Michael Finkel specializes in telling stories that are both true and unbelievable. He is the author of The Art Thief, a #1 New York Times bestseller, about a man who stole more than 300 works of art just for the sake of admiring them. He also wrote The Stranger in the Woods, a New York Times and international bestseller, about a man who lived alone in the woods of Maine for 27 years. His first nonfiction book, True Story, about a murderer who took on Finkel’s identity while running from the law, was adapted into a major motion picture starring James Franco and Jonah Hill.
Finkel has reported from more than 50 countries across six continents, covering topics ranging from the world’s last hunter-gatherer tribes, to conflicts in Afghanistan and Israel, to theoretical physics and cutting-edge science. His work has appeared in National Geographic, GQ, The Atlantic, Esquire, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, and The New York Times Magazine.
In the line of reportorial duty, Finkel has skied off the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, stowed away on a Haitian refugee boat, joined a cult in Colorado, investigated the black market for human organs, descended into an active volcano, dogsledded in Greenland, hunted for baboon with the Hadza tribe of Tanzania, meditated silently for 10 days in India, run 100 miles in one day, and hitchhiked across the Sahara Desert. His writing has been anthologized in The Best American Sports Writing, The Best American Science and Nature Writing, The Best American Travel Writing, and The Best American Nonrequired Reading. He lives with his wife, three children, and two French bulldogs in Park City, Utah.
