This is the story of an infamous crime, a revered map dealer with an unsavory secret, and the ruthless subculture that consumed him. Maps have long exerted a special fascination on viewers, both as beautiful works of art and as practical tools to navigate the world. But to those who collect them, the map trade can be a cutthroat business, inhabited by quirky and sometimes disreputable characters in search of a finite number of extremely rare objects. Once considered a respectable antiquarian map dealer, E. Forbes Smiley spent years doubling as a map thief, until he was finally arrested slipping maps out of books in the Yale University library. This book delves into the untold history of this fascinating high-stakes criminal and the inside story of the industry that consumed him. The story interweaves Smiley's escapades with the stories of the explorers and mapmakers he knew better than anyone. Tracking a series of brazen thefts, and an obsessive subculture, the author has pieced together an unforgettable story of high-stakes crime. -- Provided by publisher.