Max Mallowan of Ur (1925–31), which was thought to be the capital of Mesopotamian civilization. It was at the Ur site, in 1930, that he first met Agatha Christie, the famous author, whom he married the same year. In 1932, after a short time working at Nineveh with Reginald Campbell Thompson, Mallowan became a field director for a series of expeditions jointly run by the British Museum and the British School of Archaeology in Iraq. His excavations included the prehistoric village at Tell Arpachiyah, and the sites at Chagar Bazar and Tell Brak in the Upper Khabur area (Syria). He was also
Mary Robison from severe writer's block and in an effort to overcome it she scribbled her thoughts on thousands of index cards. These cards were reworked to become the novel "Why Did I Ever", which consists of 536 short chapters. Her novel "One DOA, One on the Way" was chosen by Oprah Winfrey's Book Club for 2009 summer time reading. Robison has been married twice. Her second husband was author James Robison, whom she divorced in 1996. She has two daughters by her first husband. Mary Robison Robison was born to patent attorney Anthony Cennamo and F. Elizabeth (Cennamo) Reiss, a child