>From friends who are professional painters and sculptors I have heard horror stories over the decades about dealers who are years late in paying, who don't lift a finger to promote or sell, yet demand a 50% commission, and who make artists jump through hoops where no author of similar stature would even lift a toe. But such gallery-meisters are unpromising amateurs compared to Ted Volpe, a pathetic arriviste who, even after a long time in jail for defrauding friends and other investors in his New York and Los Angeles art galleries, finds it impossible to fully acknowledge his own role in his downfall. His recounting of his rise as a dealer and then his long and greed-inspired descent is so self-pitying and oleaginous that I felt a need to wash my hands after reading each page. The writing is terrible and seems to have lacked an editor-unless the subtle purpose was to demonstrate the nouveau-riche pretensions of the author, grammatical errors and all. The only reason to buy this book is to learn about many of the tricks dealers use to swindle artists, other dealers, and especially clients, for there seem to have been none that Volpe eschewed. Framed would make a mischievous gift for any friend who is artistic.