In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin Audiobook

" Erik Larson's "In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family" appears to be an historically accurate description of a short period of time in Germany during which Adolph Hitler consolidated his authority and began his reign of terror and brutality. It helps to understand how a well-educated, not desperately poor citizenry joined in the lunacy of their government without much resistance and perhaps without much awareness of the monsters they were becoming. It is a chilling story and encourages some self-reflection on the society we are, ourselves, becoming. On my part, I find it almost incomprehensible that we have recently waged wars of choice on two undeveloped countries lasting, in the aggregate 25 years. We are paying the price with shortages of resources to educate our children but all so many in government care about is helping their wealthy sponsors accumulate even more vast wealth. We are fortunate that no Hitler has risen to lead us while we wonder around in this wilderness. "

" Enjoyed the book however prefered Devil in the White City. "

" By turns a charming, horrifying, and illuminating view of the rise of Hitler through the lens of a curious old school Yankee professor and his vivacious free spirit daughter. Exceptional novelistic history. "

" I liked the book, very interesting to see what Germany was like pre hitler and the denial from the USA. "

" It seems I am one of very few who was absolutely bored by this book. I had very high hopes. Having read Devil in the White City, I fully expected a well-researched, detailed, utterly thrilling narrative about the Dodds' experience in Berlin and the rise of the Nazi regime. True on all but one account, and unfortunately, that is the one that keeps readers going for 364 pages of story. Overall, the book was simply not thrilling. Interesting at times, but not thrilling. True to form, Larson did his homework. The research he underwent for this book is astonishing. One simply needs to read the nearly 100 pages of footnotes and Bibliography to see that. However, I feel that may have been to his detriment. At times, the book felt disjointed, disconnected from the overall purpose. Or what I believed to be the overall purpose. For two reasons. 1) It seems Larson was too moved by his own research that he felt ALL was necessary for inclusion. Too many times to count, I read a portion of the book and when finished I thought, 'Why is this even relevant?!' Several characters made appearances in the book so minor they were never mentioned again. And for what purpose? They didn't add to the story. In my opinion, they distracted. It seemed as if Larson thought all of his research was quite interesting and so readers would certainly find it interesting, as well. Unfortunately, I found it distracting and by the end of 364 pages of narrative, extremely annoying. 2) In addition to the unnecessary, was also the redundant. Martha was (extremely) promiscuous, we get it. Dodd was disliked and distrusted by members of the State Department, we get it. It was almost like a rollercoaster. The very interesting and intriguing, followed by the totally irrelevant, then the redundant, and back again. The book is called In the Garden of Beasts (a very cleaver title, I thought), so everything that was not specifically about the Dodds - with particular interest in the Ambassador - or their interactions with and/or relations to the Nazi party or the United States about the Nazi party, distracts from the purpose of the book. My favorite parts of the book followed the above theme. I found those instances quite interesting and enjoyable to read. I just wish Larson had stuck to that purpose. More about the 'beasts', less about Martha's dating life (unless it is with a 'beast', of course). Overall, I suppose I can say that I am glad I read it. It was a unique aspect of the overall World War II narrative. Unfortunately, I won't ever be excited enough to read it again or recommend it to others. "

" Erik Larson is a master at authoring historical fiction like "The Devil in the White City"- a five star book as well. But what he does best is provide such an extensive bibliography of research you wonder, what wasn't fact? All of that is irrelevant, however, when you begin "In the Garden of the Beasts..." because it is a page turner of the first order, and one of those books that you count the pages to the end, not to hurry, but to dawdle. "

" Interesting read a bit like a text book. "

" After repeatedly hearing and reading the same standard version of how WWII erupted I found this to be a very refreshing perspective of it. Its definitely worth the casual read if you enjoy historical based writing. "

" Although I can appreciate the amount of research and backup that went into this book, it is definitely not an enjoyable read...for 365 pages of substantial information, nothing actually happens!!! "

" His ability to make history interesting, even with characters that are a bit odd, is really great. "

" Larson writes an impressively researched account of Hitler's rise to power from the perspective of an American family living in Berlin. Enthralling and terrifying. I can't wait to start my next Erik Larson. "

" Not the best written book I've ever read, but provides an alternative view of the build up to WWII. Pretty easy book to pick up and put down, was told after I'd finished that it might have been better to read Larson's other book, Devil in the White City, first. "

" i found this book very hard to read however it was worth it in the end an interesting insight into nazi germany "

" Dense. Too many players to keep track of. Got gripping by the end, but then it just ended. Made me reconsider my thoughts about international politics. "

" A tiresome narrative, but obviously the subject is inherently interesting. "

" Interesting book of pre-World War 2 events. As always a well written history. "

" Few writers working today can reconstruct a great historical scene (detailed action leading to real consequence) better than Larson. His quality research really pays off here. "

" it was well researched, fascinating but i still don't like erik larson as a writer. i dunna what my issue is. i'm sure he'll be ok without me absolutely loving him though "

" Tedious and tiresome. Has the potential to cover a dynamic period in prewar German history, but plods with excessive explication. Would have been more accessible as a fictionalized account. "

" I am 1/3rd into this book and I really like it. It is set in history 6 years before WWII and usually we don't learn about this time. It is interesting to see how nobody saw Hitler as a threat. "

" Engrossing, nonfiction book about the rise of the Nazi regime, as reconstructed from notes and diaries of the American ambassador to Germany (and his family) in the 1930s. A very good read - highly recommend if you are interested in this period of history. <br/> "

" Excellent. Disturbing to know that the US Ambassador to Germany activitily warned about the dangers of Hitler and his influence in Germany in the early 30's, only to be rebuffed as a nagging fool. "

" This was my first foray into reading on an iPad. There's a lot of info, but really didn't have too many problems keeping characters straight. Interesting new way to look at the events leading to WWII. "

" unsung hero, america's first ambassador to Nazi Germany, his first year in service and his experiences as he sees first hand the horrors to come. "

" Fascinating account of the US ambassador in Hitler's early years of power. "