Laney Salisbury

The expose of the most elaborate art-fraud of the 20th century that started with an ad in Private Eye and reads like a thriller!

The true story of one of the twentieth century's most audacious art frauds Filled with extraordinary characters and told at breakneck speed, Provenance reads like a well-plotted thriller. But this is most certainly not fiction. It is the astonishing narrative of one of the most far-reaching and elaborate cons in the history of art forgery. Stretching from London to Paris to New York, investigative reporters Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo recount the tale of infamous con man and unforgettable villain John Drewe and his accomplice, the affable artist John Myatt. Together they exploited the archives of British art institutions to irrevocably legitimize the hundreds of pieces they forged, many of which are still considered genuine and hang in prominent museums and private collections today.

When a deadly diphtheria epidemic swept through Nome, Alaska, in 1925, the local doctor knew that without a fresh batch of antitoxin, his patients would die. The lifesaving serum was a thousand miles away, the port was icebound, and planes couldn't fly in blizzard conditions only the dogs could make it. The heroic dash of dog teams across the Alaskan wilderness to Nome inspired the annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and immortalized Balto, the lead dog of the last team whose bronze statue still stands in New York City's Central Park.This is the greatest dog story, never fully told until now."

It is 1925. The goldrush town of Nome sits two degrees below the Arctic Circle, and there are few more forbidding places on earth. When signs of diptheria broke out, Dr. Curtis Welch knew it was the biggest crisis of his life. Supplies of the serum were dangerously low and it was winter. There would be an epidemic if the medicine didn't arrive in time. Welch's urgent plea for help made national headlines and all of America watched with bated breath to see if an expedition could reach Nome in time. The dangers were immense for Nome was utterly isolated. The only option was to get the serum to the nearest point by rail and then use a relay of dog sleds to trek through the remaining 700 miles, night and day, and in blizzards raging at - 60 degrees. It was to be a desperate race against time - one that captured the imagination of America and turned the drivers and their heroic dogs into celebrities of the time. THE CRUELLEST MILES is the heart-pounding account of the famous Serum Run. Unbearably thrilling and tense, this is a classic story of human (and canine) endurance and heroism.

In 1925, a deadly diphtheria epidemic swept through icebound Nome, Alaska. The life-saving serum was a thousand miles away, and a blizzard was brewing. Airplanes could not fly in such conditions: only the dogs could do it. Racing against death, twenty dog teams relayed the serum across the Alaskan wilderness as newspapers nationwide headlined the drama, enthralling an entire generation. The heroic dash to Nome inspired the annual Iditarod Dog Sled Race in Alaska and immortalized Balto, the lead dog whose arrival in Nome over a snow-blown trail was an American legend in the making. His bronze statue still stands in New York City's Central Park, in dedication to the "Endurance, Fidelity and Intelligence" of the dogs that saved Nome. This is their story, the greatest dog story never fully told, until now.