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Slide 1: Thieves of Baghdad by William Patrick Excellent And Informative Hes a spit-and-polish Marine, a competitive boxer, a classics scholar, and an assistant DA in Manhattan. New York tabloids call him “pit bull” for his relentless prosecution of high-profile defendants like Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs and the “baby-faced butchers” of Central Park. When Baghdad fell, Colonel Matthew Bogdanos was in southern Iraq, tracking down terrorist networks through their financing and weapons smuggling—until he heard about the looting of the museum. Immediately setting out across the desert with an elite group chosen from his multiagency task force, he risked his career and his life in pursuit of Iraq’s most priceless treasures. Thieves of Baghdad takes you from his family’s flight to safety at Ground Zero on 9/11, to his mission to hunt down al-Qaeda terrorists in Afghanistan, and into the war-torn streets of Baghdad on the trail of antiquities. Colorful characters and double-dealing are the norm as Bogdanos tries to sort out what really happened during the chaos of war.
Slide 2: We see his team going on raids and negotiating recoveries, blowing open safes and mingling in the marketplaces, and tracking down leads from Zurich and Amman to Lyons, London, and New York. In an investigation that led to the recovery of more than 5,000 priceless objects, complex threads intertwine, and the suspense mounts as the team works to locate the most sensational treasure of all, the treasure of Nimrud, a collection of gold jewelry and precious stones often called “Iraq’s Crown Jewels.” A mixture of police procedural, treasure hunt, wartime thriller, and coldeyed assessment of the connection between the antiquities trade and weapons smuggling, Thieves of Baghdad exposes sordid truths about the international art and antiquities market. It also explores the soul of a man who is equal parts hardened Marine, dedicated father, and passionate scholar. Most of all, it demonstrates that, in a culture as old as that of the Middle East, nothing is ever quite what it seems. Personal Review: Thieves of Baghdad by William Patrick This is an interesting account of how Bogdanos, a Marine Reservist working as a district attorney/prosecutor in New York, enters active duty with the Marines and goes to Iraq. Along the way we hear of his personal experience on 9/11 as he goes to work and then tries to re-unite with his wife and young children on that harrowing day, and later helps with the recovery effort. Bogdanos weaves narratives from ancient history along with modern-day combat details and tactical scenes from his personal experience during the war. He combines military expertise with his personal background as a prosecutor and criminal investigator, and his college studies in antiquities and ancient culture. As such he is uniquely qualified to conduct these investigations, and help his compatriots appreciate the significance of "some rocks" that they are trying to recover. Bogdanos takes personal initiative to go to the Iraq Museum in Baghdad and investigate the "looting." In the process we get to learn about the museum and its staff, along with detailed schematics of the facility. Bodganos' investigation has elements of a criminal investigation and an archealogical reconstruction, as they search the museum along with the many-nuanced workplace culture of the Iraqi staff, some of whom may have been facilitating the "looting" or "hiding things for safekeeping" depending on who you believe. In the end, Bogdanos records the numbers on what was found to be missing and what was recovered, revealing that initial media reports were wildly inaccurate when they gave the impression that the museum was cleaned out. In fact, little was taken, and much recovered (although a few
Slide 3: important items are still missing). Bogdanos leaves open the likelihood that well-heeled collectors of stolen antiquities were having their minions fulfill their "shopping lists" and he describes how the international criminal justice community can continue to interdict these efforts. From the physical evidence found in the museum, he reconstructs a time line of what was happening during the looting and the unsolved mysteries that remain. Bogdanos does seem to toot his own horn a bit overmuch, but then he's a proud Marine who's served his country with zeal. For More 5 Star Customer Reviews and Lowest Price: Thieves of Baghdad by William Patrick 5 Star Customer Reviews and Lowest Price!