Finders Keepers

A Tale of Archaeological Plunder and Obsession

By: Craig Childs

Narrated by: Craig Childs

Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's Summary

To whom does the past belong? Is the archeologist who discovers a lost tomb a sort of hero - or a villain? If someone steals a relic from a museum and returns it to the ruin it came from, is she a thief? 

In his trademark lyrical style, Craig Childs's riveting new book is a ghost story - an intense, impassioned investigation into the nature of the past and the things we leave behind. We visit lonesome desert canyons and fancy Fifth Avenue art galleries, journey throughout the Americas, Asia, the past and the present. The result is a brilliant book about man and nature, remnants and memory, a dashing tale of crime and detection.

©2010 Craig Childs (P)2018 Hachette Audio

Critic Reviews

"Craig Childs understands [archeological] epiphanies, and he beautifully captures them...along with the moral ambiguities that come from exposing a long-hidden world." (George Johnson, New York Times Book Review)

"This is a delightful account of the complicated world of archeology by an author who loves (one might say is borderline obsessed with) the past.... This nicely wrought, even poetic book about archeological excavation and the variety of people who are passionate about the past and its artifacts will fascinate everyone from high school students to professional archaeologists digging in the field. Highly recommended." (Library Journal)

"[Childs] is the love child of Indiana Jones and George Hayduke.... In his passionate and outspoken new book, he expands his scope to a global scale to look at the ethical dilemmas archeology poses. His topic is the past, and particularly, its material remains. Who owns the past? And what, if anything, do we owe it?" (Anita Guerrini, Oregonian)

"Reads almost like a thriller, chock-full of vendettas, suicides and large scale criminal enterprises dedicated to the multimillion-dollar trade in antiques." (NPR, Weekend All Things Considered)

I roam the deserts

This book spoke to me. I roam the deserts of the south west. I find the ancient remnants of past civilizations and I believe the objects of those past cultures belong where they were left, in the rocks, under the Junipers, the cliffs, the dirt. I feel a very strong aversion to take the objects I find. I untimely dont want to bring the dead back with me. I can sense the energy of the people who inhabited the sites I come across. I walk over ruins and know that I am walking on the dead. I look forward to listening to other Craig Childs books. I first saw this book at the Walnut Canyon visitor center in Arizona.

Beautiful, Thought Provoking and Powerful

If you are interested in ancient cultures and what the things they left behind really mean...then and now.... then this is simply a must read. The research, life experiences and philosophies Mr Childs brings forward in this book are vital to any desert wanderer, aspiring archeologist or history aficionado.

My least favorite Craig Child’s Book

...and I am reading them all...Leave archeological items where they are found summarizes this book and is all that needs to be said. No beauty to be found here, just stories of pillage and plunder by greedy people acting like children...And read in a rather insistent tone read by the author. A bit disturbing to fall to sleep to...

Fresh Perspective

Childs reexamines everything you might know about the politics of archaeology. He offers insights from professional archaeologists, private collectors, antiquity dealers, and more. He is open-minded to the entirety of the political and ideological spectrum. In the process of navigating these different ideas, he weaves stories that are vivid and engrossing, and also manages to pass along his own ideas regarding ancient artifacts. I highly recommend this to anyone with an interest in the history of humankind. I deeply enjoyed it!

an archaeologist

Really made me think about the years I spent as an archaeologist. I did CRM and academic archaeology.