The Monuments Men

Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History

By: Robert M. Edsel, Bret Witter

Narrated by: Jeremy Davidson

Length: 14 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Now a major motion film!

At the same time Adolf Hitler was attempting to take over the western world, his armies were methodically seeking and hoarding the finest art treasures in Europe. The Fuehrer had begun cataloging the art he planned to collect as well as the art he would destroy: "degenerate" works he despised.

In a race against time, behind enemy lines, often unarmed, a special force of American and British museum directors, curators, art historians, and others, called the Monuments Men, risked their lives scouring Europe to prevent the destruction of thousands of years of culture.

Focusing on the 11-month period between D-Day and V-E Day, this fascinating account follows six Monuments Men and their impossible mission to save the world's great art from the Nazis.

©2009 Robert M. Edsel (P)2009 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"The story is both engaging and inspiring. In the midst of a total war, armies systematically sought to mitigate cultural loss." ( Publishers Weekly)

"[Narrator Jeremy Davidson] varies the pacing effectively, based on the nature of the text. He speeds up slightly during exciting action-filled sequences. He reads letters and documents with a flatter tone, making it easy for listeners to discern when the document stops and the author's words resume. He also gives a slight but not intrusive or cartoonish British accent to quotations by Britishers." ( AudioFile)

An untold WWII finally told

To read about all the great deeds that these brave men and women did during World War II is nothing beyond extraordinary. They were protecting One of the greatest things that makes us human: Art.

Loved this more than I expected

It can be a lot of details at times, but the history and story of these men & women and what they went through to preserve art for all the world. Amazing.

Excellent book marred by narration

What did you love best about The Monuments Men?

As a lover of art, culture and history, I found this a fascinating account of the heroes and villains involved in the fate of European art, architecture, books and other cultural treasures during the final stages of World War II in Western Europe.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The are so many..an American example: James Rorimer..the "bull dog" former curator of the Cloisters in NY..although a lowly private, he daringly challenged senior officers of his own army when necessary to protect art treasures..Rose Valland, the mousy employee of Jeu de Paume who spied on the Germans and kept meticulous records of their thefts..There were also unsung heroes on the German side who secretly worked to thwart the Nazi agenda of theft and destruction.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Jeremy Davidson?

Yes, if it does not involve the pronunciation of French names, or dialogue spoken by non- Americans. For example, he pronounces the last name of Rose Valland, a key character, as if it were spelled "Vailland"..very off-putting if you speak French. He also constantly mispronounces the names of even we'll-known French places. Even worse, his attempts at speaking with a French, German or British accent in the direct quotes were goofy and extremely distracting.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes..if I had had the time, in order to find out the fate of the individual characters and works of art.

Any additional comments?

I highly recommend both this book, which focuses on the Monuments Men's efforts in North Western Europe, and "Saving Italy" by the same author. The latter book also benefits from the excellent narration of Edoardo Ballerini, a bilingual reader with perfect American and Italian accents: names are pronounced correctly (he even does a pretty good job with the German names.) Also, unlike Davidson, Ballerini does not inflict different accents on the non American characters, so one can concentrate of the content of the dialogues without unnecessary distraction.

The Momument Men - WWII History Thru Art

Story - Overall I enjoyed this story. It was interesting to see WWII through this lens of art. This experience influenced our procedures in operations where there was protection of cultural and historical sites. We still shot up the church bell tower to kill the snipers and the enemy observers but we did blow up the whole church.

Performance - The performance was excellent and the actors needed to portray a wide spectrum of personalities.

Very interesting and informative

I learned an aspect of World War II that I previously knew nothing about. As a docent at the Huntington Library. Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, I am able to appreciate first hand the dedication and sacrifice of these brave, dedicated saviors of Western Art and civilization’m.

Audio cut out half way through!

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I'm beginning to get distrustful of Audible. This is the second book I have had trouble with. The story seems great and then the book cut out on me a with 4:40 left. I have to give Audible credit that they refund quickly and easily, but this is still irritating!

Excellent story and narration

I was captivated by this narrative and the monumental task these folks faced. The movie did a disservice to the story by skimming over the hardships faced by the victims of this war.

Monuments Men

This is a great book. My 17-year-old grandson recommended it, and I recommend it.

Fascinating

Would you consider the audio edition of The Monuments Men to be better than the print version?

I enjoyed listening to this book and finding out about these unsung heroes and their tremendous contributions to our world.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Monuments Men?

Too many to mention.

Which character – as performed by Jeremy Davidson – was your favorite?

Tie between George Stout and Rose Valande.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The can do attitude when faced with few resources and the total commitment to a daunting assignment.

Quite interesting

What did you like best about The Monuments Men? What did you like least?

I enjoyed learning about a part of the war that I didn't know anything about before. It's quite well written and keeps the reader interested. What I liked least was the extremely american perspective. It is mentioned at the end that there were monuments men from 17 countries, and the English ones are mentioned here and there, in addition to one french woman. But for the main part, it leaves the reader with the impression that the americans won the war and saved art more or less by themselves, which is of course very far from the thruth. It's fine to chose an american perspective, but it should them be made very clear that this is a book about American monuments men, leaving most of the others out.
I enjoyed Jeremy Davidson's reading for the most part, except for the fact that all the non-americans speak with almost caricature accents throughout, which gets annoying really fast.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I would have presented the stories of more non-american monuments men and women, and left out the long description of the plain looks of the only monuments woman included, it sound like everyone should be surprised that a plain looking woman could be intelligent and brilliant at her work. We do not get to read about wether or not the monuments men are good looking, which is a good thing as it has nothing to do with their war efforts, so why does it matter how the only woman dresses and what she looks like?

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

It is a movie and I'm planning to see it.