as practical tools to navigate the world. But to those who collect them, the map trade can be a cutthroat business, inhabited by quirky and sometimes disreputable characters in search of a finite number of extremely rare objects. Once considered a respectable antiquarian map dealer, E. Forbes Smiley spent years doubling as a map thief —until he was finally arrested slipping maps out of books in the Yale University library. The Map Thief delves into the untold history of this fascinating high-stakes criminal and the inside story of the industry that consumed him. Acclaimed reporter Michael Blanding has interviewed all the key players in this stranger-than-fiction story, and shares the fascinating histories of maps that charted the New World, and how they went from being practical instruments to quirky heirlooms to highly coveted objects. Though pieces of the map theft story have been written before, Blanding is the first reporter to explore the story in full—and had the rare privilege of having access to Smiley himself after he’d gone silent in the wake of his crimes. Moreover, although Smiley swears he has admitted to all of the maps he stole, libraries claim he stole hundreds more—and offer intriguing clues to prove it. Now, through a series of exclusive interviews with Smiley and other key individuals, Blanding teases out an astonishing tale of destruction and redemption. The Map Thief interweaves Smiley’s escapades with the stories of the explorers and mapmakers he knew better than anyone. Tracking a series of thefts as brazen as the art heists in Provenance and a subculture as obsessive as the oenophiles in The Billionaire’s Vinegar , Blanding has pieced together an unforgettable story of high-stakes crime.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Griffin Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 109215
- Title
- The Map Thief: The Gripping Story of an Esteemed Rare-Map Dealer Who Made Millions Stealing Priceless Maps
- Author
- Michael Blanding
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- New
- Quantity Available
- 1
- ISBN 10
- 1592408176
- ISBN 13
- 9781592408177
- Publisher
- Avery
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 2014-05-29
- Size
- 8x6x1
- X weight
- 20 oz
Terms of Sale
Griffin Books
Return Policy: All items subject to prior sale. Returns are accepted with prior notification within 10 days of your receipt for items returned in the same condition.
About the Seller
Griffin Books
Biblio member since 2003
Stamford, Connecticut
About Griffin Books
General stock of approximately 12,000 titles with a concentration in non-fiction. The more unsual the better if we can find it. We are always buying libraries and collections in the Greater NYC and CT area including Fairfield, New Haven and Westchester counties.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Inscribed
- When a book is described as being inscribed, it indicates that a short note written by the author or a previous owner has been...
- Tight
- Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
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