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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
adventurous
challenging
sad
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
A tad dry, and I felt like the descriptions of Rose Valland was unfair and unnecessary (she's literally a spy and a French hero, why is her attractiveness something that needs expounding? I mean, if she deliberately made herself plain to keep under the radar during her spy work, that is one thing, but going on and on again and again about how unattractive and plain and drab etc etc just isn't very nice). Other than that, though, I felt like this is a historical narrative packed with details and supported by excellent research and primary sources. There is so much to know about WWII, the various factions, individuals, social pressures, and places, that a narrative like this adds so much context and explores such a little-known part of the whole, and that is quite satisfying.
adventurous
informative
fast-paced
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
“The Monuments Men” by Robert Edsel is the amazingly true story of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives division that was established during World War II. While Hitler and his Nazis were looting their way across Europe, these were the men and women who were in charge of preserving and recovering some of the most valuable works of art known to man. Without the efforts of the MFAA many monuments, cathedrals, paintings, tapestries, and sculptures would either be severely damaged or no longer exist. The Monuments Men were spread thin, but they covered an astounding number of miles and truly believed in their work. George Stout, James Rorimer, Robert Posey, Ronald Balfour, and Walker Hancock were just a few of the men who put their lives on hold to do some of the most important work that nobody seems to really know about.
Since “The Monuments Men” became a movie, this story is a lot more well known. Full disclosure, I have not seen the movie, though I do plan to at some point. The book, at least, was amazing. I checked this book out because I had decided to start reading more “grown up” books and this one immediately caught my eye. From what I understand, the movie brings all of the Monuments Men together to do some kind of grand heist…I’m not really sure. What I do know is that most of these men were the only member of the MFAA division in their section of the war effort and that other soldiers were not always cooperative in the Monument effort.
Something I hadn’t realized before reading this book was how old these men were. Most of them were approaching or already in their 40s! Joining the war effort was not something that was easy for most of them physically. In addition, these men were–for the most part–academics. They knew about art, not war. They were typically not military men turned MFAA officers but instead were museum men turned soldiers.
This book is magnificent. I cannot praise it enough. I learned a lot about WWII that I hadn’t known before and I felt that the author had a really good sense of what each of the Monuments Men must have been thinking during specific experiences. He obviously did extensive research to write this book and it shows. The book flows really well and I liked that we were able to spend time with a variety of the MFAA officers. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone. You don’t have to be interested in World War II or architecture and art to appreciate this book–it’s simply a fascinating read.
Overall Rating: 5
Violence: Heavy. The Monuments Men themselves don’t do much fighting, but it’s a war and there are some graphic descriptions of the internment camp conditions.
Sexual Content: Mild. Talk of mistresses and prostitutes.
Language: Moderate. Soldiers and such.
Smoking/Drinking: Mild. Not a focus.
Since “The Monuments Men” became a movie, this story is a lot more well known. Full disclosure, I have not seen the movie, though I do plan to at some point. The book, at least, was amazing. I checked this book out because I had decided to start reading more “grown up” books and this one immediately caught my eye. From what I understand, the movie brings all of the Monuments Men together to do some kind of grand heist…I’m not really sure. What I do know is that most of these men were the only member of the MFAA division in their section of the war effort and that other soldiers were not always cooperative in the Monument effort.
Something I hadn’t realized before reading this book was how old these men were. Most of them were approaching or already in their 40s! Joining the war effort was not something that was easy for most of them physically. In addition, these men were–for the most part–academics. They knew about art, not war. They were typically not military men turned MFAA officers but instead were museum men turned soldiers.
This book is magnificent. I cannot praise it enough. I learned a lot about WWII that I hadn’t known before and I felt that the author had a really good sense of what each of the Monuments Men must have been thinking during specific experiences. He obviously did extensive research to write this book and it shows. The book flows really well and I liked that we were able to spend time with a variety of the MFAA officers. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone. You don’t have to be interested in World War II or architecture and art to appreciate this book–it’s simply a fascinating read.
Overall Rating: 5
Violence: Heavy. The Monuments Men themselves don’t do much fighting, but it’s a war and there are some graphic descriptions of the internment camp conditions.
Sexual Content: Mild. Talk of mistresses and prostitutes.
Language: Moderate. Soldiers and such.
Smoking/Drinking: Mild. Not a focus.
Fascinating and important story but poorly told: disorganized, repetitive, and weirdly skipping ahead in places. 2.5 stars.
An ambitious project. It becomes clear as the book goes on why the narrative focuses more on certain individuals, but that does make the cast of 'main characters' line up in the beginning of the book a little confusing. I'll admit to investigating this work based on the notion of art conversation/reclamation history rather than World War 2 history, which means I had less interest in the sections of the book that acted as introductory context for the latest priorities/movements of the Monuments Men than their actual actions taken to discover and return/protect the art. Maintaining sense of tension without allowing the action to drag is difficult with a work of this length, even if it's clear that the muddle of war and the inevitable bureaucracy were just facts of history, not anything the authors ginned up. I appreciate that the authors gave time to consider the German-Jewish-American soldier perspective as well as the contributions of a woman to the French resistance and the recovery of artwork as well as to the art world of France, even though Ettlinger and Valland are not presented as the main characters in the bulk of the work. While the acknowledgement of an eventual force of men and women, especially post-action in the European theatre, in the MFAA, it remains The Monuments 'Men' throughout. 🤷🏼♂️ It matters that the authors took moments to acknowledge when even the Allies were destructive or unwise in their choices and art was lost as a result. I don't know if the fact that the authors are American or that the larger number of the original MFAA group were American explains why the focus seems to be on American MFAA people even if it was a joint British and American operation. One situation related does make it appear that depending on which American army section the Monuments Man was attached to determined where they'd be able to work/help, to the exclusion of any British force which might be nearby.
The horrors of war are briefly touched on, but not the focus of the story, beyond the lamentation for history, culture, art which was stolen, destroyed, lost. I was glad to read about the nascent field of modern art conservation coming into being in the person of George Stout, the love letters from sculptor Walker Hancock home to his new wife and "great love" Saima. The window into the ambition and frustration of men who were successful in their secular lives coming up against forces so much greater and grinding problems so much slower to solve primarily in the persons of James Rorimer and Lincoln Kirstein was humanizing. I can see why and how you could make this into a film, but I don't think I could watch a dramatization of it having been somewhat acquainted with the real people involved. I'm glad the authors chose to emphasize the importance of this type of work in modern warfare, and mentioned that the recovery of work from the historical time period is still ongoing. It's inspiring to remember people care about saving a little beauty alongside the other priorities amidst the ugliness of conflict.
⚠️suicide, details for the Holocaust, SA
The horrors of war are briefly touched on, but not the focus of the story, beyond the lamentation for history, culture, art which was stolen, destroyed, lost. I was glad to read about the nascent field of modern art conservation coming into being in the person of George Stout, the love letters from sculptor Walker Hancock home to his new wife and "great love" Saima. The window into the ambition and frustration of men who were successful in their secular lives coming up against forces so much greater and grinding problems so much slower to solve primarily in the persons of James Rorimer and Lincoln Kirstein was humanizing. I can see why and how you could make this into a film, but I don't think I could watch a dramatization of it having been somewhat acquainted with the real people involved. I'm glad the authors chose to emphasize the importance of this type of work in modern warfare, and mentioned that the recovery of work from the historical time period is still ongoing. It's inspiring to remember people care about saving a little beauty alongside the other priorities amidst the ugliness of conflict.
⚠️suicide, details for the Holocaust, SA
informative
inspiring