Hi Everyone-

Well, the process of buying for for the coming Crystal City store continues, so just another brief word this week. I'd like to mention another current Buyer's Choice: I Was Vermeer by Frank Wynne. It's the biography of Han van Meegeren, perhaps the greatest forger of the twentieth century (and one whose work mostly likely hangs in many of the world's most important museums to this day). Charged with selling a painting by Vermeer to Hermann Goering (considered treason in Holland and punishable by death), van Meegeren sat in jail rather than admit that he had in fact sold a forgery. The reason, according to this fascinating examination of the mind of a forger, was that he didn't want to risk the "immortality" of his paintings, housed in museums around the world as the work of other great artists. van Meegeren's story climaxes with his publicly painting a Vermeer to prove his innocence of selling a state treasure--and also prove his unparalleled skill as a forger. Wynne does a marvelous job with this inherently riveting material, and the book has another special connection: van Meegeren was at least partly the basis for Wyatt Gwynon, the forger at the heart of William Gaddis' brilliant novel The Recognitions.

I Was Vermeer is featured at 20% off at all our stores. Come pick up a copy!

See you in the stores,

Joe Murphy
Head Book Buyer