The Man Who Stole the Gods: A True Story of War, Obsession, and the World's Biggest Art Heist
4999
The Man Who Stole the Gods: A True Story of War, Obsession, and the World's Biggest Art Heist
4999
An unbelievable table of greed, looted treasures and stolen history in the world's biggest art heist. In the shattered aftermath of Cambodia's civil war, temples that had stood for centuries were found ransacked - sacred sculptures hacked from pedestals, towering statues of Hindu gods and priceless relics of the Khmer Empire vanished. At the centre of this vast plunder, British expatriate Douglas Latchford, whose decades-long obsession fuelled one of the most audacious cultural thefts of modern times. From the Killing Fields of the Khmer Rouge to the marble galleries of New York and London and the private collections of the rich and famous, The Man Who Stole the Gods unravels a breathtaking story of power, greed and corruption, and asks what you take from a nation when you steal its past. Drawing on years of investigation and exclusive access to the stories' key players - from temple looters and traffickers to the investigators and archaeologists fighting to bring masterpieces home - award-winning writer Matthew Campbell reveals how the treasures of one of the world's greatest civilizations were stolen, sold and finally found.
Immaculately researched and beautifully written, The Man Who Stole the Gods is a gripping real-life exposé of the ugly deals that underpin the trade in beautiful objects -- Oliver Bullough * author of Moneyland *
An epic tale of art, war, and crime, The Man Who Stole the Gods unspools a sprawling conspiracy of tomb raiders, art dealers, and museum curators, with one elusive expatriate at the heart of it all. Campbell brings the story to life with brisk pacing, an instinct for drama, and a firm grasp of the moral and historical stakes -- Stuart A. Reid * Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of The Lumumba Plot *
The Man Who Stole the Gods transcends reportage, marrying investigative rigour to the emotional force of great fiction. Propulsive and devastating, it traces a story of greed and violence that opens, finally, onto redemption, rendered with exceptional clarity and insight -- Katie Engelhart * Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Inevitable *
Masterfully reported and beautifully told, The Man Who Stole the Gods is a piercing indictment of our unequal world. It reads like a thriller, starring elite curators, business moguls, despots and freedom fighters and one of the most fascinating anti-heroes in modern memory -- Sheelah Kolhatkar * staff writer at The New Yorker and author of Black Edge *
After reading the book, you may never again look at ancient artworks in quite the same way. Thought-provoking true crime on a grand scale. * Kirkus *
Paced like a thriller, this sweeping, cinematic account weaves together true crime and Asian history to shine a light on a little-explored art world scandal. It’s a breathtaking ride. * Publishers Weekly *
It’s greatly reassuring that the arc of this fascinating and scrupulously researched story bends finally towards justice -- Marcel Theroux * Financial Times *
Fascinating... reads like a thriller...the story romps along with dogged lawyers and a ludicrous, devious antagonist * The Economist *
Matthew Campbell's enjoyable non-fiction thriller tells a fascinating tale -- Daunts * Our Five Favourite Books of the Week *
Details
ISBN13: 9780241827932
Format: Hardback
Number of Pages: 432
Edition:
Publication Date: 08 Sep 2026
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Publication City, Country: United Kingdom
Dimensions (cm): 24.4(H)x16.4(L)x4.1(W)
Weight (gm):
Author Biography
Matthew Campbell is an award-winning reporter for Bloomberg Businessweek. His first book, Dead in the Water, written with Kit Chellel, was called a 'masterpiece' by the New York Times and selected as a Book of the Year by The Economist, The Financial Times, and The Times. A 2025 Jonathan Logan Family Foundation Fellow at New America, he has reported from more than twenty-five countries on crime, corruption, terrorism, economics, and the environment. His work has earned some of journalism's highest honours, including awards from the Gerald Loeb Foundation, the Overseas Press Club, the National Press Club, SOPA, and SABEW for both feature and investigative reporting. He lives in Singapore with his family.Reviews
An adventure to rival David Grann’s Lost City of Z, and a riveting exposé of the plunder that still fills the world’s top art museums -- Zeke Faux * author of Number Go Up *Immaculately researched and beautifully written, The Man Who Stole the Gods is a gripping real-life exposé of the ugly deals that underpin the trade in beautiful objects -- Oliver Bullough * author of Moneyland *
An epic tale of art, war, and crime, The Man Who Stole the Gods unspools a sprawling conspiracy of tomb raiders, art dealers, and museum curators, with one elusive expatriate at the heart of it all. Campbell brings the story to life with brisk pacing, an instinct for drama, and a firm grasp of the moral and historical stakes -- Stuart A. Reid * Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of The Lumumba Plot *
The Man Who Stole the Gods transcends reportage, marrying investigative rigour to the emotional force of great fiction. Propulsive and devastating, it traces a story of greed and violence that opens, finally, onto redemption, rendered with exceptional clarity and insight -- Katie Engelhart * Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Inevitable *
Masterfully reported and beautifully told, The Man Who Stole the Gods is a piercing indictment of our unequal world. It reads like a thriller, starring elite curators, business moguls, despots and freedom fighters and one of the most fascinating anti-heroes in modern memory -- Sheelah Kolhatkar * staff writer at The New Yorker and author of Black Edge *
After reading the book, you may never again look at ancient artworks in quite the same way. Thought-provoking true crime on a grand scale. * Kirkus *
Paced like a thriller, this sweeping, cinematic account weaves together true crime and Asian history to shine a light on a little-explored art world scandal. It’s a breathtaking ride. * Publishers Weekly *
It’s greatly reassuring that the arc of this fascinating and scrupulously researched story bends finally towards justice -- Marcel Theroux * Financial Times *
Fascinating... reads like a thriller...the story romps along with dogged lawyers and a ludicrous, devious antagonist * The Economist *
Matthew Campbell's enjoyable non-fiction thriller tells a fascinating tale -- Daunts * Our Five Favourite Books of the Week *