I recently bought this book. Previously, I read a lot about the Isabella Stewart Gardner heist in Boston, MA in 1990. Anthony Amore is the security director of that museum. He joined the staff in 2005. He and the other author know quite a lot about Rembrandt's paintings and the constant lure of stealing them for either the joy of keeping them, or the knowledge of the millions that one painting can generate.

Tragically, the paintings taken from the Gardner heist were never found. The jewel taken was the only seascape that Rembrandt painted in his incredibly beautiful painting Christ in the Sea of Galilee.

The fact that this, and many other paintings (another lesser known Rembrandt) were stolen and never recovered is a sad occurrence. Like many, I would love to see this painting, but the selfishness of the people or person who took it, didn't think about the fact that it is gone, off the wall, perhaps never to be seen again is too horrific to think about.

Those in charge of the museum decided to leave the frames empty, perhaps in the hope that one day the painting will be returned, and also the sheer vision of an empty canvas elicits the reality of the steal!

From previous reading, I learned that Rembrandt placed himself in the boat, right next to Christ. The cheeky guy wearing a red tam is him.

The beauty of a Rembrandt painting is awe inspiring. In this painting, the waves are violently pounding the boat. In fact, Rembrandt painted one of the disciples leaning over the boat, vomiting in the water because of the sheer impact of the force of the waves.

When reading this book I became aware that Rembrandt painted 2,000 works! Many were stolen and recovered, others are lost, perhaps forever.

I recommend this book, with the caveat that there is a lot of repetition, and at times the reader feels overwhelmed by all the data. But, if you like me, are very interested in art, then this is a book well worth reading.

Rembrandt had a sad life, early on he owned a beautiful home with a third floor space for his work and paintings. He was deeply in love with his wife who died at an early age. In addition, his son Titus died at a young age. While Rembrandt was beyond a doubt one of the most prolific artists, capable of rendering a brush, paint and a canvas into a masterpiece, he was not adept at handling his finances. He went bankrupt in later years.

He lost his wife, his son and his home. However, many of his works are still in museums, or in private collections. His legacy lives on, and the fact that his paintings are in high demand, costing millions, and so very coveted, enough to be stolen, is indeed a testimony to his works.

While I rather enjoyed reading this book, I found it a touch underwhelming. The authors’ discussion of many of the thefts of Rembrandt paintings and etchings are rather comprehensive, but something about their writing style just fell a bit flat. Maybe I was looking for something with a little more drama and pizzazz, where they’re more interested in a clinical discussion of technicalities, the damage that art theft causes, and the realities of museum security, the true character of art thieves, and the prevention of future thefts - all of which are surprisingly less than glamourous (contrary to what Hollywood has led us to believe). ( )

This was very good and interesting but a lot of information started being repeated as the book went along. A good introduction, but I'm sure there have to be more in-depth works out there on this topic. ( )

Probably the best feature about this book it that it covers many different stories that the average person doesn't know about. Sometimes themes can be repeated a little too often. However, Stealing Rembrandts is one of a kind.

The number of stolen art is shocking considering how little the media shares it. According to the FBI, the black market for art is the second largest. It also is pretty startling how many Rembrandts have been stolen. The book briefly touches on the Isabella Stewart Gardner Heist as on of the co-authors, Anthony M. Amore, is the Director of Security at the museum. Most of the book though is on the lesser known but still interesting Rembrandt thefts. As the lengths that people go to to steal a painting is disturbing, and even more disturding are the things intended to do with the paintings. Most thefts are hostage cases and the people that steal them have little knowledge of what their stealing.

Its a good book, I've seen it scattered around at different museums and books stores. But if the Gardner is close to you, they sell signed copies of the book. Its worth purchasing and reading. ( )

Great fun to learn about the history of art heists and about Rembrandt as a painter. Learned all kinds of odd facts- there's a painting that's been stolen from a museum in Dulwich England, four times! Dubbed, affectionately, the Takeaway Rembrandt. Heh. And etchings are easier to steal than paintings (no surprise there.) Surprised to learn that art crime doesn't seem to have changed all that much in the digital age. Still a heist is a good old fashioned heist. ( )