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May 02, 2009

David rated it:

An interesting book about the greatest cultural theft and looting in world history done by the Nazis, who stole every painting, sculpture and etching they could get their hands on from 1938 to 1945 throughout most of Europe. Thousands of art objects were looted from museums and private collections by the Germans and shipped back to the Reich to grace the houses of top Nazis, especially Herman Goering, whose country estate had almost 20,000 paintings and statues. Especially hard hit were Poland More...

3 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 11, 2009

Susan rated it:

This is a mostly pictorial book. It's fascinating to learn of the admirable lengths Europe went to protect art during WWII as well as the Allies recovery of art plundered and hoarded by the Nazis. It makes you wonder if Hitler had put as much effort into fighting the war as he did to amassing art and destroying cultural icons the Nazi's might have won. Frightening, to say the least. Looking forward to reading Edsel's new book "The Monuments Men : Allied Heros, Nazi Thieves, and the Grea More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 19, 2009

Cody rated it:

This book captures the legendary efforts of brave, average people who clearly see themselves as citizens of the world in the noblest sense, to protect, preserve, find, and rightfully return great art treasures. All the great elements are in there - really evil villains, truly heroic efforts and ingenuity, dogged detective work, and common courageous people. Strong on visuals (as it should be for a book about great art!), Resucing Da Vinci has great archival photographs illustrating the rescue ef More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Koren rated it:

this is my token coffee table book.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 25, 2009

Melinda rated it:

Having visited many museums in Europe, I always had questions in the back of my mind -- What did they do with the artwork during WWII? How did the Mona Lisa avoid being captured by the Germans? How did large statues that could not be moved avoid being damaged? Well, this book answers these questions. And WOW, does it answer them, with well written text and also with stunning pictures. I HIGHLY recommend it!!!

What was most fascinating about this book was to learn how many objects More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 10, 2008

Mandy rated it:

Holy crap on a stick, batman. I ate this book for breakfast and belched with complete satisfaction -- that is, I've been telling everyone I know about it. It's just plain captivating.

It's a WWII story that doesn't get a whole lot of attention in the face of the actual war, the atrocities and other stories of aftermath, but it's well worth gaining the extra layer of that incredible time. Contrary to the title, it's not just about what the Nazis stole. It's also about what they coul More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 21, 2010

Erik rated it:

A fascinating book photographically documenting the pillaging of Europe during WWII and the recovery efforts.

I found myself forming a greater appreciation for the masterpieces recovered and all the work that went into protecting and recovering them.

There are some amazing photographs in the book and I especially appreciated the full color plates of the paintings next to the WWII black and white photos of them being recovered.

All and all a very visual telling of More...

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Apr 25, 2009

Staci rated it:

the extent of the art thefts by Germany is astounding. Hilter's plan was and remains to this day astounding to the human mind. Thankfully there continues to be help to recover the missing art.

How sad - nothing can replace the artworks destroyed labeled "degenerate"

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 28, 2009

Georgia rated it:

Very interesting book that explores how great works of art were preserved and recovered during WWII. I had no idea of the extreme measure taken by the allied forces to protect the masterpeices of Da Vinci and many great artisits.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 24, 2008

Amy rated it:

I heard about this book from a segment on The Sunday Morning Program on CBS. I knew nothing about this part of WWII history. It was a very interesting read. There was very little writing. Most of the book consisted of photographs. Basically, it's the story of how Hitler and the Nazi's looted art across Europe. It also tells how people tried to hide art from the Nazi's and what people did to protect it. The Allies (mostly Americans) spent the next 5 years trying to return the artifacts to More...

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Oct 20, 2009

Cathy rated it:

A great book explaining what happened to the art work in Europe during World War II. It has a lot of great pictures so you can actually see what paintings you are reading about.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 22, 2009

Charles rated it:

The photographs in and of themselves were mesmerizing. If it is not required reading in every high school across the country - it should be.

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May 22, 2011

Scott rated it:

Great follow up book to Monuments Men...

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Nov 18, 2009

Julie rated it:

The book was good, but the movie was better

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Dec 17, 2009

Hardeep rated it:

The "holier-than-thou" attitude of the author rankles me a bit. Of course there was plundering! Of course there was looting. While I am absolutely not approving of it, the statement "to the victor go the spoils" is a historical truism.

That said, the photography that is included in this book is excellent. It gives the reader insight into the steps that were taken to protect all the artwork from theft and destruction. It is a testament to the museums and their More...

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Dec 15, 2009

Wescbrown rated it:

great coffee table book!

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Dec 11, 2008

Lucero rated it:

I have been drooling over the pages as I flip through and see Hitler's monolithic empire take shape. This book is a wonderful collection of photos of all the orchestrated mechanisms that were took place prior to WWII in oder to preserve, hide and rescue Masterpieces from France and Italy.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 22, 2009

Mrs. Crane rated it:

Splendid coffee table book.
However, Edsel doesn't follow through with more historical information on paintings and members of the MFAA. It had the potential to be a much better account of what happened to our worlds masterpieces during WWII. This book could've been one of it's kind in the history of art, but sadly, it fell short.
I still believe it's a beautifully illustrated book worth reading and owning.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 30, 2011

Christina rated it:

This book is not what I had imagined at all; it is more so a coffee table book. It is very large and 75% of the pages are photo collages. Very interesting information however on how each country went about preserving or hiding their culture's art from Hitler, and how the MFAA and Monuments Officers retrieved and returned the art work that was stolen.

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May 09, 2008

Steven rated it:

This is almost a companion piece to the documentary and book RAPE OF EUROPA; this is really a coffee-table photo book of the people, the places, and artworks. Ideally, I'd love to see this book combined with ROE, as having the visuals to go with the text would have been preferrable for both.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 07, 2008

Laura rated it:

A great history of the looting of art museums and of personal property throughout Europe and Russia by Hitler and the Nazis during WWII. The extent of the theft or distruction of millions of pieces of priceless artwork is mind boggling! The pictures alone tell an incredible story.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 21, 2008

Rachel rated it:

Coffee table book. Educational and beautiful pictures. The impact that WWII had on the art world was something that I have never learned about in 18 years of school. This subject is very interesting to me and I it is something I look forward to learning more about.

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Nov 10, 2007

Marilyn rated it:

One of several books I've read recently about the rescue of art stolen by the Nazis, this tells more about the US Army unit assigned to the daunting task of identifying and returning the works to their rightful owners.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 18, 2007

Jenny rated it:

Very interesting but lesser-known story of WWII. The pictures are the highlight.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 28, 2009

Kirsten rated it:

Wonderful photographs. Not too much actual history about the war, except as it relates to art preservation.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 06, 2012

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Jan 29, 2012

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Jan 15, 2012

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