The other spell is how Edward Dolnick draws you into his book. I had trouble putting it down. Good story, well written. The intermixing of WWII, art forgery methodology and the story of Van Meegeren made for an engrossing read. My friend was reading The Monuments Men at the same time and we had a lot to talk about.

An illuminating look at how a Dutch forger, Han van Meegeren, fooled critics and collectors in the 1930s and sold one of his "Vermeers" to Hermann Goering. Includes lots of details about the mechanics of creating and selling forgeries, though less about van Meegeren himself.

Interesting historical work that puts a different dimension on the invasion by the Nazis of the various European countries. Interesting to see the role of art in the war!

If you are looking for something different, something interesting, and something that will be a knowledge boost (while being fun to read), this is your book! This book was very well written and I promise you'll never look at a painting the same way. Hey, I didn't know a Vermeer from a Van Gogh and I really really enjoyed this book. It gets a solid A. I hightly recommend this one.