I checked this one out from my library. Although I had 14 days in which to read it, I finished it in much less time. It's filled with historical facts of Hitler, his henchmen, and pre-WW2 information of a type that most of us never knew. I was hooked on it from the first page. On the other hand, my husband who also read it, wasn't enamoured with it. He found it to be too full of the romantic exploits of the American ambassador's daughter, Martha Dodd. True, there WAS a lot of that, which made it all the more interesting to me. Maybe this is just naturally a woman's point of view. However I think that any WW2 buff would find it very interesting. Eric Larson is my kind of writer, and he has done nothing but improve with experience. His "Devil In the White City" was great, too. I highly recommend both!

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If you have ever wondered how people could have closed their eyes to the atrocities that happened during the years before and during World War II in Germany, this book provides an excellent look at the country through the eyes of the American Ambassador and his family, and others close to the family.It is very well written and fleshed out by this award winning author. It reads more like a fictional story then an historical account, and it is hard to grasp that these things actually happened and the world just proceeded on its merry way while a sick leader (Hitler)was randomly murdering various ethnic groups and classes at will with no backlash. I was personally appalled to learn that even the United States did not "like" the Jews and generally felt some of the same feelings against them as did Hitler, but of course did not murder them. Makes me wonder if they were happy to leave that to psychopath that lived in and ruled Germany. My suggestion? Read this book...well worth the time.

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This book was just "OK". If you're a WWII history buff, then you might like it. It's a basically-uneventful account of the US Ambassador and his family's time in Germany in the years leading up to WWII. I found it a bit boring. Lots of facts and info I really wasn't interested in knowing in the first place. The subtitle, "Love, Terror, etc." is misleading. The only "love" involves the Ambassador's daughter, who, it appears, screwed anything that held still long enough. The "terror" was mostly on the part of the Germans... not the Ambassador or his family, who were generally unmolested the entire time they were there.

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Larson is the king of weaving two or more historical stories into a fascinating narrative. Even though his books are non-fiction, they read closer to a novel than a historical document. In the Garden gives us the background of the Nazi's rise to power and the life and interaction of the American Ambassador and his family. As Ambassador Dodd is a man out of the element, Larson seems to struggle to give us a compelling story. A great deal of time is spent on the "wildish" daughter of the Ambassador and just plain name dropping. Larsen's earlier works have more character and a broader feel. In the Garden has its moments, but it finally feels more like a romance than a true historical narrative.

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A unusual look at Hitler's Germany 1933-34 from the perspective of an idealistic first-time ambassador and his daughter and son with just enough context to bring it to life. History as it was lived. Unique.

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Erik Larson, noted author of The Devil in the White City, returns for more micro-historical-story-telling. In the Garden of the Beasts alternates between William Dodd, the American ambassador during the early years of Hitler's rise to power in Germany, and his daughter Martha, who also went to Berlin. Larson still excels at the story-telling aspect of his craft, although there is less suspense than Devil given the subject matter and its relative familiarity here— we all know what happens to Hitler's Germany. After their one year anniversary in Berlin, subsequent events seemed rushed; Larson was running out of steam. I happened to have read Andrew Nagorksi's Hitlerland: American Eyewitnesses to the Nazi Rise to Power earlier this year, which give me a broader perspective on this historical moment and writing about history. The sources one uses probably unconsciously but inherently direct the story being told. Larson, using mostly the Dodds' and other State Department papers, paints Ambassador Dodd as "the lone beacon of American freedom and hope in a land of gathering darkness," albeit a mild-mannered history professor whose style and income bracket didn't jive with the rest of the diplomatic corps, whereas Nagorski focused much more on members of the American press corps, whose reaction to Dodd was mixed because he was ineffectual. Both books informed my very dim understanding of this time in a complementary way, and In the Garden of the Beasts was the more entertaining book.

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This was a very well-written and researched account of the period leading up to and during Hitler's incomprehensible rise to power in Europe. Ambassador Dodd decried the American lack of interest in what was happening in Germany, except with respect to the American concern about repayment of the German debt. His warnings fell on deaf ears, and his most dire predictions came to pass.

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It's about Ambassador Dodd & his family in the years prior to World War II as they were stationed in Germany. The research was amazingly well done and interestingly footnoted by author Erik Larson, whom I always enjoy. I learned a lot about the details of how Nazis took power, in fact got the people of the country to beg them to take more power. And, while the book doesn't preach, it does give some eerie descriptions of the feeling which came over the city as more and more citizens decided to simply ignore the overeach of Hitler and pretend all was well. Very good writing.

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Good but rather dry real account of Hitlers regime and the terror involved in it. However it made me more aware of things than mere learned history in school ever did.

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This book is incredible! I COULD NOT put it down. The true behind-the-scenes goings on of the Nazi party (and Martha Dodd who was a downright tramp) will rivet you where you sit.

