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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
A very interesting book about the U.S ambassador to Germany during the 1930s as Hitler was building up his army. This was a fascinating view of Germany from an outsider, and Dodd's daughter Martha was quite the entertaining and scandalous gal to interject some drama. I found it very interesting, but I listened to the audio book, and the narrator was rather dry. I will definitely read Larson's other books, because he does such an excellent job of research and brings a personal tie to the story.
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Painful to read - informative, personalized, and shocking.
informative
tense
medium-paced
informative
tense
Thoroughly enjoyed my third Erik Larson book, if one can actually enjoy a book about the Nazi's. It was typical Erik Larson; a true story teller and thorough researcher. I learned two important aspects of history through the story: the amount of intrigue and infighting in the early days of the Nazi regime and and the utterly disappointing US response to the rise of Nazi Germany. Larson demonstrates how anti-semitism in the US and the US government's obsession to have its debt paid back influenced the US government's refusal to condemn the German atrocities in the early years when perhaps the US could have prevented what came later.
informative
slow-paced
dark
informative
medium-paced
I like Erik Larson's other books, and this did not disappoint. While reading, the eternal question repeats over and over...How did the world manage to ignore all the signs? It is frightening to imagine living in the Berlin of the 1930s, and even more frightening to imagine yourself of Jewish heritage in Berlin in the 1930s. Great read and interesting information regarding diplomatic affairs of the time.
I was super excited about this book and but ultimately disappointed at what seems to be a surface treatment of topics. The book chronicles William Dodd and his family after he accepted an appointment as US Ambassador to Germany in 1933. It follows Dodd's reactions as Hitler gains more and more power in Germany as well as his daughter Martha's many affairs including those with Nazi officials. Despite it's shallowness at times, if you are interested in the WWII era, you should check out this book as it is an interesting treatment of an aspect that does not often receive attention.