The Man Who Stole the Gods

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 *

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.

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