FAKE reviewed in this month's Bookviews

Bookviews, a syndicated book review column, had this to say . . .

With the end of the trial of Enron’s top executives who will be spending years behind bars, we are reminded that the dark side of business can make for interesting reading as well. Ken Walton has written Fake: Forgery, Lies, and eBay ($21.95, Simon and Schuster), the true story of how art trading, speculation, and forgery collided with cyberspace to set in motion an international scandal that rocked the art world, made headlines, and led to a federal felony conviction. As always, truth outdoes fiction. Walton was a lawyer until he became an eBay art trader in December 1998. Over time, his online sales tactics became increasingly fraudulent, culminating in the $135,858 sale of a forged painting in May 2000. He went from online art-trading hobbyists to a partnership with Ken Fetterman, described as a surprisingly effective con man. Together, they took in thousands of dollars by selling forged paintings while bidding on their own auctions to drive up the prices. Both were brought to justice. All of which makes for some very interesting reading!