The ridiculousness of Hitler's regime and the many opportunities (failed) to stop him/it are so obvious now. The parallels between then and today are amazing (and frightening.) If you are into studying (light) human behavior-psychology these people will fascinate you. (Not that this a psychology book - I'm just saying what *I* took from it.)

AND it's a perfect chronicle of what daily life was like in 30's Berlin.

FIVE stars.

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A somewhat ordinary college professor become the American ambassador to Germany just as Hitler is coming to power. He was chosen because so many others refused the post.

To Ambassador Dodd's credit, he soon loses his naivety and recognizes Hitler and the Nazis for what they are. Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department club of Ivy League 'rich boys' club are doing all they can to get him dismissed as they favor Hitler and his anti-semitism.

Dobb becomes a thorn in the side of the Nazis and American isolationists. However, his randy daughter is having affairs with all sorts of interesting characters, including the head of the German Gestapo and a Russian NKVD operative. Go figure.

An interesting tale of Americans in Hitler's early years.

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In the lead up to World War II, this family was in Berlin as the Ambassador from the United States. The daughter enjoyed the social aspects of the assignment, and the entire family was taken aback by the changes to Germany that Hitler was bringing in. It was an interesting look and a different viewpoint of the Third Reich.

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This was a very interesting study of a slice of life in Nazi Germany shortly after Hitler became chancellor in 1933. Larson tells the story of William Dodd and his family during the time Dodd was Ambassador to Germany from August 1933 to December 1937.


Dodd was an unlikely choice for ambassador and was down the line in preference by President Roosevelt. He was a historian at the University of Chicago who thought he was destined for greater things. He and his family including his wife and two grown children moved to Berlin to assume the job of ambassador. Dodd pressed for American interests while letting it be known that he did not think much of the blustering Nazis even though he seemed to have been somewhat blind to the intensity of anti-Semitism and was casually anti-Semitic himself. He witnessed the forces of Hitler's newly installed regime that included casual beatings of Americans for trivial offences such as not giving the Nazi salute when an SS parade passed by. As time progressed, Dodd became more and more anti-Nazi and warned his superiors of the atrocities to come but was mostly ignored by them.

The book also told the story of Dodd's daughter, Martha, who became involved with several Nazi officers and fell in love with a Russian diplomat who was part of the KGB. The Russians actually tried to get Martha to be a spy for them but this ultimately came to naught.

I have read many accounts of Nazi Germany but this part of their early history was pretty much new to me. The story of the Dodds and how they interacted with Hitler and his gang of thugs made for interesting reading. I have read a few other works by Larson and have some others on my shelf waiting to be read that I hope to get to sometime soon.

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I guess I have to disagree with the others by saying I didn't like this book.

I read a lot of books about this horrific time in history, as I'm obsessed by the subject. However, I found this book to be somewhat dry and boring at times about the meek professor and his promiscuous wayward daughter. It just didn't do it for me!

Even though I knew about antisemitism during the Roosevelt administration, I am always appalled to read about it and about America not doing more to help (less) [edit]

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A taste of the tipping point when Germany still had ample opportunity to fight back the sadistic murdering Nazis. The tension of the book depends so much on knowing what will become and wanting to scream to the diplomats in Berlin, "wake up!" My only frustration was that I wish Larson had taken a little more time explaining the background of the compromise Hindenburg had made to put Hitler in as Chancellor in the first place. Guess I will have to research that background myself elsewhere.

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Big expectations for the book, and I found it to be okay. Although I appreciated a lot of the interesting historical details, I felt like many could have been left out because they were irrelevant to the story overall. I did find that I craved more story overall, perhaps it was the non-fiction format of the book. A good retelling of the behind the scenes history of a difficult to understand time in history. Larson really lifts the veil and reveals all the ego and corruption of a fascinating time in history.

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It is 1933 is coming into power and things escalate very quickly. This book centers on an American ambassador who brings his family to Germany and doesn't know what he's getting himself into by accepting this position. It is an interesting and insightful look at that time period. I was somewhat appalled and yet fascinated by his highly promiscuous daughter. (read: Nympho) Whenever she is quoted discussing a man, no matter who (even Hitler himself) she never fails to mention the subject's appearance. Larson is a great writer and makes the pure evil of the Hitler regime come to life, enough to make your blood run cold.

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Eric Larson has done it again -- a book full of historical and descriptive information that never makes you feel bogged down (or worse, like you're reading a history book), but instead pulls you right along until suddenly you're on the last page. In his Sources and Acknowledgements section, he says "[w]hat I did not realize as I ventured into those dark days of Hitler's rule was how much the darkness would infiltrate my own soul." Larson has done a beautiful job of creating that sense in the book -- the more I read, the more anxious I became, and confused and confounded by the actions of the rising Nazi regime. Definitely ranks as one of my favorite books!

