This is the second of Larson's books that I've read, and I have to say that I liked this one a lot more. I suspect it's because he wasn't trying to parallel two stories (one of them a gorefest). This story is primarily about Ambassador William Dodd, an unlikely man for a foreign post, and his fa...
This was a really readable history of the handful of years leading up to Hitler's seizure of power in pre-WWII Germany. It's from the perspective of the American ambassador to Germany, who was of course station in Berlin, so he and his family had the unique point of view of a fairly privileged posit...
In this book, Larson takes one family and tells the story of the rise of Hitler through how it touched this family. Ambassador Dodd was possibly in over his head as soon as he arrived in Germany in 1933, but many who saw the signs of oncoming terror refused to believe them or weren't sure what to do...
Did not finish (8%). I was really excited to read this, but couldn't continue wasting my time on it when there are other books that probably won't make me want to peel my eyes out of my skull in boredom.As stated by a few other reviewers, Erik Larson somehow manages to make a fascinating year in Ger...
This was an interesting look into Dodd's time as Ambassador to Germany. Throughout most of this book I found myself annoyed at some of the actions of Dodd. If he was so concerned about what Hitler was doing why didn't he speak up more when he was in Germany. I just felt like he didn't do enough. I f...
Another book I am really, really late reading! It’s fascinating, though, so if any of you have been putting off trying it, stop! The story of the American ambassador to Germany in the years just before WWII, In the Garden of Beasts tells a complicated story of tangled expectations, loyalties, and fr...
A few good chapters surrounded by chapters that are flat; a decent enough story that mostly ignores two of the four family members - and skips a few years (1935-36) also. In reading about Dodd, I find there are other people in the story I would rather read about. The goodreads definition of two star...
This was an interesting book, but it lacked something more. The book was more about Dodd's daughter Martha and her various love affairs than the political arena of Germany during the early years of Hitler. I had really wanted more about the history during this period then about how Martha couldn't k...
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