Details Appertaining To 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 | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 448 pages |
| Published | : | May 10th 2011 by Crown |
| Categories | : | History. Nonfiction. War. World War II. Historical. Biography. Cultural. Germany |
Description Conducive To 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.
Describe 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 Appertaining To Books In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
Ratings: 3.84 From 151828 Users | 14325 ReviewsJudgment Appertaining To Books In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
This was a very interesting read for me that read almost like fiction. I learned new things about Hitler and Germany. The book takes place just as Hitler is gaining power. The author uses excerpts from people's diaries which gave me a real feel for the time as opposed to just reciting facts. A significant part of the book is about Dodd's daughter Martha. She had many "friends", Nazi's Russians, artists, journalists, etc. To quote a GR friend "she was a trip"! Recommended!Want to know what it would be like to try to talk Satan out of being such a dick? Consider reading In the Garden of Beasts!Erudite but ineffectual historian, Dr. William E. Dodd was chosen to be Ambassador to Germany in the decade leading up to WWII, because President Roosevelt couldn't find anyone else willing to take on the job. In 1933 Dodd was tasked with handling relations with a rabid and deranged political phoenix named Adolf Hitler. Perhaps you've heard of him?Dodd has brought along his
A completely riveting book, dealing mostly with one pivotal year, 1933, during the last few ticks of the clock before Hitler seized total power in Germany. Larson parses every faction of the Nazi Party; every evil personality, every evil viewpoint, every indefensible position, in clear, breathlessly thrilling prose.Roosevelt selects a new Ambassador to Germany, William E. Dodd. As he later finds out, he's not the President's first choice, or his second, or his third. No one wants the job,
I guess I could call this a group biography of William Dodd, a mild-mannered Midwestern professor who became US Ambassador to Germany in 1933, and his daughter Martha Dodd, a female playboy who quickly became infatuated with the glamour of Berlin nightlife. It makes for a readable story as well as a discussion of international attitudes (and blindspots) towards the Nazis as they consolidated power. Martha's memoir seems to have been particularly revealing in regard to her initial fascination
I didn't think you could make the rise of Hitler boring, but...this was. Ever so much. 300 pages of "But unknown to Dodd, all the rich dudes in the US hated him and were saying things like blah blah blah" and "Martha was having yet another affair" and "Everyone in Berlin seemed happy but THE ATMOSPHERE WAS TENSE" that all led up to a rather anticlimactic Night of the Long Knives. I really just didn't care for anyone in the Dodd family - Dodd himself seemed stuffy and did not, over the course of
*3.5 stars. William E. Dodd was not President Roosevelt's first choice for his ambassador to Germany in 1933 and many in Washington thought the mild-mannered college history professor was ill-suited for the job. He wasn't rich and flamboyant; he wasn't a member of the "pretty good club" of Harvard-educated career diplomats; and he had no talent for playing political games. He was however a "pleasing, interesting person with a fine sense of humor and simple modesty." He felt his job was to be a
This story covers the Dodd family and their lives amongst the beast machine of Hitler's Nazi Germany. Rosevelt asked Dodd to become the American ambassador to Hitler's Germany. At that time Germany was in debt to America and owed loads of money and they looked like they were not going to pay so the need for the ambassador arose. Dodd and his wife agreed to the position and so they left for Berlin, he also invited his two grown children Martha and Bill. The lovely Martha appears in the story
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