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Photo courtesy of the University of Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia

Hermann Hilprecht retreats to his study in Constantinople in this photo taken around 1900. A member of the University of Pennsylvania’s 1888–1900 expedition to the ancient Sumerian city of Nippur, Hilprecht was one of the leading Assyriologists of his day. But he spent his life battling rivals and was exiled from the academy at age 51. In “My Life’s Shattered Work,” author Bruce Kuklick recounts the trials and tribulations of this troubled man.