Learn Italian, Write a Book

Or is that write a book, learn Italian? In "The Lost Painting: The Search for a Caravaggio Masterpiece" author Jonathan Harr embarks on an spellbinding journey to discover the long-lost painting known as The Taking of Christ.

Harr originally wrote an article for the New York Times Magazine outlining the efforts of Francesca Cappelletti, an Italian art student; Sergio Benedetti, who worked restoring paintings at the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin; and Sir Denis Mahon, the British art historian and Caravaggio expert. Before he could expand the story into book form, however, he decided to learn the Italian language.

"I just didn't like the idea of working through translators," Harr says. "Everything gets filtered out, and you never make a connection."