destruction and pillage

"As the most destructive war in history ravaged Europe, many of the world's most cherished cultural objects were in harm's way. 'The Greatest Treasure Hunt in History' recounts the . . . true story of eleven men and one woman who risked their lives amidst the bloodshed of World War II to preserve churches, libraries, monuments, and works of art that for centuries defined the heritage of Western civilization. As the war raged, these American and British volunteers--museum curators, art scholars and educators, architects, archivists, and artists, known as the Monuments Men--found themselves in a desperate race against time to locate and save the many priceless treasures and works of art stolen by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Robert M. Edsel . . . brings this story to young readers for the first time in a[n] . . . adventure detailing [the] . . . treasure hunt"--Provided by publisher.

Presents the story of Alia, a librarian who lives and works in Basra, and her desperate attempt to save the books in the Basra Central Library at the start of the Iraqi War in 2003.

"As the most destructive war in history ravaged Europe, many of the world's most cherished cultural objects were in harm's way. 'The Greatest Treasure Hunt in History' recounts the . . . true story of eleven men and one woman who risked their lives amidst the bloodshed of World War II to preserve churches, libraries, monuments, and works of art that for centuries defined the heritage of Western civilization. As the war raged, these American and British volunteers--museum curators, art scholars and educators, architects, archivists, and artists, known as the Monuments Men--found themselves in a desperate race against time to locate and save the many priceless treasures and works of art stolen by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Robert M. Edsel . . . brings this story to young readers for the first time in a[n] . . . adventure detailing [the] . . . treasure hunt"--Provided by publisher.

During the Iraq War of 2003, librarian Alia Muhammad saves thirty thousand new and old books in her Basra library from destruction.

Librarian Alia Muhammad Baker, concerned about the safety of the public library in Basra, Iraq, after the outbreak of war in 2003, begins moving books to other locations, managing to save over seventy percent of the collection before the building is destroyed by fire.

"As the most destructive war in history ravaged Europe, many of the world's most cherished cultural objects were in harm's way. The Greatest Treasure Hunt in History recounts the astonishing true story of eleven men and one woman who risked their lives amidst the bloodshed of World War II to preserve churches, libraries, monuments, and works of art that for centuries defined the heritage of Western civilization. As the war raged, these American and British volunteers--museum curators, art scholars and educators, architects, archivists, and artists, known as the Monuments Men--found themselves in a desperate race against time to locate and save the many priceless treasures and works of art stolen by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Robert M. Edsel, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Monuments Men, brings this story to young readers for the first time in a sweeping, dynamic adventure detailing history's greatest treasure hunt"--.

"While the Nazi party was being condemned by much of the world for burning books, they were already hard at work perpetrating an even greater literary crime. ... Anders Rydell tells the untold story of Nazi book theft, as he himself joins the effort to return the stolen books. When the Nazi soldiers ransacked Europe's libraries and bookshops, large and small, the books they stole were not burned. Instead, the Nazis began to compile a library of their own that they could use to wage an intellectual war on literature and history. ... But when the war was over, most of the books were never returned. ... Now Rydell finds himself entrusted with one of these stolen volumes, setting out to return it to its rightful owner. It was passed to him by the small team of heroic librarians who have begun the monumental task of combing through Berlin's public libraries to identify the looted books and reunite them with the families of their original owners. ... And as Rydell travels to return the volume he was given, he shows just how much a single book can mean to those who own it"--Amazon.com.

Alia is chief librarian of Basra Central Libray in Iraq. When war breaks out, Alia does all she can to save the books that chronicle the history and culture of her country.

"[Relates the] story of Alia Muhammad Baker, a librarian who preserved Iraq's history by saving thousands of books from being destroyed during the Iraq War."--Provided by publisher.