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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
Please add a half star to this rating.
I started out slowly with this book, and I know why: I downloaded the e-book from the library, and the text copy includes breakdowns of each major character (there are a lot) at the start of the book, before the story begins. This was daunting; I felt that I needed to memorize all of the names and bios before I could even start the story. I finally got about halfway through (thanks to being stopped on the Metra for two hours one night in December and having ample reading time) but then put it down during the holidays.
And there it sat, unread, for weeks, until a couple of weeks ago I made the decision (after finishing The Caine Mutiny and being in the listening mood for more WWII drama) to start over with the audiobook. And this was the best choice for me. The audiobook leaves out all of the clumsy bios and just starts the story. And it is really a good story.
There are a lot of characters, but getting them in context rather than in an isolated list makes a huge difference. It's not really a thriller, but an academic adventure with elements of mystery and, of course, war. I loved getting first hand accounts through the men's letters home, and it was exciting to imagine each of them plodding across Europe to track down these treasures. The narrator, Jeremy Davidson, does a solid job and doesn't try too hard to make each character too distinct, which would have ended up with too many put-on and fake voices. His English accent, though, is weak, so luckily there are only a couple minor English characters.
It's an emotional but quiet kind of adventure. I'm nervous that the movie will turn it into a wartime Ocean's Eleven and sex it up (this is not a sexy story). But I'll still watch it and laugh at Goodman chewing scenery.
I started out slowly with this book, and I know why: I downloaded the e-book from the library, and the text copy includes breakdowns of each major character (there are a lot) at the start of the book, before the story begins. This was daunting; I felt that I needed to memorize all of the names and bios before I could even start the story. I finally got about halfway through (thanks to being stopped on the Metra for two hours one night in December and having ample reading time) but then put it down during the holidays.
And there it sat, unread, for weeks, until a couple of weeks ago I made the decision (after finishing The Caine Mutiny and being in the listening mood for more WWII drama) to start over with the audiobook. And this was the best choice for me. The audiobook leaves out all of the clumsy bios and just starts the story. And it is really a good story.
There are a lot of characters, but getting them in context rather than in an isolated list makes a huge difference. It's not really a thriller, but an academic adventure with elements of mystery and, of course, war. I loved getting first hand accounts through the men's letters home, and it was exciting to imagine each of them plodding across Europe to track down these treasures. The narrator, Jeremy Davidson, does a solid job and doesn't try too hard to make each character too distinct, which would have ended up with too many put-on and fake voices. His English accent, though, is weak, so luckily there are only a couple minor English characters.
It's an emotional but quiet kind of adventure. I'm nervous that the movie will turn it into a wartime Ocean's Eleven and sex it up (this is not a sexy story). But I'll still watch it and laugh at Goodman chewing scenery.
No matter how much I learn about the Nazis, I am constantly surprised by their depravity. It is breathtaking. This one sentence from the book really hits home: "More than anything, the Nazis robbed families: of their livelihoods, their opportunities, their heirlooms, their mementos, of the things that identified them and defined them as human beings."
I had known a bit about the Monuments Men before reading this book, but I'm ashamed to say that I didn't appreciate just how important they were. I took it for granted that most of the artwork had been found and, whenever possible, returned to the rightful owner. But that was not a given. These extraordinary men and their allies, so principled and determined to preserving culture, sacrificed to make that true. The world is a better place because of that sacrifice, and yet most of us know nothing about them. It's shameful. We need to know and remember these events. And we need to learn from them.
I had known a bit about the Monuments Men before reading this book, but I'm ashamed to say that I didn't appreciate just how important they were. I took it for granted that most of the artwork had been found and, whenever possible, returned to the rightful owner. But that was not a given. These extraordinary men and their allies, so principled and determined to preserving culture, sacrificed to make that true. The world is a better place because of that sacrifice, and yet most of us know nothing about them. It's shameful. We need to know and remember these events. And we need to learn from them.
dark
informative
medium-paced
I really enjoyed learning about a part of ww2 history I had never heard of before
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
This was a fascinating read about a not well known part of World War II. My one complaint is that the author added commentary and or conversations based on actual communications between people. This book is a historical book that is interesting enough that it didn't need to be made easier to read by turning it into a mix of historical fiction and non-fiction.
This is an great story about an amazing group of men and women who fought to save the cultural history of Europe in the final months of World War II. I'm glad that this book and the new movie are bringing attention to this forgotten part of Allied history. These men and women are examples of why our grandparents have earned the right to call themselves The Greatest Generation.
Edsel tells the story well, weaving in the paths that each of the Monuments Men took through Western Europe into one narrative. This is a history book that is written to be accessible to the non-history types who just want to read a good, fast paced, almost too crazy to be true story. It's really a treasure hunt and the twists keep story moving and the pages turning!
Edsel tells the story well, weaving in the paths that each of the Monuments Men took through Western Europe into one narrative. This is a history book that is written to be accessible to the non-history types who just want to read a good, fast paced, almost too crazy to be true story. It's really a treasure hunt and the twists keep story moving and the pages turning!
informative
medium-paced
A litany of characters and European place names to keep track of made this kind of a slog. I did find the story and photos fascinating, though! Highly recommend.
This was not a bad book, I enjoyed it for the most part. Personally I am not a fan of art, so I surprised myself by picking this book up. The narrator was easy to follow and the story felt like a fictional story. There was a lot of people involved and personally I had a hard time keeping everyone straight. But I did learn some new things which is what I was wanting to get out of this book.