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615 reviews for:
The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History
Robert M. Edsel
3.73 AVERAGE
615 reviews for:
The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History
Robert M. Edsel
3.73 AVERAGE
I'm pretty familiar with World War II history but it was fascinating to see the focus on how the war decimated both historical monuments and art in Europe and how much worse it could have been without the Monuments Men. Edsel follows eight men as the Monuments Men are founded in order to protect important monuments starting when the Allies invaded Normandy and not ending until years after the war in the attempt to return stolen art. Thanks to military bureaucracy and the inefficiency of the war zone, there were so few Monuments Men that eight men were responsible for all of Northern Europe, which is crazy when you think about how they not only had to try to protect hundreds of monuments but also try to track down art stolen by the Nazis.
Edsel did a great job not only introducing these men but making you feel like you got to know their personalities and personal heroics. Most impressive to me was the Frenchwoman Rose Valland. I'm sure the movie will completely screw it up but it was awesome to see someone so brave who was able to accomplish amazing things because she was able to blend in rather than being a striking beauty like most female spies are portrayed. It's just a shame that so few people know about her now. If I have one complaint about the book, it's a minor one that probably only bothers students of history. Edsel has an unfortunate tendency to show only the black-and-white, good vs. evil view of the Nazis and Germans in general. The reality is significantly different and it detracts from the book to have these dramatic, one-sided judgments from the author. Still a great book on a little known aspect of WWII history and exciting enough to keep you reading from start to finish!
Edsel did a great job not only introducing these men but making you feel like you got to know their personalities and personal heroics. Most impressive to me was the Frenchwoman Rose Valland. I'm sure the movie will completely screw it up but it was awesome to see someone so brave who was able to accomplish amazing things because she was able to blend in rather than being a striking beauty like most female spies are portrayed. It's just a shame that so few people know about her now. If I have one complaint about the book, it's a minor one that probably only bothers students of history. Edsel has an unfortunate tendency to show only the black-and-white, good vs. evil view of the Nazis and Germans in general. The reality is significantly different and it detracts from the book to have these dramatic, one-sided judgments from the author. Still a great book on a little known aspect of WWII history and exciting enough to keep you reading from start to finish!
Well written and researched. This book explores a side of World War 2 that you don't hear much about. Despite all that I have read and learned about this era I knew nothing about the MFAA (Monuments Men). I highly recommend reading this book. I think everyone has heard stories of the stolen art found after Nazi Germany was defeated, but this is a much more detailed story.
There are some books that I have to force myself to set aside time to read or I will never finish them. This was one of those books. Although I highly enjoyed it, The Monuments Men had nothing that made me want to keep reading it. It is considered a history book, but I love the way that it was told more like a story than a textbook presented through facts only. Yet, it still wasn't a book that I felt the need to constantly be reading until I had finished. Overall, it was an informative and interesting book, but nothing overly special. Can't wait to see the movie and how it compares.
While I really enjoyed the overall story - especially the end - I found this to be a little tedious and repetitive. I almost never say this, but I'll probably enjoy the movie more.
What an amazing and humble group of professionals!! Working tirelessly and confronting not only military bureacracy and indifference at times but real bullets (two men were KIA) this allied team recovered unimaginable amounts of Western heritage sequestered away by the Nazis. The author jumps around(sometimes annoyingly) to each of the men working alone and their individual stories. Two real heroes leap out: George Stout and Rose Valland. At times the narrative can be slow but it picks up towards the end when there is a race to a salt mine loaded with art that has been prepared with explosives for destruction. The story of phenomenal individuals who possessed the passion and will to preserve our past is a must read for any lover of history and art. It's too bad our leaders didn't employ similar measures in Iraq and there is a brief comment about this in the summary.
This book started off really good and got boring about halfway through. I guess the story of museum curator types in Army uniforms looking for stolen art work isn't all that riveting, although it's admirable they did what they did at the time. It is flabbergasting how much art Hitler flat out stole during the war. I didn't know all that went on in WWII.
I finally finished this book! I started reading a physical copy in April of last year and have picked it up every now and then since, but I decided to finish it for a challenge I'm completing. I knew I would never finish reading the physical copy in time and decided to go with the audiobook.
I really wanted to give this book more than three stars because there is a lot of great information in this story, but while I loved the information, the book was so hard to get through. I think that is why I had such a difficult time reading more than a chapter of the physical copy at any one time. It was most definitely an information dense read. Five stars for learning about the men and women who protected the arts during World War II, but three stars overall simply for the difficulty of making it to the end.
On a side note, nonfiction is not my preferred genre. It may be much more enjoyable to someone who is used to reading historical accounts.
I really wanted to give this book more than three stars because there is a lot of great information in this story, but while I loved the information, the book was so hard to get through. I think that is why I had such a difficult time reading more than a chapter of the physical copy at any one time. It was most definitely an information dense read. Five stars for learning about the men and women who protected the arts during World War II, but three stars overall simply for the difficulty of making it to the end.
On a side note, nonfiction is not my preferred genre. It may be much more enjoyable to someone who is used to reading historical accounts.
An interesting story about preserving, protecting, and reclaiming art and architecture during WWII. Just another black mark on my long list of reasons to hate Nazis.
This book gave me a better understanding of the ravages of war on the heritage and culture of a nation. I especially appreciate the way one of the Monument Men summarizes his thoughts on the importance of art, “These monuments are not merely pretty things, not merely valued signs of man’s creative power. They are expressions of faith, and they stand for man’s struggle to relate himself to his past and to his God.”
The writing in this book could be improved a bit, but overall I would recommend it to both history buffs and art lovers.
This book gave me a better understanding of the ravages of war on the heritage and culture of a nation. I especially appreciate the way one of the Monument Men summarizes his thoughts on the importance of art, “These monuments are not merely pretty things, not merely valued signs of man’s creative power. They are expressions of faith, and they stand for man’s struggle to relate himself to his past and to his God.”
The writing in this book could be improved a bit, but overall I would recommend it to both history buffs and art lovers.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
I really really enjoyed this story!! I came into this book because of the movie and I am so glad I did! What an amazing story!! One that has gotten so lost and yet should not have happened that way! These men did something amazing and without them, so much art and history would have been lost ! I loved listening to this as an audiobook because I felt connected to each of the characters has they went on their journey to save all the art!! Truly an amazing story and one that everyone should know because this should not be forgotten!
adventurous
informative
inspiring
medium-paced