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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
Unusually for me and this genre of book, we had a love hate relationship. I have previously read other works on this topic and found them to be engrossing and insisting I keep reading them until the end to discover the next piece in the puzzle; this particular one did not have that hook that pulled me all the way in, and is one of the reasons for the three thumbs review.
The story told within the pages of this book is that of a little known group who can be credited with our being able to view works by some of the greatest Artists in the world that, without their existence may have been lost for all time. Their story is an interesting and important one as it follows them from the inception of the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives to the end of the war. It documents in great detail the hardships they encountered, and the stonewalling or disinterest shown in their mission by others they met whilst often working on the edge of the battle lines; they actually lost two of their unit through combat related deaths. Despite this, they regrouped and continued on with the mission at hand, hunting out information and pouring over myriads of records, which in the case of the Paris cultural treasures had been scrupulously kept by a Frenchwoman Rose Valland. But again, despite this being a fascinating story it was also a frustrating story.
Despite being forewarned in the Author’s Note that some liberties were taken in the creation of the dialogue to help with the continuity of the book, it came across at time that he had taken too many liberties which tended to give this historical account the feel that it was being pulled kicking and screaming into the realms of historical fiction; not a place I wanted to be taken when reading this, as there a several great fiction works on this topic out there I have already read. This created dialogue also took up far too much of the book, and I feel a greater impact would have been achieved if they had been pared down somewhat by a skilled editor, putting the focus firmly back on the purpose and discoveries of the MFAA. The saving grace in this book, for me, were all the hidden nuggets of information that were buried deeply underneath the unnecessary ‘chatter’. When taken from a purely historical point of view, this book is well researched and very educational and, combined with pictures taken from the actual time and events mentioned it could have been something truly exceptional.
Anyone interested in this era in history may enjoy this book; if they can get past the obvious attempts in include a fictional aspect to events.
Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2014/06/23/review-the-monuments-men-allied-heroes-nazi-thieves-and-the-greatest-treasure-hunt-in-history-robert-m-edsel-bret-witter-contributor/
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
The story told within the pages of this book is that of a little known group who can be credited with our being able to view works by some of the greatest Artists in the world that, without their existence may have been lost for all time. Their story is an interesting and important one as it follows them from the inception of the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives to the end of the war. It documents in great detail the hardships they encountered, and the stonewalling or disinterest shown in their mission by others they met whilst often working on the edge of the battle lines; they actually lost two of their unit through combat related deaths. Despite this, they regrouped and continued on with the mission at hand, hunting out information and pouring over myriads of records, which in the case of the Paris cultural treasures had been scrupulously kept by a Frenchwoman Rose Valland. But again, despite this being a fascinating story it was also a frustrating story.
Despite being forewarned in the Author’s Note that some liberties were taken in the creation of the dialogue to help with the continuity of the book, it came across at time that he had taken too many liberties which tended to give this historical account the feel that it was being pulled kicking and screaming into the realms of historical fiction; not a place I wanted to be taken when reading this, as there a several great fiction works on this topic out there I have already read. This created dialogue also took up far too much of the book, and I feel a greater impact would have been achieved if they had been pared down somewhat by a skilled editor, putting the focus firmly back on the purpose and discoveries of the MFAA. The saving grace in this book, for me, were all the hidden nuggets of information that were buried deeply underneath the unnecessary ‘chatter’. When taken from a purely historical point of view, this book is well researched and very educational and, combined with pictures taken from the actual time and events mentioned it could have been something truly exceptional.
Anyone interested in this era in history may enjoy this book; if they can get past the obvious attempts in include a fictional aspect to events.
Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2014/06/23/review-the-monuments-men-allied-heroes-nazi-thieves-and-the-greatest-treasure-hunt-in-history-robert-m-edsel-bret-witter-contributor/
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Not your standard WWII book - this recollection of the historical preservation of art and history is phenomenal and a must read!
emotional
informative
tense
slow-paced
This is an incredible story that so many people still don't know. As someone who is obsessed with art and culture, I am utterly in awe of these men and women who fought to preserve our world heritage. They are truly heros
I have to give this book only 4 stars because the first part of it is so very slow. In fact, I was almost ready to give up on it when it finally grabbed my interest (and after I read other reviews that encouraged people to stick with it).
Prior to this read, I did not know about the MFAA, nor had I ever thought about the fate of cultural objects during times of war. The story of these men (and women - Rose Valland in the case of this book) and the work they did is captivating. What a neat niche of history.
Worth the read (or 14 hour listen in my case), but know that those first few hours are rough.
Prior to this read, I did not know about the MFAA, nor had I ever thought about the fate of cultural objects during times of war. The story of these men (and women - Rose Valland in the case of this book) and the work they did is captivating. What a neat niche of history.
Worth the read (or 14 hour listen in my case), but know that those first few hours are rough.
Hugely important read especially the first few chapters if nothing else. Was very helpful in research.
The history documented in this book is incredible. The Monuments Men deserve recognition for their contributions to both World War II and art conservation; George Stout, James Rorimer and Rose Valland in particular were brave, tremendous individuals who I relished learning more about. The way that the book is framed around Henry Ettlinger viewing his grandfather's art collection is well done. However, finishing proved to be a challenge as the writing never quite settles into a satisfying rhythm. It felt like Edsel wanted to pen a novelization of the events by including dialogue and fleshing out the sprawling cast of characters instead of mainly sticking to the already fascinating facts, which I found frustrating. Sadly, this book is too long and tedious to get through to be completely enjoyable.
The topic was interesting and some of the individual stories were well done. I just had a hard time reading it. It didn't seem to flow well, which probably comes from trying to tell so many people's stories when they rarely or never interact.
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: War
Minor: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Blood, Antisemitism