Loot

'Reading Barnaby Phillips's Loot is like walking a sniffing dog through the minds, homes, and storerooms of government agents, military adventurers, museums, art dealers, and collectors... Brilliant and evidenced-based... It is a highly recommended book that will thrill the reader to the last page.' * Dr Uyilawa Usuanlele, Associate Professor of African History, State University of New York * 'This is a thoroughly researched, well written and timely contribution to the live debate about cultural restitution. Accessible yet nuanced, we hear the voices of a contested history from the looters themselves and the bronze casters of Benin City, to the leaders of the world's major cultural institutions and so many other players in this drama. Barnaby takes us on a journey raising important questions about empire and the meaning of art, civilisation and culture.' * Clive Myrie, BBC Chief Correspondent and Presenter * 'This timely, thoughtful and beautifully crafted volume deftly guides us through a truly astounding passage of events. These are the kind of histories that change the way that we look at things we thought we knew - whilst shocking us at the things that we simply hadn't grasped.' * Gus Casely-Hayford, Director of V&A East and former Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art * 'A fascinating and timely book. A brilliant model of expertly marshalled historical research and compelling narrative.' * William Boyd, author of Any Human Heart and A Good Man in Africa * 'A gripping military history which brings African witnesses to the dying days of the British Empire out of the shadows.' * <i>TLS</i> on <i>Another Man's War</i> * '[Phillips] captures nuances of Nigeria that only a man who knows and loves a place and people can... an extraordinary story, very well told.' * <i>Spectator</i> on <i>Another Man's War</i> *