Jeffrey Abt's American Egyptologist is a biography of James Henry Breasted (1865–1935), perhaps the best-known Egyptologist to have emerged from the United States, and also a major figure in the institutional development of archaeology and ancient history. Distinguishing the volume from much other related literature, however, it is also about how Breasted's life and work was dependent upon the society in which it took place. The book is therefore a valuable addition to the growing literature on the history of archaeology and its related disciplines, which is increasingly moving beyond Whiggish narratives and taking a more complex view of how those fields developed and worked.

Staying true to its genre, over its nine chapters American Egyptologist tackles Breasted's life in chronological order. As an account of Breasted (and his family) from birth to death, and as a history of the early days of the Oriental Institute that he founded at the University of Chicago, Abt's volume is hard to fault. It benefits immensely from the author's substantial knowledge of (and access to) the relevant archival material, in addition to its competent marshalling. Yet what is far more useful about the volume is its placing of this account in terms not only of the wider cultural and intellectual contexts that Breasted worked in, but also of the politics, institutional or otherwise, that often determined how that work was practised and represented. Rather than discuss a string of heroic intellectual achievements, American Egyptologist demonstrates how Breasted's work was made possible by being of a very specific time and place.

Abt's volume presents a useful account of the strategies behind the building of an academic career and the construction of an academic institution across the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Whether he was in Berlin, Chicago or Cairo, American Egyptologist outlines what Breasted had to do to achieve his goals, and why. For example, Abt's volume makes clear that the form that the Oriental Institute took at Breasted's death, or even the very existence of the institution, cannot be attributed to Breasted's will alone. Rather, the creation and development of that institution is linked to a motley combination of pre-First World War German academic practices, the growth of the laboratory as a locus of scientific investigation, European and American attitudes to ancient history, national independence movements in Egypt, the particular history of the University of Chicago, and also the role of various foundations connected to the Rockefeller family. It is not a simple story, and Abt's account emphasizes this point. Breasted and the Oriental Institute did much to make it possible to become an ‘American Egyptologist’, but Abt's volume illustrates that the fixity of that designation was by no means assured before these various contexts had been navigated.

Abt's account, then, will not only be of interest to Egyptologists or archaeologists. Instead, it will be of interest to anyone who deals with academic institutions and their place in the world. For instance, American Egyptologist provides a useful account of the early history of the University of Chicago. It details the institutional policies that led to the employment of a scholar like Breasted, and to the place of his Oriental Institute within institutional strategy and development. It also details how funding for these policies was negotiated and obtained, whether through local, Midwestern sources or otherwise. Indeed, the volume provides an account of the University of Chicago that sheds new light on its meaning, especially considering how widespread and international Breasted's work for the institution was. It is, then, of relevance to a wide range of scholars, from historians of America to historians of the colonial world.

Ultimately, some criticisms can also be levelled. At 402 pages, the body of the volume's text is rather lengthy, and could perhaps have been judiciously trimmed. For example, the quotations used in the book are often overlong. Additionally, an element of the heroic lingers throughout the volume; despite treating Breasted and his Oriental Institute as very much of a certain time and place, the genre of biography chosen by Abt may have militated against moving away completely from an account of a ‘great man’ and his achievements. Meanwhile, Abt's volume does not make use of local, Arabic sources in order to understand Breasted's position within the societies in which much of his work actually took place. However, this criticism can also be levelled at the majority of published work on archaeology in the Middle East. Until there is a wider shift to understanding local material, this situation seems set to continue, and it would be unfair to single this volume out as problematic.

Ultimately, American Egyptologist, with its voluminous footnotes and copious useful illustrations, provides a major contribution to the wider understanding of (amongst others) Egyptology and archaeology. It also contributes to an understanding of how the place of those disciplines was negotiated within the wider academy and the world. It should, then, be of great use and relevance to a wide range of scholars.