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Rescuing Da Vinci: Hitler and the Nazies Stole Europe's Great Art America and Her Allies Recovered It
i]Rescuing Da Vinci /i] uses 460 photographs to tell the "untold story of the 'Monuments Men'" and their discovery of more than 1,000 repositories filled with millions of items including paintings, sculptures, furniture, archives and other treasures stolen during WWII by Adolph Hitler and the Nazis. i]Rescuing Da Vinci /i] includes photographs of Hitler designin...more
Hardcover, 302 pages
Published
December 15th 2006
by Laurel Publishing, LLC
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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
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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
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
this is my token coffee table book.
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
What was most fascinating about this book was to learn how many objects ...more
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
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
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
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
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"
How sad - nothing can replace the artworks destroyed labeled "degenerate"
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.
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
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.
The photographs in and of themselves were mesmerizing. If it is not required reading in every high school across the country - it should be.
Great follow up book to Monuments Men...
The book was good, but the movie was better
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
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
great coffee table book!
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.
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.
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.
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.
Laura
rated it
Recommends it for:
everyone, especially history lovers
Recommended to Laura by:
lady in art class (Mimi?)
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.
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.
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.
Very interesting but lesser-known story of WWII. The pictures are the highlight.
Wonderful photographs. Not too much actual history about the war, except as it relates to art preservation.
Ann
marked it as to-read
Katie Buttle
marked it as to-read
Lindsay
marked it as to-read
Nathan
marked it as to-read
Books n' Cooks
marked it as to-read
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