The Monuments Men by Robert Edsel and Bret Witter, 496 pages

The full title of this book is "The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History."

I wanted to read this book because I saw a preview for the upcoming movie of the same title (the short one) and I love books about World War II.

It took me a good while to get interested in the book, but once it got me hooked, I was hooked for sure.  I never knew of the men and women who were part of the military in World War II, but whose mission it was to save the art and cultural history of Europe.  And actually, not everyone who worked toward this goal was in the Allied military.  There were French museum workers, Austrian mine engineers and even Nazi officers who also did everything they could to save the art from the being looted by the Nazis and later from destruction when the war starting going poorly for Germany.

This book focused on the Monuments Men who worked and were stationed in Western Europe.  Activity occurred elsewhere, but the author explains that he limited the story because the book was just too long otherwise.

If you like history or if you like to read about World War II or if you appreciate art or if you like a good adventure story or if you . . . you get the idea.  Just read this book.