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612 reviews for:
The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History
Robert M. Edsel
3.73 AVERAGE
612 reviews for:
The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History
Robert M. Edsel
3.73 AVERAGE
Too many men and not enough monuments. A really interesting story, and I appreciate the effort made by the author to make the story accessible by implementing a narrative style that only focused on a few of these important men. A very impressive work that must’ve had a lot of research behind it. That said, there was one woman who played an essential, if not the most important, role in this story and he couldn’t stop calling her ugly. Over and over again. I get the point. Women were definitely the afterthought. Still will probably read the next one though.
I picked this up after seeing the movie and wanting to know more! As a history major, I ate up EVERYTHING Second World War related, however, never in my courses/texts did I ever come across a mention of the Monuments Men - what a shame. The job they did was difficult and deserves recognition.
Unfortunately, I found this book fell a little flat at times. The story itself was intriguing, but I found there was too much repetition and jumping from man to man on the author's part. Likewise, I often found myself questioning whether this was nonfiction or a historical fiction - Edsel often writes as if it is a third person narrative, explaining the feelings or thoughts of the Monuments Men. He does state that this is for continuity in the introduction, but I found it to be terribly distracting. I loved reading the men's letters and so many of the hardships that they overcame to preserve and rescue much beloved pieces of art. The story of the Monuments Men would get five stars from me, but the way it was presented just didn't work for me!
Unfortunately, I found this book fell a little flat at times. The story itself was intriguing, but I found there was too much repetition and jumping from man to man on the author's part. Likewise, I often found myself questioning whether this was nonfiction or a historical fiction - Edsel often writes as if it is a third person narrative, explaining the feelings or thoughts of the Monuments Men. He does state that this is for continuity in the introduction, but I found it to be terribly distracting. I loved reading the men's letters and so many of the hardships that they overcame to preserve and rescue much beloved pieces of art. The story of the Monuments Men would get five stars from me, but the way it was presented just didn't work for me!
inspiring
slow-paced
Interesting, if plodding, read. Not quite as inspirational, I think, as the authors (and those who made it into a movie) seem to believe.
Real life, of course, rarely offers the dramatic reveal, the tidy ending--but it's hard to ignore that so much attention was paid to sparing cultural monuments while the machinery that brought death to so many living, vibrant people was allowed to continue to the bitter end. Suggested companion reading: http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/160918/monuments-men
Real life, of course, rarely offers the dramatic reveal, the tidy ending--but it's hard to ignore that so much attention was paid to sparing cultural monuments while the machinery that brought death to so many living, vibrant people was allowed to continue to the bitter end. Suggested companion reading: http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/160918/monuments-men
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
An interesting and important story, unfortunately held back by a rather plodding writing style that was often repetitive and tough to follow. Definitely worth skimming through for the main points as it's significant stuff, but no need to get lost in the details as I did because you'll struggle to find your way out again.
informative
slow-paced
This is a very interesting topic! Overall, I enjoyed this book, but it has a tendency to add cinematic / fictionalized segments which I found unnecessary. Some of them were quite gripping and effective - others, more introspective to the character made me wonder "do we actually know this?" It could also be repetitive at times. That said, there's also a lot of primary sources and it seemed well researched.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
I watched the movie prior to reading this book, typically something I never do. However, the book was so good and full of so much amazing detail, I didn't mind at all.
These are stories that need to be told and area told so well in this book!
These are stories that need to be told and area told so well in this book!
Super interesting. The jumping around in the time line made it a bit confusing at points (listened in audio) but overall I loved it.