Read The Washington Post review of  THE MONUMENTS MEN: ALLIED HEROES, NAZI THIEVES, AND THE GREATEST TREASURE HUNT IN HISTORY by Thomas Allen with Bret Witter.  Allen, a military and espionage writer writes, "Two Monuments Men, killed in action, died as much for art as for country."

From Left to Write Book Club - a group of readers, writers, bloggers and friends reviews The Monuments Men. Reviewer Kieu urges readers to keep up the legacy of the Monuments Men, he writes, "And on the home front, we’re fighting a different kind of battle. Arts and cultural funding is often the first to go during a budget crisis. Arts accessibility and arts education still need champions." Read the entire review here. 

Swapna Krishna moved The Monuments Men to the top of her pile of books to read when she heard George Clooney was making the book into a movie. And she was glad she did. She writes, "Edsel doesn’t shy away from the horrors of World War II in The Monuments Men; he knows the sacrifices the Allied forces made to secure Europe for future generations." Read the rest of her review on her blog, S. Krishna's Books- thoughts from an insatiable reader. 

R.T. Johnson teaches 8th grade history teacher in Illinois and in his spare time writes The History Rat blog. Johnson writes in his review of The Monuments Men, "The character who kept my attention most was none other than Rose Valland – a supposed nondescript person – who was able to work amidst the Nazis in Paris during the war. In that time, she drew suspicion from both sides while working for the resistance." He includes a photo of Valland on his blog. Check out his blog post. 

Wild by Cheryl Strayed is coming to the big screen. Filming began this fall with Reese Witherspoon set to play Strayed. Wild tells the story of Cheryl Strayed 1,100 long trek on the Pacific Crest Trail to lose and find herself again after the death of her mother.

What do you think about Reese Witherspoon being cast as Strayed? Check out early photos from the film at http://www.whosay.com/reesewitherspoon. 

I ran across this article in the Guardian Travel Section called My favourite travel book, by the world's greatest travel writers for all our book loving travelers. Thanks to Hilary for her recommendations last month and inspiring my afternoon.  Here are some of Hilary's favorite travel writers. 
Colin Thubron******
Best known works:
Among the Russians
Behind the Wall: A Journey through China
Shadow of the Silk Road
Bruce Chatwin
Best known works: 
In Patagonia
The Songlines set in Australia 
Eric Newby
Best known works: A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush
Love and War in the Apennines
Derlla_Murphy- the bicyclist
Best known works: 
Full Tilt
A Month by the Sea set in the Gaza strip
The Island that Dared: Journeys in Cuba
Robert MacFarlane
Best known works: 
Mountains of the Mind
The Wild Places set in the wild places in Britian and Ireland
Peter Matthiessen naturalist  
Best known works: 
Shadow Country set in the Florida Everglades 
Snow Leopard takes place in Nepal's Himalayan mountains

Mark your calendars for November 21 at 3pm for the ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new bookstore in Kirkwood, STLBooks&Gifts. The 800-square-foot bookstore has been a life-long dream of owner and book lover Robin Theiss. The new store is located at 100 W. Jefferson Avenue in Kirkwood. See you there!