Another review of Sharon Waxman's somewhat controversial book. Mind, it's not a subject that one can write about without upsetting somebody.
Loot - The Battle Over the Stolen Treasures of the Ancient World
By Sharon Waxman
The title, stamped in gold capital letters on the dust jacket, gives away the author's agenda: This is a muckraking book about art objects from ancient cultures that have found their way into major museums of Europe and the United States. Sharon Waxman has a nose for scandal and spends much of the book following up on reports of thefts by grave robbers, smuggling by dealers and sexual hanky-panky between museum personnel.
The result is an odd volume, part scandal mongering and part travelogue, wrapped around a philosophical question that could have been discussed in a book a tenth of its size . . . .
Waxman, a former correspondent for the New York Times, recounts tales of arrogance, greed and lust in museum personnel who, however well educated, are all too human in their daily affairs.
The reporter's search for the telling detail can make Waxman long-winded: Do we really need to know that a curator wears light blue eye shadow or that the president of a museum has a disco ring tone on his cell phone?
But the questions Waxman raises are real, and her proposals to remedy the situation are the start of a much-needed discussion.
See the above page for the full story
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