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Hardcover. Condition: As New. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. Dong, Lauren (book design); O'Connor, Jennifer (jacket design); Crisman, Chris (jacket photograph); Wittman, Donna (author photograph) (illustrator). 1st Edition. As new condition black boards with gold spine lettering contained in a fine condition non price-clipped color photographic dust jacket. Includes Author Dedication; Author's Note; Acknowledgments; and About the Authors. Signed and inscribed by the FBI special agent author to another FBI agent, with black pen, on the full title page. "The Wall Street Journal called him "a living legend." The Times of London dubbed him "the most famous art detective in the world." In Priceless, Robert K. Wittman, the founder of the FBI's Art Crime Team, pulls back the curtain on his remarkable career for the first time, offering a real-life international thriller to rival The Thomas Crown Affair. Rising from humble roots as the son of an antique dealer, Wittman built a twenty-year career that was nothing short of extraordinary. He went undercover, usually unarmed, to catch art thieves, scammers, and black-market traders in Paris and Philadelphia, Rio and Sant Fe, Miami and Madrid. In this page-turning memoir, Wittman fascinates with the stories behind his recoveries of priceless art and antiquities: The golden armor of an ancient Peruvian warrior king. The Rodin sculpture that inspired the Impressionist movement. The headdress Geronimo wore at his final powwow. The rare Civil War battle falg carried into battle by one of the nation's first African American regiments. The breadth of Wittman's exploits is unmatched: He traveled the world to rescue paintings by Rockwell, Rembrandt, Pissarro, Monet, and Picasso, often working undercover overseas at the whim of foreign governments. Closer to home, he recovered an original copy of the Bill of Rights and cracked the scam that rocked the PBS series Antiques Roadshow. By the FBI's accounting, Wittman saved hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of art and antiquities. He says the statistic isn't important. After all, who's to say what is worth more -- a Rembrandt self-portrait or an American flag carried into battle? They're both priceless. The art thieves and scammers Wittman caught run the gamut from rich to poor, smart to foolish, organized criminals to desperate loners. The smuggler who brought him a looted sixth-century treasure turned out to be a high-ranking diplomat. The appraiser who stole countless heirlooms from war heroes' descendants was a slick, aristocratic con man. The museum janitor who made off with locks of George Washington's hair just wanted to make a few extra bucks, figuring no one would miss what he'd filched. In his final case, Wittman called on every bit of knowledge and experience in his arsenal to take on his greatest challenge: working undercover to track the vicious criminals behind what might be the most audacious art theft of all." -- from the inner front and rear jacket flaps. "Priceless is priceless . a spellbinding narrative of an FBI agent's journey into the crazy murk of what is perhaps the most fascinating criminal activity of all, high-stakes art theft into the millions upon millions." -- Buzz Bissinger, author. "In one riveting sequence after another, Robert Wittman reveals the art world's underbelly as it has never been seen, through the eyes of an undercover agent whose investigative acument is matched only by his art-history chops. A true page-turner." -- Benjamin Wallace author. "Fascinating . Part way-cool art education and part hardcover FBI investigative action, Priceless is a steadily engrossing read." -- William "Billy" Queen, author. "Fast-paced, gripping . Wittman expose the darkest corners of the art world and brings to justice the dangerous criminals who lurk there." -- Laney Salisbury, author. "Rare and riveting . Wittman strips away the myths, bares the truth, and tells it like it is." -- Andrea Kane, author. Signed by Author(s).