Seven Days in the Art World [Paperback]

A field guide to the nomadic tribes of the contemporary art world. The book was reported and written in a heated art market, but it is poised to endure as a work of sociology.The best book yet written about the modern-art boom&a Robert Altmanesque panorama of the most important cultural phenomenon of the last ten years.An entertaining and lucid account of the mysterious ways of contemporary art&[Thornton] does well to resist the temptation to draw any glib, overarching conclusions. There is more than enough in her rigorous, precise reportage&for the reader to make his or her own connections.[An] intelligently written&refreshingly open-minded exploration.A terrific bookdetailed, gossipy, and insightful&By the end of the book, you almost understand how [Steve] Cohen could shell out $8 million for a rotting 14-foot shark pickled in formaldehyde.A one-stop tutorial on an often insular subculture&light-hearted but sociologically acute.Finely wrought and thoroughly researched&[with] an ingenious structure&and spot-on characterizations&the author draws readers into the experience&[with her] infectious curiosity and meticulous reporting. An indelible portrait of a peculiar society.