Book #94: In the Garden of Beasts

Title: In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
Author: Erik Larson

This book is part a history of Nazi Germany in the 1930s and part a history of Martha Dodd's sexual exploits while living in Berlin with her father, the American ambassador to Germany. If I were a good and virtuous person, I would probably be more interested in the history of Nazi Germany, but in truth, the chapters about Martha's love life were much more interesting. Larson does a great job showing Ambassador Dodd's transformation from U of Chicago professor to whistleblower (even though no one in America seemed to be listening) and in keeping the story moving by giving us a little bit of Martha's love life every few chapters. I'll be honest and say that I was sometimes confused by which Nazi was which, but I was never confused by which boyfriend was which.