false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1179613654m/937027.jpg 937027 1 <div><div><div>He's a spit-and-polish Marine, a competitive boxer, a classics scholar, and an assistant DA in Manhattan. New York tabloids call him &#8220;pit bull&#8221; for his relentless prosecution of high-profile defendants like Sean &#8220;Puff Daddy&#8221; Combs and the &#8220;baby-faced butchers&#8221; of Central Park. When Baghdad fell, Colonel Matthew Bogdanos was in southern Iraq, tracking down terrorist networks through their financing and weapons smuggling&#8212;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&#8217;s most priceless treasures.<br><i>Thieves of Baghdad</i> takes you from his family&#8217;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. 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 &#8220;Iraq&#8217;s Crown Jewels.&#8221;<br>A mixture of police procedural, treasure hunt, wartime thriller, and cold-eyed assessment of the connection between the antiquities trade and weapons smuggling, <i>Thieves of Baghdad</i> 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.<br><br></div></div></div> 922006 26 10 2005 Thieves of Baghdad: One Marine's Passion for Ancient Civilizations and the Journey to Recover the World's Greatest Stolen Treasures total:24|5:5|4:7|3:11|2:1| 24 88 33 8 5 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Tue Mar 17 12:52:04 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 17 13:04:04 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Thu Aug 06 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 28 20:14:37 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 07 14:20:36 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun Dec 30 23:32:23 -0800 2007 Tue Jul 01 22:02:15 -0700 2008 I le...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Jun 06 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 12 17:28:44 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 12 17:31:52 -0700 2009
Was a bit loose and wandering towards the end - otherwise it would have gotten 4 stars.

I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in current events, what life is like in the mi...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 25 10:17:42 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 25 10:18:46 -0700 2009 http://safecorner.savingantiquities.org/...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 05 18:25:56 -0800 2007 Tue Jan 15 04:57:26 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 16 20:01:35 -0800 2007 Fri Jan 25 21:29:32 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jan 05 19:06:22 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 05 19:07:57 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Mon Nov 02 17:57:00 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 02 17:57:00 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 18 19:56:28 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 18 20:02:20 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Aug 05 10:34:57 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 05 10:48:46 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Tue May 12 11:05:44 -0700 2009 Tue May 12 11:05:44 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue May 05 10:01:33 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 21 14:08:00 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu Apr 02 18:19:20 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 02 18:19:20 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Wed Mar 25 10:19:34 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 25 10:19:34 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Mon Mar 16 11:57:31 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 16 11:57:31 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sun Feb 22 08:27:35 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 22 08:27:35 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sun Jan 18 16:51:26 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 18 16:51:26 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Fri Dec 12 10:13:21 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 12 10:13:21 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 10 08:56:54 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 10 08:57:01 -0800 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=937027