Waterstones The Monuments Men

Author: Janie U

Rating: 5

Review: I saw this film in the cinema several years ago and bought the book as a gift for my husband. He said it was great so I decided to read it too, but the book had languished on my shelf for some time. Having picked it up now though I was curious to see more about the real story with the Hollywood glamour taken out. There is plenty of explanation about the backgrounds of the individuals involved. They all come from artistic worlds to some degree and relished the opportunity to have a part in saving the culture heritage of Europe. Conflict of many kinds is at the heart of this book. There is the actual fighting against the Germans and also the dilemma of trying not to cause any more damage than is absolutely necessary. It was one of the jobs of the Monuments Men to keep reminding everyone of their obligations to the fabric of the countries they were saving. A lot is written about World War II but I've never read so much detail about the advance of the troops across Europe after D day. The winter of 1944/5 created dreadful conditions for the men and this author describes the conditions perfectly - I had complete understanding without any overwhelming drama. Throughout the book there is a lot of repetition which is really good. Reinforcing the facts about the men and the locations is necessary in an account of a period of history which is very confusing. The repetition makes the people become familiar enabling the reader to concentrate on the progress. We follow the troops across Europe (as do the Monuments Men) and when they arrive in Germany the most incredible finds are made, in castles, mines and other places. The book ratchets up the excitement when they enter the treasure troves of art stolen by the Nazis. As observers, we see the horrors of the Nazi regime through the eyes of the Monuments Men - their interest in the material destruction but the human tragedy is brought into every element of the book - effecting both the Germans and Allies equally. The human consequences are dealt with in an understated way which has a powerful effect. I was surprised how exciting this book was to read - at times it is more like a thriller than a factual account which is a credit to the author who added dialogue then linked together what must have been mountains of research, resulting in a story which flows beautifully. The chapters are usually less than 10 pages each and most end with a good link through to the next.

Author: Frequent Traveller

Rating: 3

Review: The writer of this book has managed to turn a moderately interesting story into a thoroughly dull and irritating one. It's badly written, unevenly paced, with much jumping about between insufficiently distinguishable characters plus endless repetition that wouldn't be necessary if the characters had more -- well -- character, and there was less frequent cutting to other locations. Plus it's s-l-o-w. But for me, as a UK person with parents who both had first-hand overseas Services experience of WW2, the most annoying factor is its very US-centric focus. I hope it's not necessary to give US readers as much explanatory detail about Europe as this author (or his editor) seems to feel they require and I'm sure European readers (UK included) have no need of it. I mean, I know where Belgium is and that Paris is the French capital, and I can't be the only one who does… It is perfectly possible that my take on America's role in the second world war was never going to coincide with the author's, given my family background, and younger British or European readers may not agree with me. However, I have to say I found unacceptable and deeply patronising his view, both implied and overt, repeatedly expressed, that when the US army arrived in Europe the war was, consequently, all but over. There are not many books that I can't make myself persevere to the end of, but this was one. The sad thing is that in other hands it could perhaps have been fascinating.