In the Garden of Beasts

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

By: Erik Larson

Narrated by: Stephen Hoye

Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

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)

Frightening, Powerful, Deeply Thought-provoking.

What an incredible view of a pivotal moment in history. Perhaps this book is not as powerful if you have middling knowledge of 20th century history, but I found this portrait of Germany and the birth of the Third Reich chilling.

If you have ever asked, "how could THAT have happened?" read this book, and you'll know. Watching Berlin, one of the world's most important cultural centers, dissolve into barbaric, paranoid madness is very disturbing, particularly because of how easily it happened. Its also quite sad to know that there were a few moments at the beginning, here and there, when maybe it all could have been stopped.

I'm still thinking about it all days later. Very worth reading.

Some good background info

As a glimpse of the politics during the early years of the Roosevelt Administration, this is an interesting book. The old boys club was certainly alive and well in the foreign service arena. I liked hearing about the communication people had - primarily letter-writing - and the way they viewed each other and spoke about each other. Some of the barbs are brutal and quite polished. That kind of writing is gone from our culture except in rare cases and it's fun to hear it.

As a glimpse of a year during Hitler's rise to power, I was less impressed. There's some good info that helps fill in a few blanks about the fear that swept a nation, but I felt that got lost in all the info about Martha and her behavior. There was not enough detail about the events and personalities that ended up having such a gigantic impact on the world during this critical build-up.

I like Larson's work and his meticulous attention to research. But in this particular case, I would have appreciated more of the style of writing that Laura Hillenbrand applies to non-fiction. I think I was expecting more ... more tenseness, more drama, more historical detail.

Non-Fiction That Any Historian Could be Proud of

The amount of research that went into this book was amazing. He must of read nearly everything available in American, German, and Soviet sources - including many diaries.

Professor Dodd was the central Character - but his daughter is was far more interesting. She committed nearly every indiscretion imaginable - and some of them several times.

We will never be able to understand the Nazi era, but this at least helps us.

Disappointed.

I am a huge fan of Erik Larson & usually devour his books. This was the first Larson book I listened to instead of read, & I couldn't wait to get started! I don't know why but I just couldn't get in to the Audible version. I tried over & over again but often found myself distracted & then losing track of the story. Honestly, I found it boring...really surprising since Germany during the Hitler period was anything but boring. This might be one of those books that is better when actually read.

Very informative book

You can learn a lot about Nazi Germany and America’s attitude toward it during that time. In that way the book is very enlightening and very worthwhile.
I was disappointed in the reader. Not only that he has a whiny intonation that doesn’t add anything but annoyance, but he doesn’t have an inkling about pronouncing the German words and names he is supposed to inform about. That is ridiculous! Can’t you hire an actor who will do a better job. It takes so much away from an excellent book.

I Remain an Erik Larson Fan!

I was lucky to stumble across on of Mr. Larson's books (Devil in the White City). I immediately loved his writing style. I listened to this audible and remained glued to it. I will probably sit down and actually read this book so that I can gain a much more deeper insight to history.

Terrific!

This was my second read from Erik Larson after Dead Wake. The author is a master in picking his subject matter and then writing down the complex history in a readable manner. This is another brilliant study of the Third Reich in its nascent stage of power.

Larson illuminates the period from 1933 to 1934 in Germany with the arrival of William Dodd and family, the USA Ambassador to Germany. This quirky family, fits rather uncomfortably into Berlin where the SA runs amok amongst the camps opposed to National Socialism. Dodd’s early objective is to keep the many US citizens being mercilessly beaten for not conforming to the Nazi salute. Dodd’s daughter Martha also adds to the intrigue by her reckless escapades with all manner of men whilst still being married in the USA. The story is fantastical and yet so horrifyingly true. And it takes a great author to unravel the intricacies of the narrative and present history to the modern reader. Larson does this magnificently. If there is a criticism, the story ends after the Night of the Long Knives in early July 1934. Thereafter we simply get a quick summary for closure.

The most interesting character in the book is clearly Martha Dodd. At 25, she is the light of the household and the numerous parties she attends. She even meets Hitler and slowly changes her political stance from being an apologist for the Nazi regime and onto a Soviet sympathizer through her NKVD lover. Someone should really write a biography of her remarkable life.

Thoroughly recommended for the history lover.

Couldn't stop listening!!

This was my first Erik Larson book, and I was not disappointed!

The story follows the U.S. Ambassador to Berlin in the years leading up to Hitler's reign of terror.

It is a uniquely American take on the rise of Naziism, which explores the profound difficulty of convincing the U.S. to see Hitler for who he truly was - dangerous and wicked.

It also presents a nuanced account of the German people during the rise of Hitler. Many dissidents were courageous, but were murdered in cold blood for speaking out against Hitler's persecution of the Jews or his senseless slaughter of the German people.

We must remember that in countries under totalitarian regimes there are always those that speak out and are killed for their bravery. I honor those that died in bravery by trying to stand up against tyranny and I know they would be glad to see the Germany of today.

Principle Skinner and Paris Hilton In Hitler’s Germany

Someone else wrote a review titled this and I couldn’t agree more. Interesting story when it talks about Germany, but Martha is frustrating. One gets the impression that Larsen focused on her because she had letters, where Bill or Mrs. Dodd did not.

Hitler from the beginning of his stronghold

Loved this book -- read it straight through. I have read a lot about Nazi Germany, memoirs and history of holocaust experiences and lives of Germans during that time. This book provided an entirely new perspective for me -- a political one. I’m always surprised when I hear about events beginning in Germany as early as 1933 and how sinister the activities were and to be allowed to continue for so long without interference -- I can now see what contributed to this, though -- so many factors including the US wanting repayment of Germany's debt to US creditors, thereby, staying close to them not wanting to offend and the fact that the American public was so wary of getting involved in the problems of Europe. It was a real eye opener for me and it was actually a story about America's first ambassador to Germany, during the 1930's, William E. Dodd....A real 5 star read.