Thieves of Baghdad One Marine's Passion to Recover the World's Greatest Stolen Treasures

by Bogdanos, Matthew; Patrick, William

• ISBN13: 9781596911468
• ISBN10: 1596911468
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-10-03
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA

Summary

Thieves ofBaghdadis a riveting account of Colonel Matthew Bogdanos and his team's extraordinary efforts to recover over 5,000 priceless antiquities stolen from the Iraqi National Museum after the American invasion of Baghdad. Matthew Bogdanoshas been an assistant district attorney in Manhattan since 1988. A colonel in the Marine Reserves, middleweight boxer, and native New Yorker, he holds a degree in classics from Bucknell University, a law degree and a master's degree in Classical Studies from Columbia University, and a master's degree in Strategic Studies from the Army War College. Recalled to active duty after September 11, 2001, he received a Bronze Star for counterterrorist operations in Afghanistan, and then served two tours in Iraq. Released back into the Reserves in October 2005, he returned to the DA's Office and continues the hunt for stolen antiquities. William Patrickis the author ofBlood Winter, which theWall Street Journallikened to "the fresh early best of Graham Greene and John le Carre." He is a spit-and-polish Marine, a competitive boxer, a classics scholar, and an assistant DA in Manhattan. 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 Baghdadtakes 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. 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." An assessment of the connection between the antiquities trade and weapons smuggling,Thieves of Baghdadexposes sordid truths about the international art and antiquities market. "[Matthew Bogdanos] is everything his new memoir makes him out to be: tough, smart, patriotic, a good father, a loyal fighter, a man of many parts. His sleuthing, courage and hard work in the months after the beginning of the Iraq War helped recover thousands of priceless objects from the ransacked museum."--The Washington Post "The civilian world's most detailed look at how the thefts unfolded and the behind-the-scenes efforts to recover the priceless antiquities."--USA Today "Warrior and prosecutor, classicist and amateur boxer, Marine Col. Matthew Bogdanos faced one of the great legal and investigative challenges . . . getting to the bottom of the plunder of the National Museum of Iraq."--Chicago Tribune "Bogdanos . . . has pursued the missing Iraqi antiquities with the same relentless fervor that earned him the nickname 'Pit bull' from the New York tabloids for his dogged prosecution of high-profile defendants like hip-hop impresario Sean Combs."--Art News "Stolen priceless a

Author Biography

Matthew Bogdanos has been an assistant district attorney in Manhattan since 1988. A colonel in the Marine Reserves, middleweight boxer, and native New Yorker, he holds a degree in classics from Bucknell University, a law degree and a master's degree in Classical Studies from Columbia University, and a master's degree in Strategic Studies from the Army War College. Recalled to active duty after September 11, 2001, he received a Bronze Star for counterterrorist operations in Afghanistan, and then served two tours in Iraq. Released back into the reserves in October 2005, he returned to the DA's Office and continues the hunt for stolen antiquities.