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In the Garden of Beasts is Larson's attempt to look into the heart of Germany's rising Third Reich through the eyes of William Dodd, America's unlikely Ambassador to Germany in 1933. However, the primary character in this book ended up being William Dodd's daughter, Martha. It is through here that the reader is introduced to most of the power players in the German regime, and through her that most of the action and intrigue occurs.
This book is not a page turner by any means. Larson was meticulous as always in his research, and the wealth of information that he was able to collect on the Dodds was admirable. Unfortunately, much of it was also not very exciting. This is not a book with a compelling plot. It stated facts and tried to craft a story around those facts, but it did so with very little sense of momentum. The book plods along, follows the timeline, and then it ends.
In comparison to other works by Erik Larson, this is the one that reads the least like a story and more like a textbook. It was biographical but weak, historical but superficial, interesting but not suspenseful. Devil in the White City is the ideal starting place for all new initiates to Larson's work, and it is by far his most interesting and universally approachable story. The rest of his books, especially this one, are certainly not for everyone and will cater to those who are most interested in learning in detail about a specific topic or set of events, rather than simply seeking to be entertained. For any reader looking for a unique American perspective in the heart of Nazi Germany, however, you have come to the right place.

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Riveting story of one family's experience as Hitler gained power. Interesting to see it from a diplomat's perspective.

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1933 Germany was the beginning of Hitler's brutal reign in Germany. Things were beginning to look grim in Germany, but the rest of the world was mostly unaware of events happening or simply chose to ignore it and hope it would get better. William Dodd became the U.S. ambassador to Germany that year and was thrust into a tense and very difficult situation. His family joined him during his stint in Germany. Daughter Martha was initially enamored by what she saw in Berlin, but became more disillusioned as she began to witness what was truly happening. Dodd himself was initially optimistic that he could help keep the peace diplomatically, but everything drastically changed during the Night of the Long Knives. This book is a fascinating look at how the world failed to recognize and act against this horrifying dictator.

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As with all of his books this one was very enjoyable. I learned new information and felt I could better understand how Hitler came to power. If you do not like learning about history at all you may not enjoy this. Not just facts and dates though but an interesting you were there.

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In the Garden of Beasts is Larson's attempt to look into the heart of Germany's rising Third Reich through the eyes of William Dodd, America's unlikely Ambassador to Germany in 1933. However, the primary character in this book ended up being William Dodd's daughter, Martha. It is through here that the reader is introduced to most of the power players in the German regime, and through her that most of the action and intrigue occurs.
This book is not a page turner by any means. Larson was meticulous as always in his research, and the wealth of information that he was able to collect on the Dodds was admirable. Unfortunately, much of it was also not very exciting. This is not a book with a compelling plot. It stated facts and tried to craft a story around those facts, but it did so with very little sense of momentum. The book plods along, follows the timeline, and then it ends.
In comparison to other works by Erik Larson, this is the one that reads the least like a story and more like a textbook. It was biographical but weak, historical but superficial, interesting but not suspenseful. Devil in the White City is the ideal starting place for all new initiates to Larson's work, and it is by far his most interesting and universally approachable story. The rest of his books, especially this one, are certainly not for everyone and will cater to those who are most interested in learning in detail about a specific topic or set of events, rather than simply seeking to be entertained. For any reader looking for a unique American perspective in the heart of Nazi Germany, however, you have come to the right place.

Share/Like this Review?

In the Garden of Beasts is Larson's attempt to look into the heart of Germany's rising Third Reich through the eyes of William Dodd, America's unlikely Ambassador to Germany in 1933. However, the primary character in this book ended up being William Dodd's daughter, Martha. It is through here that the reader is introduced to most of the power players in the German regime, and through her that most of the action and intrigue occurs.
This book is not a page turner by any means. Larson was meticulous as always in his research, and the wealth of information that he was able to collect on the Dodds was admirable. Unfortunately, much of it was also not very exciting. This is not a book with a compelling plot. It stated facts and tried to craft a story around those facts, but it did so with very little sense of momentum. The book plods along, follows the timeline, and then it ends.
In comparison to other works by Erik Larson, this is the one that reads the least like a story and more like a textbook. It was biographical but weak, historical but superficial, interesting but not suspenseful. Devil in the White City is the ideal starting place for all new initiates to Larson's work, and it is by far his most interesting and universally approachable story. The rest of his books, especially this one, are certainly not for everyone and will cater to those who are most interested in learning in detail about a specific topic or set of events, rather than simply seeking to be entertained. For any reader looking for a unique American perspective in the heart of Nazi Germany, however, you have come to the right place.

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I liked it. I'm passing it on to a friend.

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Very god book that helps to explain the events that led up to WWII.

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A real page turner- an unexplored corner of WWII history.

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