Why read All That Glitters?

Book cover of All That Glitters

Book description

A 2024 Summer Read in the Economist, Telegraph, Guardian, the i, and the Evening Standard

'An art world Great Gatsby, deliciously withering and dishy.' Patrick Radden Keefe

'Explosive ... the inside story of the biggest art fraud in American history' Guardian

'Liar's Poker, but for art' Economist

'A brilliant, devastating…

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Why read it?

1 author picked All That Glitters as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Patricia Duncker

Author

This book is a memoir and indeed a witness statement: the story of an unequal friendship between the author and his undergraduate best friend, Inigo Philbrick, a friendship that goes horribly wrong. Whitfield writes with the arresting immediacy of fiction. He reproduces key moments of dialogue and his descriptive writing presents a strong sense of place: key streets in London, restaurants, galleries, cocktail lounges, lavish American resorts, even walks across South London. For me, this book provided a revelatory insight into the market for contemporary art. I had never imagined that business deal brinkmanship could be so tense and exciting,…

From Patricia's 3 favorite reads in 2024.