The Amber Room: The Fate of the World's Greatest Lost Treasure

by Cathy Scott-Clark, Adrian Levy

Traces the history of the Amber Room, once housed in a palace outside St. Petersburg, Russia, and the many theories of its disappearance at the end of World War II, and recounts the authors' search and conclusion.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Russia, Art, World War II, Art History, Historical

416 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2004

About the author

Cathy Scott-Clark is a British journalist and author. She has worked with the Sunday Times and The Guardian. She has co-authored six books with Adrian Levy.

Reviews

[Bibliovoracious]

Good book. Lots of fascinating detail. Quite compelling for non-fiction. The journey of the researchers in itself is an incredible story - obviously, work on this book took years. The possible fates of the famous Amber Room are diverse, and one by one, are chased down at great length.

And then....there's the end. I wanted to throw it out the window! I'm like - all that time and THAT'S THE CONCLUSION YOU COME TO!? Hardly a closed case, IMO. I was exasperated with the tidy wrap-up out of nowhere.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I started this book, I was hoping for a solid, well-written, well-researched account of what had happened to the Amber Room: the Nazi theft from Russia, its placement in Koingsburg, its disappearance in the last days of WWII, the search immediately afterward, the parallel searches by the Stasi and KGB during the Cold War, and what happened after the Cold War ended. What I got was, first and foremost, the authors giving a detailed, descriptive account of every who, what, when, where, why, and how in their search for information about the Amber Room and its fate. Second to that was, once in a while, the story of the Amber Room or an important event in the search for it (thank God, those parts were succinct and to-the-point).

The book dragged.I wanted to learn about the Amber Room, not read about. Every. Single. Interview and. Every. Single. Page. Of. Every. Single. Diary. And. Every. Single. Stasi. Report. And. Every. Sigh. And. Twitch. Of. Every. Person. They. Talked. To. Do we care about all the minutae of the trip to the remote cottage of the former informant and the details of how his wife served tea and how he treated her, when none of it is relevant to your search for the Amber Room and all that takes five pages when you could have summed it up in about two and focused on what he had to tell you? No, we don't care about the irrelevant details. Get. To. The. Point. Tell us about the Amber Room: the Nazis taking it from Catherine Palace to Koingsburg, its mysterious disappearance from there, the searches for it immediately after WWII, the parallel searches by the Stasi and the KGB, and what's happened since the end of the Cold War. That is what I was hoping to read about, not how long you waited in Russia to talk to people and how hard it was to access archives and get the files you needed and how torn you were between staying in Berlin or returning to Russia and what was on each page of the nine files you read at the Stasi on 9 November 2004 (or whatever year you two were in Berlin). Get. To. The. Point. Summarize. You two *can* do that, yes? Good! DO IT.

If the authors want the reader to get a sense of the frustration they felt at how long their search for information was taking, at feeling like they were running in circles and getting nowhere and wondering when they were going to find some answers, then mission accomplished. If the authors want the reader to come away feeling at loose ends, mission absolutely accomplished, because after hanging in there for several hundred pages and forcing myself to keep going, certain there would be some kind of payout at the end, suddenly the end had arrived and the writers are escorting me, the reader, to the exit, and I'm mentally looking back over my shoulder as I try to dig in my heels and find out what the heck just happened because there's no way I could possibly be at the end yet; the exit wouldn't just pop up out of nowhere and the writers wouldn't leave everything wide open with no indication things were going to remain that way indefinitely if it was the end. Right? Unfortunately, it is the end, that is the exit door, and I find myself feeling wishing I could have back the time I spent reading this book so I could invest it in one that focuses on the Amber Room. If I wanted to read about the deadly dull, excrutiatingly slow research process, I'd get a book on how to research the provenance of artifacts, historical events, or some other such thing.

[Jānis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Manuprāt, pārāk maigi uzrakstīts. Par ticamību arī neesmu baigi drošs, jo reāli kopsavilkums ir tāds no pirksta izzīsts dokumentu un vēstures interpretējums no sērijas "lai būtu haips, pateiksim pretējo".
Tomēr vērts izlasīt ir, lai nedaudz padomātu par to, kā valstis manipulē ar vēsturi un cilvēkiem.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Gold of the North. Balkan amber was at one time so plentiful that it was harvested from the sea with giant nets.

