Rogues' Gallery: The Secret Story of the Lust, Lies, Greed, and Betrayals That Made the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Mr. Gross surpasses himself. This "oeuvre d'art" is a MUST for ages 13 to 99 and over.

Wow, someone has finally had the guts to tell the truth about how things really work inside cultural institutions like the Metropolitan Museum. It turns out that the greatest museum in America isn't run by such great people. To quote the book, the vices of the rich--greed, avarice, ambition, envy, obsession--are what drove the creation of the museum and drive the sort of people who want to be on museum boards. This isn't a book about art or art history. I mean it finally begins to lift the curtain on who actually owns and controls and donates the very very $$$$$ stuff in the museum. I was riveted and anyone who cares about the truth will be fascinated....so many complex and interesting stories under one roof! If I was Gross I would hire a bodyguard

This is an extraordinary book from an extraordinary writer. I grew up ten blocks from the Met and spent my childhood being dragged there against my will, but I was still in awe of the building, the collection, and the many countries and cultures I was exposed to through art. The solid exterior of Hunt's main building gives the appearance of order, quiet, perfection and harmony, yet inside there is a fascinating world of great egos, money, power, and hundreds of ghosts, not all of them nice ones. Gross takes us through the ages, from the post civil war moguls who founded the museum, to the new tycoons of the present age. It is a vast tale, but one which Gross weaves with his usual clipped style, throwing in colorful tidbits along the way. This is a scholarly book which does not read like one. That is its greatest asset. I now know a great deal about this mysterious institution, and I'm happy to have learned so much in so short a time, and in such a pleasant way. Charles Avery Fisher New York, NY

ROGUE'S GALLERY is a tour de force - and a wonderful read. It is the definitive history of America's most important museum, the Metropolitan, and therefore deserves a place on everybody's bookshelf. The story of the museum's beginnings is rife with fascinating intrigue and moneyed players jockeying for position. The more recent stories are just as entertaining and make for non-stop reading all the way through until the end of the book.

Whether its an apartment building (on Park Avenue), a glamorous industry or a museum, Michael makes it come alive. Not just the mummies are dancing. A thoroughly enjoyable and educational "museum tour" with a witty and well informed guide.