Point Epithetical Books In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
| Title | : | In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin |
| Author | : | Erik Larson |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 448 pages |
| Published | : | May 10th 2011 by Crown |
| Categories | : | History. Nonfiction. War. World War II. Historical. Biography. Cultural. Germany |
Explanation In Favor Of Books In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
The time is 1933, the place, Berlin, when William E. Dodd becomes America's first ambassador to Hitler's Germany in a year that proved to be a turning point in history.A mild-mannered professor from Chicago, Dodd brings along his wife, son, and flamboyant daughter, Martha. At first Martha is entranced by the parties and pomp, and the handsome young men of the Third Reich with their infectious enthusiasm for restoring Germany to a position of world prominence. Enamored of the New Germany, she has one affair after another, including with the surprisingly honorable first chief of the Gestapo, Rudolf Diels. But as evidence of Jewish persecution mounts, confirmed by chilling first-person testimony, her father telegraphs his concerns to a largely indifferent State Department back home. Dodd watches with alarm as Jews are attacked, the press is censored, and drafts of frightening new laws begin to circulate. As that first year unfolds and the shadows deepen, the Dodds experience days full of excitement, intrigue, romance and ultimately, horror, when a climactic spasm of violence and murder reveals Hitler's true character and ruthless ambition.
Suffused with the tense atmosphere of the period, and with unforgettable portraits of the bizarre Goring and the expectedly charming—yet wholly sinister—Goebbels, In the Garden of Beasts lends a stunning, eyewitness perspective on events as they unfold in real time, revealing an era of surprising nuance and complexity. The result is a dazzling, addictively readable work that speaks volumes about why the world did not recognize the grave threat posed by Hitler until Berlin, and Europe, were awash in blood and terror.
Identify Books Toward In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
| Original Title: | In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin |
| ISBN: | 0307408841 (ISBN13: 9780307408846) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Setting: | Berlin,1933(Germany) |
| Literary Awards: | Washington State Book Award for History/General Nonfiction (2012), Chautauqua Prize Nominee (2012), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for History & Biography (2011) |
Rating Epithetical Books In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
Ratings: 3.84 From 151828 Users | 14325 ReviewsCommentary Epithetical Books In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
This book is over-hyped. That is probably because Erik Larson is a very good writer and has a good reputation. But his subjects, the Dodd family , are not worthy of his skills, so this review says more about them that the author. This book has some interesting parts, like a bit of an inside view of events and people, both German and American officials and citizens. We see through their eyes how Hitler was able to take more and more power over Germany. Also, there are several appearances of thePicture Principal Skinner from The Simpsons and Paris Hilton going to Nazi Germany, and youll have a pretty good idea of what this book is like.I was split on Erik Larsons The Devil in the White City because I found the half of the book about the 1893 Chicagos World Fair incredibly interesting but thought the other half about serial killer H.H. Holmes to be just another true crime gore fest. Then in Thunderstruck he again gave us some nice pop history with the story of Marconi and the invention
UPDATE: OhMyHannah! I finally finished this flipping book. I really appreciated the information and content. As a 30 year old I can look back at the story of the Nazis and say, "What the?!! How could a whole international community even ALLOW this dynasty to begin?" This book will answer that question. The story is of William Dodd, a mild-mannered college professor who is appointed ambassador to Germany after basically everyone else refuses the job. He brings his wife, his college age son, and
Interesting book with a lot of value. There's a real warning here as well as a look at the rise of Hitler and the Nazis through multiple eyes. I think there are some applicable lessons in this volume that apply to situations that are current.William Dodd was in many ways a sort of square peg in a round hole when he became America's ambassador to Germany in 1933. He seems (according to Mr. Larson) to have become ambassador because it was a post very few wanted. He had hoped to get an appointment
I've read many of Larson's books though not all. What attracts me to his writing and his stories is the human interest and narrative non-fiction. I expected to like In the Garden of Beasts more than I did so sat on my comments for a bit before posting. In the Garden definitely had the makings of a 5 star read for me. Most reviewers raved about it and many of my friends really liked it. Reading the synopsis piqued my interest. So what happened? William E. Dodd's, first ambassador to Germany
Be prepared to stay up reading into the wee hours once you get your hands on this book. It held my interest better than any novel, and it filled in all the gaps in my understanding of how Hitler was able to gain so much power so quickly, with so little opposition. Erik Larson used the detailed diaries of William E. Dodd and his daughter Martha to reconstruct "a year in the life" for Americans in Berlin from 1933 to 1934.William Dodd had no idea what he was saying yes to when President Roosevelt
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