In the Garden of Beasts

Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin

By: Erik Larson

Narrated by: Stephen Hoye

Erik Larson has been widely acclaimed as a master of narrative non-fiction, and in his new book, the best-selling author of Devil in the White City turns his hand to a remarkable story set during Hitler’s rise to power.

The time is 1933, the place, Berlin, when William E. Dodd becomes America’s first ambassador to Hitler’s Germany in a year that proved to be a turning point in history.

A mild-mannered professor from Chicago, Dodd brings along his wife, son, and flamboyant daughter, Martha. At first, Martha is entranced by the parties and pomp, and the handsome young men of the Third Reich with their infectious enthusiasm for restoring Germany to a position of world prominence. Enamored of the “New Germany”, she has one affair after another, including with the suprisingly honorable first chief of the Gestapo, Rudolf Diels. But as evidence of Jewish persecution mounts, confirmed by chilling first-person testimony, her father telegraphs his concerns to a largely indifferent State Department back home. Dodd watches with alarm as Jews are attacked, the press is censored, and drafts of frightening new laws begin to circulate.

As that first year unfolds and the shadows deepen, the Dodds experience days full of excitement, intrigue, romance - and ultimately, horror, when a climactic spasm of violence and murder reveals Hitler’s true character and ruthless ambition.

Suffused with the tense atmosphere of the period, and with unforgettable portraits of the bizarre Göring and the expectedly charming - yet wholly sinister - Goebbels, In the Garden of Beasts lends a stunning, eyewitness perspective on events as they unfold in real time, revealing an era of surprising nuance and complexity. The result is a dazzling, addictively listenable work that speaks volumes about why the world did not recognize the grave threat posed by Hitler until Berlin, and Europe, were awash in blood and terror.

©2011 Stephen Hoye (P)2011 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"In this mesmerizing portrait of the Nazi capital, Larson plumbs a far more diabolical urban cauldron than in his bestselling The Devil in the White City... a vivid, atmospheric panorama of the Third Reich and its leaders, including murderous Nazi factional infighting, through the accretion of small crimes and petty thuggery." ( Publishers Weekly)

"By far his best and most enthralling work of novelistic history….Powerful, poignant…a transportingly true story." ( The New York Times)

"[L]ike slipping slowly into a nightmare, with logic perverted and morality upended….It all makes for a powerful, unsettling immediacy." (Bruce Handy, Vanity Fair)

an interesting story in an interesting time

In 1933 FDR was having trouble finding anyone that wanted to be Ambassador to Germany as Hitler was coming to power. He settled on about his 10th choice, William Dodd, a history professor at the Universsity of Chicago. This is that true story. This would have been a difficult assignment even for someone with diplomatic experience. But hearing the story by piecing together the story from old letters, reports etc made it interesting. Plus hearing how the Nazi regime completely took over a country through terror and intimidation was fascinating. If you are a WWII buff, you'll enjoy this one.

Beasts of Burden: History Up Close is Myopic

Larson's In the Garden of Beasts is excellent. He unpacks one of the most fascinating and studied moments in history and reveals the hard truth of hindsight. It's 20/20.

Sitting comfortably in 2013, we can pat ourselves on the back and say we would have done everything in our power to stop Hitler's rise. Indignantly, we will stomp our feet and judge the men and women who sat "idly by" and did nothing as Hitler and his thugs seized control of Germany and pulled the world into chaos.

But then Larson puts us in the moment - Berlin - the epicenter of it all. And without benefit of a crystal ball, we are left with the uncomfortable question: Would we truly have seen the danger signs? If so, would we have had the courage to act?

Perhaps those close enough to actually make a difference, were so far inside the belly of the beast, they could not see the teeth.

meh

I didn't find this book to be as strong as Devil WC. While all aspects of Germany are interesting in this time period, I didn't feel like Eric painted the picture in color as well as he did in Devil WC. Stephen Hoyne is an excellent reader and I was never distracted from the content.

Very well done

What a fantastic book this ended up being! To step inside the world of the ambassador and his family and view the rise of Nazi power from their vantage point. The author makes it very clear that this is not meant to be a complete history of the 3rd Reich but rather a small snapshot of some events that were witnessed. I found it riveting. The narrator Stephen Hoye was one of the best I have heard so far. PERFECT for this sort of book.

Superb Reasearch

Then presented in what appeared to be fictional form. Larson is a master of non fiction "Storytelling".

a small piece of the WWII puzzle

This narrative history shed light on the rise of Nazi influence in Germany during the 1930s. It offers a glimpse into the ascension of Hitler and his henchmen. The hero, ill-qualified but chosen for the position of Ambassador to Germany after three more qualified candidates declined, struggles to understand what steps he can take to warn the world (or even his own American State Department) of the nature of Hitler’s ambitions and the rapid rearmament of the German military.
William E. Dodd’s daughter, the free-spirited Martha, becomes a focus of the book as she is exciting to her father’s dullness, and because of her attraction, first to Nazi ideology and then to Communism.
A worthy read and one very suitable to listening, as well.

Frighteningly Real

Would you consider the audio edition of In the Garden of Beasts to be better than the print version?

I had already read the book before I listened to the audio version. I found the audio version much more frightening. It places you in the scenes from that time and place. Sometimes it was too realistic.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, I couldn't stop listening to this book.

Any additional comments?

The events that were taking place in 1930's Germany are so frighteningly like what is happening today. The stark realities portrayed in this book make me frightened for our world toady.

Poor reader

This is fascinating material but this reader just create a compelling voice. I gave up on listening and read the book instead, which is quite good.

Intriguing story

I enjoyed this book and couldn't wait to get back to it. I love historical fiction, and the writing was wonderful. My only complaint was that the reader, while excellent at pronouncing German names, had a self-conscious cadence to his voice, as if he enjoyed listening to the sound of his own voice. I found this annoying. That said, he did bring the story to life.

Almost unbelievable

Who was your favorite character and why?

Martha seems to be the main character.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It is hard to understand why the Department of State refused to believe Ambassador Dodd's evaluation of what was going on in Germany in 1933. Had they done so, World War II might have been avoided.