The Faustian Bargain: The Art World in Nazi Germany, Jonathan Petropoulos (Penguin, £8.99 in UK)

The Nazi regime did a thorough job of suppressing probably the most vital avant-garde in Europe, after that of France, but it did an even more efficient job of stripping the conquered countries of their art treasures. However, many of the real villains were not Nazis at all, they were art dealers, respected academics, museum directors, civil servants, even artists, and they acted for complicated motives but mostly for gain or sheer careerism. Even today, more than half a century later, a huge number of looted artefacts have not been recovered - their value is put at a minimum of $10 billion. Meanwhile, Hitler pampered his own chosen artists, including the untalented sculptor Josef Thorak, whose state-given studio looks, in photographs, large enough to house several trucks. A depressing story overall, but full of interesting facts and art-historical sidelights.