Scan barcode
slferg's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
sad
medium-paced
5.0
A difficult book to read for library and book lovers. It concerns the systematic looting by the Nazis of libraries, private and institutional collections of books and papers. And in the war that followed, the looting in return by the victors. Many of the books were given to libraries in both directions. Some of the looted libraries of universities have never had a single book returned and many individuals and private collections have never had books returned. Only a tiny fraction of the books have been recovered. Many the Nazis destroyed or pulped or burned - not being interested in what they contained. But some of these books are priceless, being the only known copy of ancient books. Some libraries are making attempts to return these stolen books to the individuals or their survivors since many were taken from homes after Jews were removed or fled. One returned to the owner was a childhood book he had possessed which represented living memories. The only thing he has received back. Another was returned to a grand
duparker's review against another edition
4.0
This is a very interesting and fascinating retelling of the looting and destruction performed by Nazi Germany. It really is unbelievable that these acts occurred and it just seems so out of touch with today and with the way that sane/rational people treasure antiquities and knowledge. I understand that not everyone fits that thought process, but still it is fascinating to understand what passed as a good idea during WWII.
horthhill's review against another edition
5.0
"The Book Thieves: The Nazi Looting of Europe's Libraries and the Race to Return a Literary Inheritance" by Anders Rydell was an excellent history on a subject I hadn't considered before but so obviously had to have happened. It wasn't just art that the Nazi's pilfered.
mnboyer's review against another edition
3.0
I couldn't decide between 3 and 4 stars on this one, and decided to go 3 stars.
The Nazis, in sort, suck -- alongside their genocide of Jewish individuals (and many others) they decided that confiscating and destroying books would be a great way to erase certain aspects of culture/history that they saw as anti-Nazi. This book discusses what happened to these books and explains how researchers are trying to get books back to "where they came from."
The book delves into Nazi policy and discusses the Jewish genocide. Both of these divert, at times, from what I thought most of the book would be about: books. I picked this up to add to my "library sciences" shelf and decided it really sits more comfortably in the history genre. The book has a lot of "dry" moments and "boring" springs to mind. This is unfortunate, as I really wanted to love this. If you're looking for adventure, pick up [b:The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History|6514074|The Monuments Men Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History|Robert M. Edsel|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1344270659s/6514074.jpg|6705842] because this book is not as "adventure".
A good book, but one that I expected more from. That may be my issue as a reader though. Still, a really good addition to research on WWII, Nazis, Jewish culture, etc.
The Nazis, in sort, suck -- alongside their genocide of Jewish individuals (and many others) they decided that confiscating and destroying books would be a great way to erase certain aspects of culture/history that they saw as anti-Nazi. This book discusses what happened to these books and explains how researchers are trying to get books back to "where they came from."
The book delves into Nazi policy and discusses the Jewish genocide. Both of these divert, at times, from what I thought most of the book would be about: books. I picked this up to add to my "library sciences" shelf and decided it really sits more comfortably in the history genre. The book has a lot of "dry" moments and "boring" springs to mind. This is unfortunate, as I really wanted to love this. If you're looking for adventure, pick up [b:The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History|6514074|The Monuments Men Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History|Robert M. Edsel|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1344270659s/6514074.jpg|6705842] because this book is not as "adventure".
A good book, but one that I expected more from. That may be my issue as a reader though. Still, a really good addition to research on WWII, Nazis, Jewish culture, etc.
cmbohn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
4.0
captainsillypants's review against another edition
Was doing audio and just never felt like listening. Maybe try again with physical book at some point?
thisotherbookaccount's review against another edition
Did you know that the Nazis looted books from all over Europe? I didn't either, which was why I decided to pick this book up. I wanted to read about why and how the Nazis went about looting books from various libraries, as well as the long-lasting impact on the population. The problem with this book, however, is that it front loads all the information you want to know in the first two chapters.
The following chapters are almost academic and highly detailed accounts of how each library was looted by the Nazis before and during WWII. Every chapter follows a similar structure: author visits a library, meets with a librarian, the librarian shares some of the books that they carry now, where those books came from, rinse and repeat. The author also goes to great lengths, and I mean GREAT lengths, to document the history around the library, the book collection, who was responsible for looting that particular library, which organisation he came from, what purposes were behind the looting, how he went about doing it, what Hitler thought about it, which librarians were in charge, etc. Halfway through the book and it all gets super tedious and repetitive. We are told that a tome about the history of Jews is supposed to be priceless and highly coveted by the Nazis. But because of the way these information are served up, it feels next to inconsequential. Look, if you tell me that everything is important, then nothing is. Plain and simple.
I was also hoping for a human side to the stories. Instead, we hear a lot of books but no owners. We hear a lot of Nazi leaders, but no victims. Instead of humanising this particular piece of history, which is little known to most, we are presented a record of all the important books that were stolen, but not whom the books were stolen from. Yes, they were stolen from the Freemasons, the Jews, the French, the Russians, etc — but who were they? Did they have names? What did the books mean to them? We get none of that information, which does make the tedium not worth the effort at all.
The following chapters are almost academic and highly detailed accounts of how each library was looted by the Nazis before and during WWII. Every chapter follows a similar structure: author visits a library, meets with a librarian, the librarian shares some of the books that they carry now, where those books came from, rinse and repeat. The author also goes to great lengths, and I mean GREAT lengths, to document the history around the library, the book collection, who was responsible for looting that particular library, which organisation he came from, what purposes were behind the looting, how he went about doing it, what Hitler thought about it, which librarians were in charge, etc. Halfway through the book and it all gets super tedious and repetitive. We are told that a tome about the history of Jews is supposed to be priceless and highly coveted by the Nazis. But because of the way these information are served up, it feels next to inconsequential. Look, if you tell me that everything is important, then nothing is. Plain and simple.
I was also hoping for a human side to the stories. Instead, we hear a lot of books but no owners. We hear a lot of Nazi leaders, but no victims. Instead of humanising this particular piece of history, which is little known to most, we are presented a record of all the important books that were stolen, but not whom the books were stolen from. Yes, they were stolen from the Freemasons, the Jews, the French, the Russians, etc — but who were they? Did they have names? What did the books mean to them? We get none of that information, which does make the tedium not worth the effort at all.
fabrychenko's review against another edition
4.0
Книга - литературный репортаж. Автор перемещается между библиотеками/музеями в разных странах Европы, собирает сведения о книгах, которые были сворованы нацистами во времена господства НСДАП, и узнаёт, какие судьбы стояли за этими книгами.
Очень сложная книга в плане чтения, ведь ты читаешь добротную документалку, в которой очень много исторических моментов на квадратный сантиметр, и нужно сильно постараться не потерять концентрацию в потоке информации. Но в то же время это не бездушный поток фактов, автор сделал максимум, чтобы читатель прочувствовал весь ад войны через книжную историю.
Очень сложная книга в плане чтения, ведь ты читаешь добротную документалку, в которой очень много исторических моментов на квадратный сантиметр, и нужно сильно постараться не потерять концентрацию в потоке информации. Но в то же время это не бездушный поток фактов, автор сделал максимум, чтобы читатель прочувствовал весь ад войны через книжную историю.
katleap's review against another edition
3.0
I read this for a college class. It is definitely a thinky book. It took a bit to get into the book and it builds on itself. I think it was worth reading but its not really that would have picked on my own.