Two British journalists investigate the mystery of what happened to the Amber Room from it's original planning by Frederick I of Prussia to its construction by Frederick William who gifted it to Tsar Peter the Great of Russia to solidify their alliance. Finally installed during the reign of Elizabeth when it was installed and finished in the Catherine Palace. The so-called 8th Wonder of the World, it was left behind when Russian museum curators fled with as much of their collections as they were able to pack as the German Army approached. Weighing in at 13,000 pounds and supposedly quite fragile, Nazi soldiers removed it from the palace walls and shipped it home.

And from there, it disappeared. The so-called Nazi Gift Book listed that the Amber Room was received at Konigsburg Castle but even that disappeared in the days following the end of the war. Paperwork was found stating that it was to be moved in those final days. But where?

The authors were able to get access to some surviving Nazi archives but also some Soviet archives as well as those held by the East German Stasi. Whatever reports, letters, diary entries and orders that they were able to examine - no photocopying, no cameras - were cleansed and sanitized by Eastern German and Soviet security/cultural organizations. That's if they were able to get anything. Bureaucracy at its finest even if was between allies supposedly working together.

The orders of the so-called trophy brigades of the Red Army were basically to find any 'treasure' or artwork that was created, gifted, or even displayed at one time in Russia was to be claimed by the Soviets. If it had a Russian purview, it was now Russian property. No matter if it belonged to another country that had been overrun by the Nazis, it was then considered part of the German reparations owed to the Soviet people.

The general consensus seems to be that the original Amber Room was destroyed when parts of Konigsberg Castle where it was stored burned between April 9 -11, 1945. Afterwards, the remains of three of the stone mosaics which had disintegrated into dust from the high temperatures (over 1000 degrees C) were found so the resin amber - which burns between 200 and 380 degrees C - would not have survived.

But in turn, the Russian propaganda machines do occasionally "find" lost treasures amidst the massive collections gathered by their trophy brigades. When it suits them. And certainly, items are still being found in attics, cellars, caves and lost bunkers. Maybe one day. . . .

2019-114

[Feisty Harriet · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this, the concept is absolutely fascinating: a room paneled in amber from the Baltic Sea, installed in Catherine II's palace near St. Petersburg and generally referred to as the 8th Wonder of the World. During WWII when the Nazi's were marching towards St. Petersburg, museum curators and art historians frantically packed up as much as they could and sent priceless art by the train load to Siberia for safe keeping. The Amber Room was left behind, museum curators could not figure out how to dismantle it in such a short time frame without destroying it completely. When the German army reached the city they looted and destroyed much of what remained. A few years later when the war was over and the staff returned the Amber Room was gone. This story follows the decades long search for the amber panels, in Cold War and Soviet Russia as well as in divided Germany. To date, the room has not been found (it was probably destroyed), but treasure hunters around the world continue to hunt for it. The story is SO interesting, but the authors really didn't focus on the interesting parts, instead, it seemed they focused on how difficult it was for them to get information. (Um, duh.) Skip this, watch Seasons 1 and 2 of White Collar instead.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is packed full of details - so many that it's tough to follow. Extended Russian surnames (and middle names) do not help. While assembling myriad details of the Amber Room mystery, it's necessary for the authors to include and follow through every lie, both intentional and not, fabricated story and piece of misinformation in the lexicon. It could, however, use a clearer sense of organization that the haphazard order in which they gleaned these details. Predictable Soviet and German bureaucracy frustrates the researchers/authors, while I would have preferred that frustration be limited in the re-telling. In parts, the story tries to take on a thriller-like true detective aspect, as the authors hide from Soviet intelligence services and are denied access to classified files, but that thread is lost constantly and lies dormant most of the book. It would better have served the story to simply compile a non-fiction book and leave the biography aspect out. Despite the pinballing narrative, I did learn a tremendous amount about the Amber Room, it's history and the WWII setting in which it disappeared.

