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2.49k reviews for:
In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
Erik Larson
3.77 AVERAGE
2.49k reviews for:
In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
Erik Larson
3.77 AVERAGE
I could barely even finish this one. So not on par with his other works!
Another banger from Larson, this time following the American ambassador to Germany before the country is completely Hitler-ified. Larson's strength is in making these historical figures present like fiction characters--multifaceted and full of intrigue and drama and desire and tragedy, all somehow based on historical artifacts. A great lesson in making history feel immediate and relevant. Highly recommend for those interested in history, our modern political climate ("those who forget their history..." yada yada) to see how things could turn out if power hungry demagogues are left unchallenged, and--bear with me here--2005's "The Revenge of the Sith"
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emotional
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reflective
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tense
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informative
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medium-paced
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