The New Yorker‘s books blog yesterday inaugurated “a regular feature in which academics explain their work.” First up? Lawrence Rothfield, author of the new The Rape of Mesopotamia: Behind the Looting of the Iraq Museum.
In addition to explaining the many factors that led to looting of the Iraq Museum—and the “even more disastrous” pillaging of thousands of Mesopotamian sites—Rothfield discusses the research that allowed him to identify those causes.
The interview includes Rothfield’s revealing descriptions of the the most memorable interview he conducted in researching the topic, and the the most interesting fact he uncovered that didn’t make it into the book.
And, for a taste of the research that did make it into the book, this excerpt is a good place to start.
(Also, see this recent review of the book by Chicago Tribune cultural critic Julia Keller.)