The Venus fixers The remarkable story of the Allied soldiers who saved Italy's art during World War II

Lynn Nicholas' Rape of Europa (1994) told how the Nazis looted artwork during World War II, but Brey's history recounts their failure, to an extent, to get their hands on Italy's artistic heritage. Not to say the war didn't inflict irreparable damage Monte Cassino destroyed, a Giotto fresco blown to bits, Florence's bridges demolished but Botticelli's Birth of Venus, along with numerous other masterpieces, survived. Saved partly due to the effort of the Allies' group of uniformed aesthetes titled the MFAA (Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives), Italian art's wartime fate unrolls in Brey's meticulous chronicle of the MFAA's members and activities. Following the crawling advance northward of the Italian front line, her drama peaks with the war's arrival at Florence in August 1944. In anticipation, the local art superintendent had moved the city's artwork to countryside hiding places; deflecting some Nazi demands, he couldn't prevent their pilferage of paintings and sculptures by the hundreds. Throwing noble light on the MFAA's mission of recovery and restoration, Brey's history of its successes is a significant and original contribution to WWII and art history alike.--Taylor, Gilbert Copyright 2009 Booklist

They were a gaggle of misfits-nerdy, old, bookish and sometimes pompous and abrasive. Yet the group of Allied soldiers nicknamed "the Venus Fixers" believed that saving Italy's culture-from bombing, from Goring's coffers, from careless soldiers-was an essential component of the war effort. Initially, it was the Italians who tried to find safe havens for the art, and then the job fell to the Venus Fixers, who performed triage after an area was secured by the military. In one harrowing tale, Brey describes how the Venus Fixers saved delicate manuscripts from being bulldozed along with rubble into the Arno. Often these artistic subversives were at odds with their own armies. In her first book, journalist and translator Brey isn't as skilled as one would like in bringing her soldiers to life on the page-a shame, given what a unique bunch they were and what an unusual task they had-but the book makes a strong case for what the Allies were fighting for in Italy: its history, and the artworks that continue to inspire us today. 8 pages of b&w illus. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

In her first book, journalist Brey tells the story of the Allied monuments officers, commonly known as the "Venus Fixers." These were middle-aged art historians, scholars, and architects-newly commissioned lieutenants and captains-from the United States and Britain tasked with saving and restoring Italian painting, sculptures, and architecture during the Italian campaigns of 1943-45 with few resources and limited authority. While much has been written about Nazi efforts to plunder European art, comparatively little has been written on Allied efforts to save Europe's cultural heritage. Brey's book is more about art than it is about war, but she effectively places her story within the context of the larger Allied efforts in Europe. Verdict This engaging and clearly written book will appeal to readers interested in art history and preservation. Those without a knowledge of art but intrigued by its fate during World War II will want to skip this and read Hector Feliciano's The Lost Museum or Lynn H. Nicholas's The Rape of Europa. (Index and illustrations not seen.)-Michael Farrell, Reformed Theological Seminary Lib., Oviedo, FL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Near the end of World War II, a group of military officers in Italythe "Venus Fixers"struggled to save what they could in the rubble of great cities and to recover from the retreating Nazis the myriad artistic treasures they took with them. In her debut, journalist and translator Brey narrates a story with a complex setting and context. Accordingly, she continually pauses to explain troop maneuvers and battles; Italian geography, history and politics; the biographies of her principals; the nature of the works being found, rescued or restored; and the techniques employed to shore up a collapsing building or repair a damaged fresco or damp manuscript. For the most part, the author succeeds in her multitasking, though there are times when the thick hedges of her prose need some additional pruning. When the Allies invaded Sicily in 1943, they intended to push the Germans out of Italy, a task that proved far more difficult and sanguinary than the war strategists had anticipated. Civilian losses were ruinous. Because the front moved slowly northward, the destructionprincipally from bombing raidswas extensive. But as cities were liberatedin some cases, even before the liberation was completethe Venus Fixers moved in to inventory, locate, assess and initiate salvage operations. With the support of President Roosevelt and the Allied military command, the Fixers moved swiftly to gain the trust and respect of the locals. In fact, the principal Fixer in Florence, Frederick Hartt, an American officer, earned from that city an honorary citizenship, and his ashes are now interred there. A poignant wartime reminder of an ancient truth: Ars longa, vita brevis. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.