Death and Disaster The Rise of the Warhol Empire and the Race for Andy's Millions, by Paul Alexander (Warner Books, £8.99 in UK)

Andy Warhol died in a New York hospital in 1987, after a fairly routine gall bladder operation almost certainly, a victim of …

Andy Warhol died in a New York hospital in 1987, after a fairly routine gall bladder operation almost certainly, a victim of medical mishandling or neglect. His huge estate, according to his will, went to finance a foundation to foster the visual arts, and this in turn was headed by Fred Hughes, for years Warhol's right hand man. The chief trustees, however, soon fell out and eventually went to law, after many intrigues, manoeuvres and bitter infighting, leading to court confrontations and public linen washing which went far to discredit almost all of those concerned. A gripping but melancholy story, well told, and shedding further light on the corrosive commercialisation of the New York art world in the 1980s.