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The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History
Status: Featured Selections
I must admit that I approached this book with some hesitation. For one thing, I worried that it would be just a footnote to World War II military history or yet another account of Nazi misdeeds. Instead, I found a fascinating story about a war within a war; the not far behind the battle lines struggle to save European cultural treasures from plunder and destruction. Robert Edsel and co-author Bret Witter describe how a relatively small team of "Monuments Men," male and female curators, artists, and art historians raced to locate and preserve unique artifacts while bombs were still falling on European cities, even as Hitler's henchmen were working overtime to thwart them. To me, The Monuments Men possesses a cinematic vividness, capturing as it does real people becoming heroes.
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This is a great book. I too wondered if it would capture my attention because I am not normally an avid reader of WWII books. However, there is a lot more to this story that will appeal to a broad audience, especially women. The author included excerpts of letters that the Monuments Men wrote their wives and families...they are beautiful and sometimes heart wrenching. This story provides an entirely new way to look at WWII as it explores the Nazis' obsession with and theft of art from across Europe, and almost more interestingly, the Monuments Men's efforts to locate it. As the title suggests, the book focuses on the Monuments Men themselves, and is a "people" story, not a broad exploration of the entire subject of Nazi looting and art repatriation.
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The Monuments Men shows what a gifted storyteller Mr. Edsel is along with his co-writer Bret Witter (loved Dewey as well!). Following up to his first book Rescuing DaVinci and the documentary film The Rape of Europa (co-producer)- Monuments Men takes us even further into the adventures of 10 of the men and women serving in the Monuments Fine Arts & Archives section. I would have read it in one sitting if I had the time!! You will never again look at art or WWII in the same way once your eyes are opened the awe-inspiring stories of these inviduals and the role they played in rescuing art and other cultural treasures from the hands of the Nazi thieves. I highly recommend the film The Rape of Europa as a companion to this memorable story - an enlightening documentary of the highest quality rarely seen in today's media which seems more concerned with the latest celebrity shenanigans or mindless reality shows.
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Mr. Edsel has produced a true gem by revealing this little known story about the Monuments Men to the world. The Monuments Men are an important element of art history of the era. Edsel truly honors the Monuments Men by preserving their stories in this book. The author is a gifted story teller that helps give each Monument Man (or woman) a distinct personality and character. This book gives a more in depth understanding of what the Monuments Men endured, continuing from the first book, Rescuing Da Vinci. This book is fascinating and hard to put down. Robert Edsel is a true American hero and I'm happy to give this book my full endorsement.
-WWIIBUFF
Berkeley, CA
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This isn't a forum I normally read, the subject reference to the Monuments Men just happened to catch my eye. Anyway, to the people interested in this book, there's a documentary, The Rape of Europa, that might also interest. It's based on a book, with the same title, about the destruction, theft, plunder and, yes, rescue of art during WWII. The Monuments Men aren't the primary focus of the documentary, but they are definitely featured, including interviews with at least one--possibly more if I'm mis-remembering.
Like others have mentioned here, I found the story surprisingly compelling. I guess I just imagined with all the destruction and rescue of human life, the destruction and rescue of art wouldn't seem so significant. I was wrong.
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