In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and a Family in Hitler’s Berlin

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and a Family in Hitler’s Berlin (Erik Larson, 2011)

How I stumbled upon it: I’ve owned it for 5 years and haven’t gotten around to starting it until recently!

What it's about: William Dodd was the US ambassador to Germany from 1933-1937, during the beginning of the Nazi era.  Dodd brought his family, including his young + very social daughter Martha to Germany with him, and the book chronicles their lives during this time. Between Martha’s dalliances with Soviet spies + Nazis to Dodd’s unsocial demeanor (thus ruffling many diplomatic feathers), it's a unique look into the American - German relations in the years between world wars.

What I thought: I liked it!  The first half was much more interesting to me than the second; I thought the writing got a bit slow after Dodd’s initial time in Germany.  However, that being said, it’s a really interesting read. A simple history professor serving as ambassador during the time when Hitler began to rise to power. It will make you think a lot about how much influence a single person has and how quickly Western Europe declined in the years before WWII.

You can get it here.