Loot is a quick read, and I mean that as a compliment. Many of us have no doubt spent time in museums all over the country, or all over the world perhaps, and marveled at the treasures to be found there. But most of us probably do not spare much thought for how those things came to be there, this despite the increasing prominence in the popular media, especially newspapers, of various disputes over what artifact is owned by whom, and whom before that - it's provenance in other words, as is explained in detail in this book.

The book focuses mainly on Egyptian and Greek items of antiquity and on collections of a handful of museums worldwide - mainly The Getty Museum in California, the Met in New York, the British Museum in London, Egyptian Museum in Cairo and the Acropolis Museum in Athens. Throughout the book prominent scholars and academics and curators at these museums are introduced and in many cases interviewed, to discuss various issues related to the ownership of various ancient items. If it sounds a bit dry it's only because I'm doing a poor job of summarizing the book.

In my opinion one of the book's strengths is how the author doesn't allow herself to take a position on the various thorny issues she presents. Instead Ms. Waxman presents the facts surrounding various or specific acquisitions by the museums she discusses and includes details gained from museum employees, archeologists, antiquities dealers, and others.

If you watch TV shows relating to ancient artifacts you know who Dr. Zahi Hawass is, and he features prominently in the first part of the book, both in direct interviews and by reputation in his dealings with other people and sites in Egypt. After the first section other people who have been or still are known in the world of antiquities are discussed and/or interviewed. As the book continues, Ms. Waxman presents what I thought was a nuanced discussion of various thorny issues, including the ownership of artifacts and the push to "repatriate" them, and bring them back to the country where they were discovered.

When I chose this book to read the Greek financial crisis was simmering but not yet boiling over and the revolution in Egypt had not yet happened. I found both of these current events interesting because it meant that no matter that most of the items being discussed are thousands of years old and many of the acquisitions being questioned happened decades and in many cases centuries ago, there was a certain up-to-the-moment quality to various parts of the book which left me wondering, for example, what the current status of Dr. Hawass might be, what was happening now at the Acropolis Museum, and so on. My guess is if the book is successful enough in another few years there will be a new edition with a couple of chapters added at the end to address these and other issues that have arisen since Loot was written.

In summary, if you're interested in museums and their collections, you can't go wrong picking this one up. If nothing else every time you find yourself in a museum you'll have a few new questions on your mind and will read the tags more carefully.