In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin in Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge

Jun 04, 2012 Graceann rated it it was amazing

Shelves: history

Garden of Beasts, nest of vipers, elevator of maniacs - really, any of these phrases fit for what was happening in Berlin in the 30s. What is appalling about this era is the reality that the anti-Semitism in the US Government was almost as bad as that in the Reich. Sentiments are expressed more than once that the Jews are "getting what they deserve," or that there's too many of them anyway. The more important matter, at the time, seems to have been recovering the German war debt, which simply wa Garden of Beasts, nest of vipers, elevator of maniacs - really, any of these phrases fit for what was happening in Berlin in the 30s. What is appalling about this era is the reality that the anti-Semitism in the US Government was almost as bad as that in the Reich. Sentiments are expressed more than once that the Jews are "getting what they deserve," or that there's too many of them anyway. The more important matter, at the time, seems to have been recovering the German war debt, which simply wasn't going to happen, and generally ignoring the human rights abuses.

I realize that I'm looking at this through the prism of what came later, but I struggle to understand how someone could watch a jeering crowd torture a woman in the street for daring to become engaged to a Jewish man, and not determine that a very bright, very harsh light needed to shine on the participants, not to mention the leadership that fed their bigotry.

The voice in the wilderness is Ambassador Dodd, who slowly comes to understand that the people he's been asked to work with are beyond any definition of sanity. He's fighting on two fronts, in that he was the Ambassador that nobody seemed to want. His colleagues in U.S. government sniffed at him for not being part of the rich boy club and insisting on living within his means, and the Germans sniffed at him as an insignificant little nothing. What neither group noticed was that his predictions regarding what was coming were accurate.

Meanwhile, Dodd's daughter Martha is making her romantic way through what appears to be just about every man in Berlin and beyond. She is intoxicated by the pomp and attention, and is very slow to notice the monstrous direction in which things are going.

As I say above, it is very hard not to look at all of this knowing what these people did not. It would have been difficult to get anyone to believe that one rather buffoonish little man would be able to lead a movement that would kill 6,000,000 people for their faith. Dodd finally caught on, before many others, but his voice wasn't nearly enough. ...more

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Jan 03, 2013 Molly rated it liked it

4th Larson book I have read and it was my least favorite. Very intriguing topic but his chosen passages, chosen connections confused me. It is his one book where I really felt he was forcing relationships and forcing his audience to go where he wanted them to.

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Jun 29, 2011 Sam rated it liked it

Shelves: audio-books, book-club

It felt like the narrative thread got lost and that some of the side stories were more interesting than the actual story. I enjoyed the perspective and especially the Night of the Long Knives Part with the storm parable. Chilled me to the bone. But I wish the rest of the book had the impending doom feeling.

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Jul 08, 2013 Katie rated it liked it

Shelves: 2013-reading-challenge

Really a 3.5

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Jun 13, 2012 Judy rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, bookgroup, wrld-war-ii-related

4.5

I found this fascinating, compelling, and extremely readable. I learned so much about the time immediately before Hitler's rise to power. My only criticism is that Erik Larson seemed more biased than he thought when it came to describing the Dodd family. He also used the fiction-like device of foreshadowing; e.g., "This was ironic considering his end" or the like. Still, I am very glad to have read it, and will look for more by him - any suggestions from anyone? ...more

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