Erik Larson; New York Times bestselling author of Devil in the White City; delivers 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 Nazi 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 readable 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.
#25838 in Books 2010-09-28 2010-09-28Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x 1.00 x 6.00l; 1.05 #File Name: 030681918X400 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Monroe was a true leaderBy F. MickFifth president. Two terms. Served as an officer in the Revolutionary War under Washington. Became governor of Virginia and ambassador to France; Spain and England. Negotiated the Louisiana Purchase between the United States and Napoleon; thereby doubling the size of our country. Secretary of state under Madison and became acting secretary of war during the War of 1812 against the British. As president; he worked closely with his secretary of state John Quincy Adams and general Andrew Jackson to wrest control of Florida and the Oregon Territory from Spain; thereby establishing territorial security for the nation. His most lasting achievement was delivering the Monroe Doctrine during his seventh annual address to congress; which declared the entire Western Hemisphere off limits to future colonization by European countries.As presidential biographies go; I found "The Last Founding Father" by Unger to be well written and easy to read; complete with maps. It was a bit skimpy in parts; but I feel it hit all the main points.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Monroe at the "High Bar"By VA DuckMr. Unger sets the bar high for his subject when on the Acknowledgments and Dedication page he describes; "...James Monroe as the most significant Founding Father after George Washington".He goes on to produce a very thorough ~400-page biography of our fifth President - full of things we may have known; but now detailed and well retold; as well as many things we (the average reader) did not know about the man; his remarkable career and his family. The author's observation (page 2) that; "Washington's three successors - John Adams; Thomas Jefferson; and James Madison - were mere caretaker presidents who left the nation bankrupt; its people deeply divided; its borders under attack; its capital city in ashes" - rouses the reader's interest; establishes the tone and encourages the read to come.What does come - despite the rhetoric - is delivered in a very even-handed and professional manner. I did not find the unfairness or bias detected by other reviewers here. The style and conclusions at times can be zealous; but certainly not unsupported; or implausible. By example; Mr. Unger offers a full spectrum of possibilities in his explanation for the rift between Monroe and his colleagues Madison and Jefferson (page 199) through the presentation of a number of historian's conclusions. In the end Mr. Unger suggests human foibles and pride as the cause for the breakup.Despite the author's high-admiration for his subject - the reader is often left wondering whether or not pure happenstance is as much a factor as heroics in many of the enormous events of the era. Was the Louisiana Purchase the legitimate "catch" of Mr. Monroe; or Mr. Livingston... or would Napoleon Bonapart have virtually "handed" the prize to any American envoy that President Jefferson might have sent? Mr. Unger suggests Mr. Monroe - but does not convince. Other matters of character or judgement are left quietly unexplored. For example; the damning Reynolds Dossier - a packet of proofs that ultimately destroy Alexander Hamilton are left for safekeeping with Mr. Jefferson; by Mr. Monroe. The dossier is subsequently shown to the press. Mr. Unger clearly believes Monroe above duplicity; but leaves the issue unexplored; except of course for the obvious deception of Mr. Jefferson. Could Mr. Monroe really have been "above" politics even at that most partisan of times?In the end; a number of events akin to the examples above make the reader feel that the author has set the bar too high for his subject; but no-matter Mr. Unger's research and skill with the written word make the book a very worthwhile and enlightening read.-----kindle edition-----Generally well done with the expected hyperlinks. There are numerous portraits and maps that are worthwhile to the read. The maps especially are somewhat tortured by the resolution of the kindle. The book does have hardbound page number locations which are displayed (page bottom) from the menu toolbars display (tap page top). The index - which can be a very valuable tool in a biography - is worthless. It contains neither page number nor hyperlink - merely a shell of what should have been; despite the full price extracted for an e-book by the publisher; Da Capo Press. e-Book publication quality; ★★☆☆☆.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Thorough and fascinatingBy Arnon AvinerExellently written; based on thorough; sound research and an abundance of source material without loosing sight of the grander intrnational historic setting. The author has optimally combined the personal aspects; reflecting on Monroe's character; the personal material circumstances and his family life with the multidude of problems besetting a young; vulnerable nation experimenting with democracy; a nation still very much influenced by its colonial past.
