ebooks The Rape of Europa: The Fate of Europe's Treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War by Lynn H. Nicholas in History

Review

53 of 53 people found the following review helpful. the definitivie workBy RexDThe release of the movie “The Monuments Men” is stimulating interest in the topic of art looted during World War II and the efforts made since to restore that art to its rightful owners. Anyone who becomes interested in this subject should read “The Rape of Europa” by Lynn Nicholas. This work was described by Dr. Mason Hammond; one of the original monuments men; as “the definitive work on the subject.” It provided the basis from which this movie was made; and it is based on years of research in the archives of both the US and Europe. It is very readable and tells an absorbing story. The book won the National Book Critics Circle Award for general non-fiction in 19940 of 0 people found the following review helpful. INVALUABLE historical masterpieceBy teacher of kidsThis book deserves the best review I can write! I found it after the Monuments Men movie was recommended and it is amazing. The level of research alone done for this work deserves an award and the content of it makes it a MUST for the well-rounded historical reader.. The theme is the intrigue and involvement of the treasures of Europe (artwork; statuary; books; letters; historical pieces; painting; poetry and prose) and the treachery with which men attempted to elevate their wealth and/or stature or their country's wealth; some with little to no regard for the historical; personal and ethnic value behind these pieces. The story begins long before WWII when the Nazis were consolidating their power base. As this book shows; history is NOT dull. It took a long time to read; as I needed to check my historical knowledge along the way and covers YEARS of the intrigue and military involvement regarding the world's treasures. FABULOUS book and I DO understand the word "masterpiece."0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. If you are museumfolk; this book will get you excited about your job again.By Sheba CamachoImagine a tale where the action heroes are the curators and art historians; where the people in the invaded towns defend their art and history through ruses; intricate strategies and sometimes amazing feats of strenght and character. This is the kind of tale Lynn Nicholas is weaving here.You might feel that the amount of names and dates is too dense; and maybe have some trouble with all the footnotes. However; the Kindle format can help make the reading experience more streamlined (loving the XRay function for this one); and once you get past that; you'll discover a fabulous book that manages to articulate all the simultaneous things that were happening around European art and artworks during the WW2.