[K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like the subtitle of this book is a little deceptive: "the untold story of the greatest hoax of the twentieth century"? Yeah, it's not a hoax so much as "no one really knows what happened and maybe one dude did and was too scared to say anything so he just swept it all under the rug and sat on his hands until he died because he didn't want to end up in the hands of the KGB or the Stasi". But, you know, whatever.

ANYWAY. This is a wonderfully researched and easy to read discussion of the Amber Room and what happened to it during the Second World War. It took me a while to get used to the writing simply because it's written in the first person plural - we checked into our hotel room, we were surprised to learn that..., we went to see our friend the professor - and the book doesn't really offer any definitive conclusions. But it's still a fascinating look at the utter madness that went on between Soviet Russia and Nazi/East Germany through until the fall of the Iron Curtain.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

During World War II, the Nazis implemented a plan to add all of Europe's priceless art treasures to a national museum in the Reich. The Amber Room in Russia was one of the targeted items. When Russian soldiers liberated Leningrad, the Amber Room was missing from the museum at the Hermitage. Co-authors Scott and Levy attempt to trace its whereabouts and this book details their efforts. Lots of twists and turns--reads like a spy novel!

[Kasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I swollowed it in one go last sunday. It's a great, quick and absolutely mesmerising read.

[Courtney Smith Atkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a wonderfully researched book with lots of details about Russian bureaucracy. The Amber Room is a cultural beauty for the Russian people. The loss of this during WWII, created a treasure finding mission...for anyone interested! Let the lies and secrecy begin...

Realistically, the Amber Room was destroyed. The Amber Room has been re-created and is in it's home at the restored Catherine Palace.

Epic story line, the oral history is fascinating...but difficult to read in a book.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing in this wasn't my absolute favorite, but a really interesting look at a historical (not) mystery.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the more interesting historical research works that I've read. The authors not only present a history of the Amber Room, but about how they got their information too. The result is that the reader gains knowledge about the titular subject of the book, but also the inner workings of both Russian and former East German information manipulation. I'll be honest, by the end, it was much more interesting how the authors obtained their sources than the actual search for the Amber Room.

[R.E. Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the early 18th Century, Prussian ruler Frederick I presented Tsar Peter the Great with a truly unique treasure: meticulously carved amber (then worth twelve times its weight in gold) that had been expertly assembled into enough wall panels to decorate an entire room. The beauty and value of the amber aside, as a work of craftsmanship the Amber Room was remarkable: imagine trying to repeat the same feat entirely from a single type of gemstone! The panels were assembled and re-assembled by the Romanovs, eventually finding a home in the Catherine Palace near St. Petersburg. There it remained until the Nazis stole it at the opening of the siege of Leningrad in 1941. The Nazis "returned" their ill-gotten prize to its city of origin, Königsberg (now the military enclave of Kaliningrad). It is from Königsberg where the Amber Room disappeared at the end of the war.

This is where authors Levy and Scott-Clark ("The Stone of Heaven") begin their book, exploring the efforts of various German and Russian parties to determine the fate of Russia's greatest lost treasure. Taking the reader through the spadework of securing and reviewing archival materials from former Soviet and East German archives, the result is a highly entertaining work of non-fiction that thoroughly illuminates both the mystery of the Amber Room and the issues involving works of art stolen by various parties during the Second World War. The missing amber panels became something of a Cold War propaganda football, being pushed back and forth between the Soviets and the West (West Germany in particular). The result is that "The Amber Room" reads very much like the kind of non-fiction thriller that would involve Cold War espionage, except that instead of military secrets or mole hunting, the book is about missing art. It is filled with tales of betrayal, intrigue, cynical careerism, and bureaucratic stalling that are often absurd, but always frustrating.

