can't improve on the one review I saw on goodreads which said " museum curator loves cross, himself"That pretty much sums it up perfectly. Hoving is self aggrandizing but also an interesting commentator. The artwork provides a good deal of the story and the somewaht shady Topic mimara, who seels the cross , is a memorable character ( )

Thomas Hoving's very personal account of how clever he was to acquire a medieval English walrus ivory crucifix for the Cloisters in the Metropolitan Museum in New York, where he was a rising star. Very full of his own feelings and his intrigues with officials in his own and other museums and the cross's then owner, a dubious Yugoslav. Displays his remarkable ignorance of the Passion story and related materials as told in the Latin Vulgate Bible, which he apparently had to teach himself de novo to understand the sculptures on the cross. Interesting though depressing interpretation linking anti-Jewish images and texts on the cross to the anti-Jewish policies of a leading monk of Bury St. Edmunds, who may have commissioned it to celebrate his victory over an allegedly corrupt pro-Jewish faction. Has some nice detailed pictures of the carvings. ( )

NA

A classic in the art history/discovery genre, non-fiction of course. The characters were all realistic and not caricatures, the events were believable and intriguing, and it was generally educational in terms of art, history, and religion. I especially like the fact that not everything was neatly tied up at the end. ( )

Nonfiction account of Hoving's pursuit, and acquisition of the late 12th century, two foot tall, walrus ivory, Bury St. Edmonds cross for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the late 50's-early 60's.

Hoving can be erudite and write with pace, a rare combination.

Not exactly Indiana Jones but pretty close to the real thing and a peek behind the scenes of the museum trade to boot. Now I just need to go see the Cross in New York. ( )