The Rape of Mesopotamia
Behind the Looting of the Iraq Museum

- Contents
- Review Quotes
- Awards

Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 Cultural Heritage Protection in Iraq before 2003: The Long View
2 “Nobody Thought of Culture”: War-Related Heritage Protection in the Early Prewar Period
3 Getting to the Postwar Planning Table
4 The Meetings
5 A Punctual Disaster: The Looting of the National Museum of Iraq
6 The World Responds
7 The Slow-Motion Disaster: Post-Combat Looting of Archaeological Sites
8 Deathwatch for Iraqi Antiquities
Coda
Appendix: Interviews
Notes
Bibliography
Index
"The Rape of Mesopotamia is both a testimony and an appeal. It is a testimony to the cultural disaster which occurred in April 2003 under the eyes of millions of TV viewers. Lawrence Rothfield has carried out what he thought was his duty as a scholar and presented the facts and figures to the reader on what happened to the cultural heritage of Iraq. The book is also an appeal to the conscience of humanity, because the situation in Iraq has, unfortunately, led to continuous looting and destruction of works of art. Because the antiquities of Iraq are still unprotected, this book is coming at the right time to awaken those who are responsible for returning this country to a normal life."
“Behind the Looting of the Iraq Museum lies a tale, told with brutal candour by Lawrence Rothfield, of gut-wrenching negligence and astonishing incompetence by American (and British) politicians and military leaders, and of their disastrous outcome. He documents in incriminating detail the scale of the disaster, the unsuccessful attempts by archaeologists to avert it, and the crass unconcern of official responses. The lasting and bitter legacy remains a telling indictment of the two allied governments. I defy any citizen who reads this disquieting book to do so without a sense of shame at the failure to avert this predictable and preventable disaster.”
"In this ’autopsy of a cultural disaster,’ Rothfield breaks down the disaster into its discrete parts, using the looting as a perfect metaphor for the failures of planning and execution that have characterized the conflict thus far. . . . This book serves as a frightening cautionary tale."
Society of Midland Authors: Midland Authors Award
Finalist
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