Like a real thriller, Levy and Scott-Clark include a real twist in theirs. As it follows the various investigations, the book seems to be leading towards a particular explanation, but ultimately the authors turn the story back on itself and return to the first theory regarding mysterious fate of the Amber Room. While their theory cannot be proven yet, their thought-process provides a certain dramatic edge to this work where espionage meets art history.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Amber Room has fascinated me since I first learned about it on a Discovery Channel show, it was something you never learn about here in the states. The show explored a few possibilities – but nothing near the research done in this book. Basically, the Russian curator of the Catherine Palace decided it was way too risky to evacuate the fragile Amber Room when the Germans were advancing on Tsarskoye Selo. The Amber Room's construction was very complicated – probably the largest and most fragile jigsaw puzzle ever. Unfortunately the Germans crated the Amber Room up and sent it off to German territory in Königsberg, after that the rest is a mystery. Did the Amber Room burn when the Russians were advancing on Königsberg? Were the Germans able to evacuate the Amber Room to East Prussia? Or has it been secreted away in bunkers under Königsberg all this time? Regardless of its fate, Russia continues to blame Germany for the loss of its greatest treasure.

Cathy Scott-Clark and Adrian Levy compiled their research journey into a narrative in this book – which at first was a style I absolutely hated. The first quarter of the book was boring – it seemed like a never ending pattern. They would meet with someone who could potentially give them information or access to archives, and almost always that person would say something along the lines of "you know how it works in Russia..." essential saying their palms needed to be greased. I was ready to toss this book into my never-finished pile indefinitely, but it finally started to pick up.

Even with the drudgery in the first section of the book, I still feel it deserves about 4.5 stars. While the narrative style was hard to get used to at first, it was definitely the best way to tell this story. All the different names and players were hard to keep track of after awhile, but then I remembered there's a who's-who guide at the beginning. I got excited with every strong lead – and was disappointed every time those leads were discredited or couldn't continue further. The authors definitely did their due diligence to research every possible angle, which really sold me on their conclusion. Anyone with a strong love for somewhat obscure history and the ability to read very long books about history will love this book.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the non-fiction book I wanted to read before I read a work of fiction with the same title. There ought to be a law. Anyway...
The Amber Room has been called the Eighth Wonder of the World and was a room made all of amber, gracing the Catherine Palace in Russia. It was there for over 200 years until World War II and the Nazi invasion of Russia. Then the Amber Room was taken down, stored in crates and sent to what everyone believed was safety at Königsberg Castle. After that, the surrender of the Nazis and the end of the war, it was never seen again. People search for it to this day.
There are many theories about what happened to the Amber Room and some pieces of it have been found in the rubble at Königsberg. Some believe it to be hidden in mines in Germany or Austria while others believe it went down on a transport ship and still others think it was destroyed in the bombing of Köningsberg.
There is another theory that the Russians destroyed it to gain sympathy and reparations for losses during the war. This room has since been replicated at St. Petersburg.
The Amber Room by Catherine Scott-Clark and Adrian Levy is a highly readable and fast-paced book. It would be enjoyed by anyone who likes to explore mysteries of history.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating story, obviously really well-researched, but I felt that too much of the book became out the authors' quest for the room rather than the room itself. It makes sense when you get to the end, which I don't want to spoil, because in essence the quest is the story. The answers are so elusive, you really only get the quests--and there have been many. My biggest complaint is that the authors put too much of themselves into this, one of my pet peeves in a "scholarly" historical work. This isn't a memoir, sweetheart, I don't need to know about where you stayed and how it creeped you out. But again, it becomes almost essential to the overall story of the Amber Room as it goes on, so I'll let it go...this time.

[Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an interesting story, with interesting characters. The problem is that the authors sometimes shone the spotlight on themselves a little too much. There are large chunks of waiting for things to happen, and the narrative generally feels unfocused. Shadow Divers did a good job of keeping the book interesting during periods when answers to the central riddle were not forthcoming; this one, not so much. (It doesn't help that there isn't much of an answer to the question in this book. The mystery remains ... mysterious. This is one of those times when I like to say "The Company did it," in homage to Kage Baker's novels.)

