This episode of Writers at Work features Ruth D. Nelson, art historian and author of OUR LADY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR: BRINGING MICHELANGELO'S "PIETÀ" TO QUEENS IN 1964.

Make no mistake, Nelson's book is work of serious scholarship, but it is also a tale of intrigue and suspense as mighty forces struggle to bring or to prevent the export of the Pieta to America. With a deft, confident hand, Nelson introduces us to the major players, like Robert Moses, Pope John XXIII, various members of the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church in the US and at the Vatican, and American and Italian business leaders.

But there are countless unsung heroes of the saga. And by showing us their contributions, Nelson reveals what a complex operation it was. And then there is the matter of Michelangelo, who created the Pieta before he turned 25. We learn how he came to receive the assignment and what he thought of his masterpiece.

We know now, some six decades later, that the Pieta arrived and departed safely and intact. So how did Nelson create her tale of suspense?