" 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. "
— Lindsay, 12/18/2013