The conflict of perspectives between two sides in the same story makes the book a very interesting read and one that I would absolutely recommend. Erik Larson’s In the Garden of the Beasts. The story is centered around the experiences of the Dodd family, as the patriarch William Dodd is tasked with becoming the American Ambassador to a Germany in 1933 that was under the control of Hitler. The beautiful, peaceful place that the Dodd’s see when the first arrive in Berlin taking a sudden downturn when the true horrors of the regime begin to come to light, coupled with the slow revel of the more and more horrific crimes that are committed to innocent people allows for the message and meaning behind the story to fully impact the reader.
Opening Line: “It was common for American expatriates to visit the U.S. consulate in Berlin, but not in the condition exhibited by the man who arrived there on Thursday, June 29th, 1933.”
Favorite Line: “What they most want to do, however, is make Germany the most capable instrument of war that has ever existed”