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Rating: 
Summary: When excess can be a good thing for posterity.
Review: The only reason the 5th star was not placed is that I do not believe it possible to put even the history of this building that is The Hermitage into a single volume. The centuries it has endured, the wars, the changes in government, its continued presence today, is a remarkable tale prior to a review of the Art it contains.The Authoress Geraldine Norman has produced a highly readable book that requires only an interest in the subject to be enjoyed. Art History Majors may glean even more from what she presents, but all others will enjoy it as a wonderful history of a building, the persons who created it, and finally those who have filled it to near bursting. Before Catherine The Great could accumulate the work of Masters on an almost unbelievable scale, Peter The Great provided the city and she then began what was the largest museum until the Louvre expanded at the close of the 20th Century. If and when Russia can finance the planned expansion, The Hermitage will once again be the largest museum on Earth. The building has housed Art, served as a Hospital during WWI, and housed upwards of 2,000 people in bomb shelters during WWII. Even though Nationalized by The Bolsheviks after they left their mark on the building by destroying whatever struck their fancy, the building and it's collections were to endure even this group of cretins. World War Two would also heavily damage the museum, which would be restored with astonishing skill. Whether you love Art, Russian History, or a combination of the two this book is to be enjoyed. While it is the first full History of this great monument I doubt it will be the last. What I also find fascinating are those treasures that are starting to see the light of day, and more that will, as the building now stands once again in Russia. Highly Recommended.
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