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Amber Room was one of mankind's greatest treasures, a masterpiece of staggering ambition and value. Sent as a gift to Peter the Great of Russia, in 1717, The amber room was said to be the 'eighth wonder of the world'. And it vanished during the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. The book tells the story over a 60 years period of those who were determined to find ti and restore it to its former glory. But I had challenges staying focused on the story. Some parts were extremely interesting and I could hardly put it down. Other parts, were best to just skim over. I can't say I would recommend it unless you are extremely interested in Russian art and modern day treasure hunting. And even if you are interested, there must be better books to read.

[Michael Gerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

A look at one of the world's most intriguing mysteries, the authors used good research to show the history of the Amber Room: its history, descriptions of how it looked like, and the circumstances surrounding its capture by the Germans during the Second World War and its disappearance in the final months of the war in Europe.

[Tomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a little hard to follow; the writing style was disjointed and jumpy. It followed the various attempts made by th Soviets and the East Germans to find the Amber Room. The authors presented a logical conclusion to the story, but recent discoveries (December of 2013) undermine that conclusion.

[Patricia Joynton · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was too heavy for me. Read like classified governental papers. Interesting, but I finally got to a point where I turned to the last few chapers and read to see what happened to the room, without going through all the people, places and hands (and their friends and family) that it passed through on the way.

[Gail · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could not figure out where this book was going and why it was taking soooo long to get there. Read the Wikipedia article on the Amber Room and it summarizes this book in less than a paragraph.

[Zdenek Sykora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lubię czytać po polsku. Kiedy przyjechałem z Hiszpanii do Polski, ponownie poczułem chęć przeczytania jakiejś interesującej książki. Polskie przekłady niektórych książek są lepsze niż oryginały. Kiedy byłem w jednej cukierni na kawie, mieli tam półkę z książkami, gdzie leżała ta książka. Oczywiście w kawiarni nie mogłem jej dokończyć, więc postanowiłem ją kupić na Allegro i przeczytać. Przynajmniej znów poćwiczę swój polski, choć to nie jest ani pierwsza, ani ostatnia książka po polsku, którą przeczytam tego lata. :)

Książka Bursztynowa Komnata to fascynująca opowieść o jednym z najbardziej tajemniczych i poszukiwanych skarbów w historii świata – Bursztynowej Komnacie. Autorzy śledzą losy tego zaginionego dzieła sztuki, które zniknęło pod koniec II wojny światowej, prowadząc czytelnika przez skomplikowaną sieć intryg, politycznych zagrywek oraz pasjonujących teorii na temat jej obecnego miejsca przechowywania.

Główna teza
Książka stawia tezę, że losy Bursztynowej Komnaty, począwszy od jej stworzenia, poprzez podarowanie jej carowi Piotrowi Wielkiemu, aż po jej zniknięcie podczas wojny, są nierozerwalnie związane z dramatycznymi wydarzeniami historycznymi. Autorzy sugerują, że komnata stała się symbolem nie tylko rosyjskiej potęgi, ale także ofiarą wojennej grabieży, a jej zniknięcie wciąż rodzi wiele pytań, na które próbuje odpowiedzieć wiele pokoleń historyków, poszukiwaczy skarbów i entuzjastów zagadek historycznych.

Kluczowe idee i wątki
1. Historia Bursztynowej Komnaty: Autorzy szczegółowo opisują genezę Bursztynowej Komnaty, od jej powstania na dworze pruskim, poprzez podarowanie jej Piotrowi Wielkiemu, aż po umieszczenie jej w pałacu w Carskim Siole. Komnata była symbolem luksusu i potęgi, uważana za ósmy cud świata.
2. Zniknięcie i poszukiwania: Centralnym punktem książki jest zniknięcie komnaty podczas II wojny światowej. Scott-Clark i Levy analizują różne teorie na temat jej losów, przedstawiając zarówno oficjalne wersje wydarzeń, jak i alternatywne hipotezy oparte na nowych odkryciach. Autorzy relacjonują także liczne próby jej odnalezienia, które miały miejsce w okresie powojennym.
3. Kulisy polityki i tajemnice archiwów: Książka ujawnia, jak poszukiwania Bursztynowej Komnaty były manipulowane przez władze radzieckie i później rosyjskie. Wiele archiwów pozostaje niedostępnych, co tylko potęguje tajemnicę otaczającą zaginiony skarb.
4. Współczesne próby odkrycia: Autorzy przedstawiają także współczesne badania, które przyczyniły się do odkrycia nowych wskazówek dotyczących możliwego miejsca przechowywania komnaty. Opisują zaangażowanie zarówno rosyjskich, jak i niemieckich historyków oraz amatorów, którzy nieustannie poszukują tego legendarnego skarbu.

