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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
Not one of Larson’s strongest, I’m afraid. The subject just wasn’t drawing me in. I felt little respect for Martha’s antisemitism and trifling love affairs. Furthermore, after reading four of Larson’s books now, I feel that he fails to criticize his subject. His discussion on Dodd’s shortcomings were always brushed off, justified, or glossed over. This seems to be the case for his other books, too (aside from HH Holmes). I feel as though it weakens his arguments and research.
I found this to be SO interesting. Not the usual approach to discussing the rise of Hitler. Following a US diplomat, esp one who by and large was against Hitler, was intriguing. I like that Larson didn’t shy away from Dodd and his families missteps. They certainly held some anti-Semitic views and said/believed some awful, harmful things. He did try and warn the world though of Hitler’s horror, and was largely ridiculed and not believed.
Would recommend, if even so people can some very scary parallels between 1930’s Germany and 2025 US.
(I don’t really rate non-fic as anything less than 5 stars if it is true, well-researched, and unbiased. So take the rating with a grain of salt).
Would recommend, if even so people can some very scary parallels between 1930’s Germany and 2025 US.
(I don’t really rate non-fic as anything less than 5 stars if it is true, well-researched, and unbiased. So take the rating with a grain of salt).
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
dark
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
slow-paced
I read this to try and get an understanding of how Hitler was able to rise up without the protest of his people or the world. It gave me a good understanding and is a fascinating story.
I haven't read anything else on the topic so I can't say how the book would be for someone with a strong background on the subject.
I haven't read anything else on the topic so I can't say how the book would be for someone with a strong background on the subject.
challenging
dark
informative
4.5 ✨A super interesting book all around. I especially enjoyed the portions about Martha. I could imagine a 2025 version of her going absolutely rogue on TikTok. In all seriousness, it was almost eerie to read this book in the context of 2025 U.S. politics: in many respects, it’s a cautionary tale about people saying everything is “fine” until it’s extremely not. Some of the parts about the internal politics of Hitler’s government dragged on a bit, but overall this was an engaging listen.
informative
medium-paced