Book Review

In the Garden of Beasts by Eric Larson

Just like the wonderful writing of the brilliant Bettany Hughes, Eric Larson can take you back in time with his words. He has the ability to write in a way that informs, entertains and transports. I have read this author before with the wonderful "Devil in the White City." I enjoyed that book so much I ordered this, his latest book, as soon as it became available. I was not disappointed. And neither will you.

The book concerns a personage I have never heard of before in a time I felt that I was pretty educated about. I guess that when I read books or watched documentaries that concerned the Nazis it was usually from a German or European perspective. I rarely thought about it from how it played out in America beyond the periphery. The dramatic attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese seemed to be much more significant, I was wrong. Because there were indeed shifting currents both pro and anti Nazi in our government at the time and when FDR was looking for a new ambassador to Germany during this crucial period,1933, he made no qualms about his reservations about Hitler and how important this post would be. 

Roosevelt choose an academic named William E. Dodd. Together with his wife and two grown children where thrust into the snake pit that saw the rise of Hitler in Germany. Living in Berlin they rubbed shoulder with all of the movers of shakers from Göring to Goebbels to Himmler to Hilter himself. Their diplomatic home was neighboring Ernst Röhm and they were in the thick of his arrest and execution. His daughter, the beautiful, wild and intelligent Martha, had affairs with many high ranking officials and a suspicious (at least to the Nazis fearful of communism) Russian. Most amazing of all, the house they rented during there stay was owned by a Jew who lived on the top floor. This man hoped that living with an American diplomat would protect him and his family.

The book moves fast and is endlessly fascinating. The heart of the book is Martha. She was young, newly divorced and ready to embrace everything. When she arrived in Germany she was enamored of the Fascist regime. We watch as this slowly changes during her time there. Interesting, well-paced, thoroughly documented and educational, this book has something for everyone. Do yourself a favor and read it. While your at it pick up "Devil in the White City."