Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Book to Movie Alert: The Monument's Men

Calling all George Clooney Fans!

George Clooney's upcoming new movie The Monument's Men is based on the true story depicted in the book The Monuments Men : Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History by Robert M. Edsel with Bret Witter. In a book that Bookpage Reviews states "moves like a Hollywood action adventure," Edsel and and co-author Witter trace the lesser-known effort of the Monument's Men, a special force of American and British museum directors, curators, art historians, and others who risked their lives scouring Europe during WWII to prevent the destruction of thousands of years of culture.

Check it out before the movie's upcoming release in February.

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

Genre: Adult Non-Fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5

"Being Mortal is about the limitations of what modern medicine can provide for people as their lives draw to a close. Gawande argues that the objective of medicine should not merely be treatment and survival; medical care should also ensure dignity in death and having control over one's final moments. He argues that instead of aggressively fighting the inescapable realities of aging, we should ask the hard questions of ourselves and our loved ones -- What makes life worth living? When should we try to extend our lives, and when should we choose a better quality of our remaining days over extending their quantity?

This book is difficult to read. Not because of the way Gawande writes -- his style is highly engaging, and he never lapses into excessively scientific jargon or overly simplistic explanations -- but because of the tough subject matter. Gawande draws on his own experiences as a doctor and peppers his book with honest and humane stories of his patients, friends, and family; the stories he tells make the book more accessible, and also more heartbreaking. (And that's not a bad thing.)

No one likes to think about their loved ones', or their own, impending mortality. But it's important to have these hard conversations, because as Gawande says, "endings matter." - Amanda

Book to Movie Alert: The Monument's Men

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