Styl i podejście autorów
Scott-Clark i Levy piszą w stylu reportażowym, łącząc szczegółowe badania historyczne z żywym, narracyjnym podejściem. Książka jest pełna dialogów, cytatów z archiwalnych dokumentów oraz relacji świadków, co nadaje jej dynamizmu i sprawia, że czyta się ją jak powieść sensacyjną. Autorzy dbają o rzetelność, jednocześnie starając się zainteresować czytelnika skomplikowaną siecią intryg i tajemnic.

Mocne strony i potencjalne słabości

Mocne strony:
• Dogłębne badania: Książka opiera się na licznych źródłach, w tym na dokumentach archiwalnych, wywiadach z ekspertami oraz analizach historycznych, co czyni ją wiarygodnym źródłem informacji na temat Bursztynowej Komnaty.
• Interesujący styl narracji: Reportażowy styl i dynamiczna narracja sprawiają, że książka jest przystępna i angażująca, nawet dla czytelników niebędących historykami.

Potencjalne słabości:
• Spekulacje: Niektóre teorie przedstawione przez autorów są mocno spekulacyjne, co może być uznane za słabość w kontekście naukowego podejścia do tematu.
• Brak jednoznacznych odpowiedzi: Mimo dogłębnych badań, książka nie dostarcza ostatecznych odpowiedzi na temat losów Bursztynowej Komnaty, co może pozostawić czytelnika z pewnym niedosytem.

Docelowa grupa odbiorców

Książka jest skierowana do szerokiego grona odbiorców, w tym do historyków, pasjonatów zagadek i poszukiwaczy skarbów, a także do każdego, kto interesuje się tajemnicami II wojny światowej i historią sztuki. Szczególnie przypadnie do gustu tym, którzy lubią historie oparte na faktach, wzbogacone o elementy tajemnicy i niewyjaśnionych zagadek.

Podsumowanie
Bursztynowa Komnata autorstwa Catheriny Scott-Clark i Adriana Levy'ego to fascynująca i szczegółowo opracowana książka, która zgłębia jedną z największych tajemnic XX wieku. Pomimo że nie dostarcza ostatecznych odpowiedzi na temat losów komnaty, książka ta jest nieocenionym źródłem informacji i inspiracją do dalszych badań. Autorzy łączą w niej pasję do historii z dziennikarskim zacięciem, oferując czytelnikowi wciągającą podróż przez historię, politykę i niekończące się poszukiwania zaginionego skarbu.

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Amber Room was a room located in the Catherine Palace near Saint Petersburg, decorated with amber panels that contained gold leaf and mirrors as well. The room was intended for another palace, but was installed at this location, which was the summer palace of the Russian royals. Work on the panels began in 1701, and were designed by Andreas Schlüter. During World War II, curators attempted to hide the panels behind wallpaper to save them from thieves and keep the brittle amber from disintegrating. Unfortunately, that did not work, and the panels were set to be removed by the Germans. The area suffered an immense amount of fire bombing, and there are several theories as to what happened to the panels. Some said the panels were destroyed in the fire bombing, others say the Germans did remove them to somewhere, some said they were removed and then sunk via torpedo during transport. Thanks to photographs that were colorized, a reconstructed room was built so that people could see what the amazing work looked like.

