Schliemann was one of the popular hero saints of the 19th century, so it was almost inevitable that someone should produce a biography showing the other side of the coin(s). His excavation of ancient Troy - if the mount at Hissarlik is really that - caught the public imagination everywhere; archaeological discovery was still a relative novelty, and he was a splendid publicist who knew how to use the new, omnivorous, popular press. David Trail shows him to have been unscrupulous, sometimes shady in his dealings, a "fixer" in our sense, and yet it is hard not to respect his singlemindedness and drive, his organising ability, his genuine love for the Ancient World. The small print, unfortunately, is not an incitement to read a book of 36 pages.