In the Garden of Beasts

In the Garden of Beasts
Erik Larson 
Hardcover: 464 pages 
Publisher: Crown; 1st edition (May 10, 2011)
reviewing ARC, courtesy of Amazon Vine
5/5 stars

In the Garden of Beasts is an amazing book.  It is a nonfiction account that reads with the ease and entertainment of a good novel.  When I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it.  When I was reading it, I was engrossed.

Larson uses letters, journals and papers to tell the story of William Dodd, U.S. Ambassador to Germany in the thirties, of his daughter (Martha), and of Hitler's rise viewed through their eyes.  Martha, socialite and party to many romantic escapades, found herself in a position to garner information that the Ambassador couldn't know and become the center of several intrigues herself.  As for Ambassador Dodd, as he became more disillusioned with (and ultimately more fully aware of) Hitler's Germany, he became more of an outcast with the "in crowd" of the State Department, creating an entirely different, but important, conspiracy of sorts.

Despite knowing the ultimate outcome of the Dodds' adventure, In the Garden of Beasts is still a page turner and thoroughly fascinating.  It was with reluctance that I turned the last page, and said good bye to these people that had consumed my mind so completely.

Larson's apparently has the ability to write a biographical account in such a way that makes it more enjoyable than most fiction.  (I've not read The Devil in the White City*, but that has been moved to the top of my to-read list.)  I can not recommend this enough, regardless of your interest in the subject.  My initial interest was not high, but I came away with new understanding and knowledge of the time period, US and German politics, and ultimately, human nature. In the Garden of Beasts is a must read.

*I did read The Devil in the White City and it was a five star read!