I appreciated the author of this book doing the research into this amazing work of art. She went into great detail about all of the people involved in the disappearance of the room, as well as the construction of it. I didn't know a lot about the Amber Room before reading this book, other than it was a room in a Russian palace that vanished during World War II. So many beautiful and priceless art works were stolen from people, museums, and galleries in this era of insanity and cruelty. I love that a reconstructed room was made so that people in this modern era can get an idea of what this famous and mysterious room looked like. I would love to see it one day. If you are looking to learn more about this missing piece of history, this book was worth the read.

[Clair Keizer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Amber Room, the reputed Eighth Wonder of the World, housed in the Catherine Palace in Leningrad became one of the equally great art theft/disappearances of post World War II. Removed from the Catherine Palace and restored to varying degrees in the Konigsberg Castle, in East Prussia before it's disappearance, the Amber Room became the ultimate goal of endless searches. Authors Catherine Scott-Clark and Adrian Levy take the reader on a roller coaster trail, tracking virtually every search for the Amber Room and the sordid politics and Cold War espionage and trickery cluttering their reporting. It is truly a dog's breakfast of confusion and in the end, outright deception of international scale that contributes to the confusion and complexity of this mystery. The authors' documenting of the endeavors to find the Amber Room are impressive, but even their research can't fully unclutter the manufactured confusion and intentional shell game that was laid before them. The reader should prepare themselves for a lot of re-reading of passages and redness of the eyes to keep the story(ies) straight, but it's worth sharing in the frustrating effort.

[Steph · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did the authors figure out what happened to the Amber Room? Yes. Did the authors misname their book? Also yes. In all honesty, this book should have been titled "The Amber Room: The Search for the Fate of the World's Greatest Lost Treasure." Otherwise, they should have cut out a full third of the book in order to deliver on the published title of this book because at least that much of it was dedicated to telling the reader about the frustrations of their research process.

I now have a better understanding of the Russian people and their government through reading about the circuitous route the authors had to take to get their information, but in doing so, they deviated from their thesis, which was to tell the story of the Amber Room, not the story about finding information about the Amber Room.

Read it if your main goal is to gain a better understanding of the Russian people and their devious government.
Skip to the last chapter if you just want to know the fate of the Amber Room.
Skip it altogether if you just don't care.

[Ramona · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very difficult read for me. I wanted the true background of the story surrounding the Amber Room so that I could better understand a fictional book I am reading, which includes the mention of the Amber Room. It is a very intense, fact-filled account of the amazing room panels made of Amber, desired by several Kings, Queens, and other rulers, over many years. There are still so many questions and stories about the Room. Did it survive Hitler's amassing of artworks? Who took part in the creation of it, the hiding of it, and locating it again after decades of mystery? I would need a very detailed movie of this story, and a timeline, to even begin to piece it together, to understand all that took place. I was greatly disappointed when I didn't find any color photos or clear black and white photos of the room, in the book. Are there any? For those readers who love a deeply- researched book that covers decades, many countries, rulers, and intrigue, this book is for you.

[Alistair Robinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a bit of an odd book. The authors have certainally undertaken a great deal of research about the Amber Room and its possible fate but that is the issue, they seem to have literally lobbed every conversation, every application they have made into this without when all is said and done actually saying very much. There is a lot of obvious padding and really the whole thing is a bit of a mess and hard to follow, the blurb on my edition refers to a "hoax", I must have missed the revelation of that.
The photographs are indistinct and this is the physical version of clickbait.
Not recommended

[Valerie Kerwin · Rating 1 out of 5]

You'd think a book that states they found the Amber room would actually give a concise answer to the question. Even an incomplete answer would have satisfied me. Plodding and filled with unresolved questions. Impossible to keep all the characters straight, and their minimal contributions. Not even an ending. Just stopped. I'd have been interested in an ending that included the reconstruction of the now copy in the palace.

[Joshua Green · Rating 2 out of 5]

The authors managed to make the story of Nazi looting, Stasi intrigue, and covert Soviet operations dry, tedious, and boring. The book is unnecessarily long and incredibly circuitous with the majority of the diversions throughout resolving into countless red herrings. In short, the lead was buried so deep that by the end, I could hardly be bothered to care about "the fate of the world's greatest lost treasure" (maybe Soviets burned it or something, scant evidence is presented).