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)

Wonderful information but slow moving.

What made the experience of listening to The Monuments Men the most enjoyable?

The historical information, locations and pieces of art mentioned.

What did you like best about this story?

The historical information, locations and pieces of art mentioned.

What does Jeremy Davidson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Yes. Loved his ability to entertain with multiple accents and a clear and easy to listen to voice.

Any additional comments?

This book is wonderful in that it relates history I knew little or nothing about. The content is interesting and delivered well. I would hardly qualify this book as a thriller or difficult to put down although it was written and delivered well. Interesting, definitely worth the "read" but rather slow moving.

Eye opening journey into WW 11!

Overall a fantastic education! It was all new to me concerning what an incredible group of young men did for other countries bravely finding ànd saving their priceless art treasures for future generations.

Better Read than Heard

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes, the story is amazing, just hard to listen to. I have found certain books do well in audio format and not others. It's just how the story is written, and this story is told in such a way (with lots of WWII facts/dates/officer names) that it's not like listening to a novel.

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

The story of Rose, her spying on the Nazis in her museum

What about Jeremy Davidson’s performance did you like?

He was good at using his voice for different characters.

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

Yes, I did, then listened to the book.

Wonderful history-Thank you for sharing

It is an amazing story of the preservation of these art priceless treasures and the courageous people who made it happen. We owe them a debt of gratitude. My appreciation is greater today because I have seen a few of these pieces myself and now I know how they were saved. I share my admiration for them.

Read BEFORE the movie

As an art lover and someone who lived in Europe many years ago, I had only heard whispers of these stories, random crumbs about Nazi art thefts of some of my most beloved masterpieces, but I never knew the extent of the theft or that the art and architecture I have spent my life learning about came so close to being lost, completely, before I was born. This was a revelation, and well told. I am left with a burning desire to thank the heroes of this story and to hope that the movie offers a fitting memorial to their mission. This is the kind of book I want everyone to read, certain that lives will be enriched knowing this worthy story, and certain that it will be closer to the truth than any film can offer. Read first before the movie has some fun with it.

Too many tangents

The subject matter is interesting and I was eager to learn more about the Monuments Men, but overall the book disappointed me. It wasn???t a bad book, but there was more in it than I wanted to read about - so I found it long and tedious at times. Towards the end, I lost interest and started skipping ahead. I think a 60 minute TV documentary would have been fascinating but this book was too long for me.

Abridged might be better than unabridged

I was inspired to read this book after seeing the ho-hum movie based on this book. The book is far better, and you learn the real stories behind the movie fictionalization.

Edsel provides a thorough description of the actions of the Monuments Men in northern Europe, where they were before the war, what motivated them, and their triumphs and tragedies during and after the war. I every much enjoyed the overarching story, but found the details sometimes bogged down the story telling.

I had the option of listening to the abridged version of this book, and chose to do the unabridged. If you are interested in the story, I might recommend the abridged version, although I have not listened that version, as my hope is that some of the copious details are left out, leaving you with a broader picture of the actions of the men and women who went to great lengths to save art during WWII. A heartfelt thanks to all of them.

This should be part of all WW II study

A must read for everyone in studying the WW II era of World History and in the Humanities. We are only our worst and aspire to our best; this portrays it all.

Good History Lesson

Having a father and grandfather in WWII, I found this book informative and interesting. I will "reread" it again in the future.

Monuments Men, the Book

Where does The Monuments Men rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I would give it a solid 8

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

The history. Oh my gosh, hearing all the details about how the art was stolen and the search for it. I got a real education about Jewish history and the incidents leading up to the beginning of WWII. There was so much info about the museums in Europe. I wish that I had made the time to visit them when I was there in the 70s.

What about Jeremy Davidson’s performance did you like?

I could listen to him all day. He is a story teller. His voice has character and richness and great meter.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

See how the spirit of humanity manages to stop the war machine from stripping away Europe's sense of art, culture and history.

Any additional comments?

The movie is never as good as the book - other wise the movie would be hours and hours long. The knowledge I got from the details in the audiobook will add dimension when I see the movie.