“Sharon Waxman has written a compelling page turner about the world of antiquities and art-world skulduggery. She manages to combine rigorous, scholarly reporting with a flair for intrigue and personality that gives Loot the fast pace of a novel. I enjoyed it immensely."
“Sharon Waxman’s Loot is the most instructive as well as the most intelligent (and the most entertaining) guide through the labyrinth of antiquity and the ways in which the claims of the departed intersect with the rights of the living.”
Critics Everywhere Love “Loot”!
“Fast-paced and compelling….Waxman has an array of wondrous tales to tell….Considerable, admirable, and totally absorbing.”
—The Boston Globe
“Absorbing and well-researched . . . [Waxman] gives all actors in this bitterly antagonistic drama a hearing and writes with flair and an earnest sense of inquiry.”
—The Washington Post Book World
“[An] intelligent, well-informed book . . . [Waxman] skillfully interweaves lucid historical accounts with savvy contemporary interviews. . . . This wide-ranging narrative limns a multifaceted problem with no single solution. Facing facts would be a good place to start, Waxman concludes.”
--Los Angeles Times
“A remarkable book . . . After reading [Loot] you will never again view an antiquity in a museum in the same light.”
—Kings Features Syndicate
“Loot does an excellent job of exploring the political underpinnings of the contest over antiquities…[Waxman’s] critical distance allows her to see both sides of this tangled story. . . Loot is an engaging and informative read.”
—Art + Auction Magazine
“A journalistic tour de force -- an exhaustively researched, even-handed compendium of the disputes roiling museums and source countries.”
—Lee Rosenbaum at CultureGrrl.com
“Lively and wide-ranging. . . Waxman has written the definitive volume.”
—ARTnews Magazine
“Skillfully blending history and reportage . . . Waxman’s account is animated by interviews with museum curators, accused smugglers and government officials, putting a human spin on the complex cultural politics before arriving at a middle ground that strives for international collaboration in preserving a broad global heritage.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Former New York Times culture correspondent [Sharon] Waxman adroitly and expertly explores a centuries-old struggle . . . In Waxman’s hands, the question of justice remains intriguingly slippery, and the argument over who owns history takes on new depth. Erudite and wholly satisfying.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Loot is hip to the politics underlying the whole repatriation craze. . . . This book’s title is absolutely true.”
—Newark Star-Ledger
“[An] insightful new exploration into cultural plunder.”
—Dallas Morning News
“A measured, detailed and accessible history of cultural custody cases, bringing the ages-old quandary up to date.”
—Kansas City Star
“Exposes hypocrisy on all sides of the debates.”
—The Roanoke Times
“Comprehensive and revealing . . . Waxman is a congenial, globe-hopping tour guide through cramped offices, dank tomb sites, and sleek, art-filled palaces.”
—Booklist
- "Waxman comes across as a latter-day Henrietta Stackpole, the feisty journalist depicted by Henry James in his tragic tale about, among other things, the cultural chasm between America and Europe, The Portrait of a Lady. She makes it quite clear what she thinks of Loyrette's claims for the "universal museum", which puts the ideal of collecting for the good of humanity ahead of nationalist pride (and avarice). While the Frenchman was peeved by the American's insistent questions, the American nevertheless finds self-serving his arguments about what happened in the past belonging to the past."
--- "The Australian"