A curiously recurring event in publishing is the simultaneous appearance of two books by different authors, long in preparation, on virtually identical subjects. It occurs often enough with biographies but occasionally with other topics as well. One such recent coincidence is on a subject that surely merits this double dose of attention: of World War II and how that catastrophic conflict effected the artistic patrimony of Europe.

Although The Venus Fixersis not a particularly promising title, the book is a fast-paced and well-written account of events prior and subsequent to the liberation of Italy by the Allies in the period 1943–45. The author, Ilaria Dagnini Brey, briefly recounts the genesis of the specialized units that were created by both the American and British commands to identify and, if possible, safeguard significant artistic sites. At the political level, it seems that the importance of this task was only recognized in the nick of time. A scant fortnight prior to the landings in Sicily in July 1943, President Roosevelt established a special commission, naming Owen J. Roberts, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, as chairman. The ungainly title, the American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Historic Monuments in War Areas, accurately describes its intended functions. The new entity soon gathered a varied group of art-world professionals as operatives and advisers. Some of them had conferred privately on the subject of art conservation in wartime even before