EX LIBRIS

New at the Healdsburg Library: DVD 364.162 ART: “Art of the Heist – Inside the Art World’s Biggest Thefts” (14 episodes on four discs) and a viewer’s guide. From famous forgeries to Hitler’s plundering, and thefts of Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and Munch’s The Scream, we are given details and reenactments of the process by which these events transpired and the lengths taken to retrieve the art works involved. A fascinating account from the Athena learning program.
Very new: “David’s Sling: A History of Democracy in Ten Works of Art,” Victoria C. Gardner Coates, 295 pages, thoroughly illustrated. Fusing political and art history with a judicious dose of creative reconstruction, the author has crafted a lively narrative around each artistic object and the free system that inspired it. This book integrates the themes of creative excellence and political freedom to bring a fresh, new perspective to both. In telling the stories of 10 masterpieces, David’s Sling invites reflection on the synergy between liberty and human achievement. Check it out.
“Satori,” a novel by Don Winslow and based on an earlier work, “Shibumi,” by Trevanian, in which the master spy, Nicholai Hel, is introduced as a “genius, mystic, and formidable assassin.” The title, Satori, is both a code name and also a driving force for the hero’s aim of ultimate enlightenment. The author has a sharp wit and carries along a thrilling narrative that is fully imbued with the quickness of Eastern thought. Perfect companion for any nearby beach.
– Simon Jeremiah