In the Garden of Beast: Love, Terror, and an
American Family in Hitler’s Berlin
Author: Erik Larson
Published By: Crown Publishing Group
Date Published: January 1, 2011
Pages: 365, Kindle edition
Recommended Age: mature adults
Reviewed By: Me
Rating: C/3
I received this book from Amazon. It was one of Amazon’s free Kindle books they
were giving away on a particular day.
Summary:
When none of the regular government politicians will take
the post as the American Ambassador in Germany during the time of Hitler’s
reign in 1933, William E. Dodd, a mild-mannered history professor from Chicago
is given the post. Professor Dodd brings
along his wife, son, and audacious daughter, Martha. Through Ambassador Dodd’s letters and journals
and through Martha’s journals Erik Lawson tells the reader what Berlin was like
during 1933 and 1934.
My Thoughts:
In the Garden of Beasts was okay. I liked being able to “see” what Germany was
like through an American’s eyes. It
shows that Hitler and his army treated anyone horrible that didn’t fit his view
of the perfect German or follower. Even
Americans staying in Germany for one reason or another was treated badly. It’s sad that a lot of people, mostly the
Germans saw nothing wrong with how the Jews were treated; for example the one
man telling Martha why a woman was being dragged through the street. It was because she was planning to marry a
Jew. He was blasé about it; the man said it as if she deserved the treatment
and was even disgusted that the woman would marry a Jew. It disgusts me that there were people like
that. They actually believed that Jews
were evil and were the cause of all their problems just because one man said
so. It makes me wonder if these people were already subconsciously racists and
were relieved to show their hatred for another race and culture that was
different from theirs? Or were they
easily manipulated and brain washed and not able to think for themselves?
I really didn’t care for Martha Dodd at all. She had to be
an embarrassment for her father. I found
her to be a self-indulgent slut who disrespected her parents’ home by bringing
all those men in the house and having sex with them up in the family library. I
also did not like that she had turned a blind eye to what was truly going on in
Germany, even when reports were coming in about Americans being attacked. She always took the Nazis side, saying things
like, “well, they must have done something” and she was also known to say she
approved of what Hitler was doing. She
believed Hitler was making Germany a better place. It was only when the
injustice started hitting too close to home and affecting her friends did she
open her eyes. I found her to be a very
selfish, “it’s about me me me me” kind of woman.
I gave In the Garden of Beasts three stars and a grade of C
because I really didn’t like it all that much. I didn’t like that the last 25
percent of the book was reference pages; it made the book seemed quite short in
my opinion. Yes, I know that references must be included in any non-fiction
work, but Erik Larson could have made the book longer somehow. It might have helped if it was more detailed
orientated and more descriptive. In the Garden of Beasts seemed to just list
the basic facts, pulled from journals and letters. It was quick and to the
point.
It also seemed to talk more about how other people in
America’s government was against Ambassador Dodd from the beginning, because he
wasn’t rich and didn’t live flamboyantly like they thought an Ambassador should
live. It seemed that the other government officials were constantly trying to
put Ambassador Dodd in a bad light and embarrass him. They cared less about
what Hitler was doing to fellow human beings.
All they wanted was to be on good “party” terms with the German
government and retrieve back the money Germany owed America. It also made the American President a push
over, who listen to the men around him and did not follow his gut. I was quite disappointed in the President, as
I was in this book. If you “see” what
Germany was like through an American’s eyes, I recommend In the Garden of
Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin by Erik Larson.
Parents:
Language: some
Adult Content: some sex, heavy topics about the
treatment of Jews and Americans in Germany
Violence: Some violence against Jews and Americans
