Saving Italy; The Race to Rescue a Nation's Treasures from the Nazis
New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2013. First Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. xxii, [4], 454 pages. List of Maps. Author's Note. A Note on the Text. Main Characters, Notes. Bibliography. Index. Inscribed on the half-title page by author to Irene Inouye, widow of Senator Daniel Inouye, in honor of her late husband and his service, and the Monuments Men! Robert Morse Edsel[(born December 28, 1956) is an American businessman and author. He has written three non-fiction books - Rescuing Da Vinci (2006), Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History (2007); and Saving Italy (2013) - chronicling the recovery of artwork stolen by Nazi Germany during World War II. Edsel is the co-producer of the Emmy-nominated documentary film, The Rape of Europa (2007). He is also founder and Chairman of the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art, which received the 2007 National Humanities Medal under President George W. Bush. Derived from a Kirkus review: Edsel continues his work chronicling the small band of artists and art historians who tracked down and saved Europe’s artistic heritage, this time focusing on Italy. After the destruction of Naples by the fleeing Germans, the leader of the Kunstschutz, the “art protection” unit, was ordered to Italy to guard her works of art. Instead, art was removed from carefully arranged hiding places in the countryside and taken to the north for “protection.” The author focuses on the work of art professor Deane Keller and art historian Fred Hartt of the American Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives section. These two men chased into cities before the fires of war had barely cooled, designating which areas were to be protected until secured. It was through Keller’s work with a team of army engineers, fresco specialists and Italian military that we can see the frescoes of Pisa’s Camposanto, blown off the walls by Allied bombs. Their concentration was in Tuscany. This is a celebration of the saving of Italy’s treasures. Condition: Very good / Very good.
Keywords: Fred Hartt, Deane Keller, American Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives, Ernest DeWald, Allen Dulles, Alexander Langsdorff, Strategic Services, Giovanni Poggi
ISBN: 9780393082418
[Book #78088]
Price: $250.00