It's a great read--well researched, well written, and compelling as to how genocide gets enabled and normalized. ( )

I am always interested in how something like the rise of the Nazis happened. This gives a good understanding, viewpoints of outsiders who were given a priviliged view of this horrible transformation. He does a pretty good job of keeping the characters identified. Very interesting book. ( )

My Review: I can't remember ever reading a book that I took such an interest in that was factually based on history. Everything I knew prior to reading this book on Hitler I got from history text books and what I was taught in school. I was amazed by how much I did not know. I came out of this asking questions, which, I believe, is essential to great literature. When your mind is further engaged to want to do further research on what you've just read, then the author has truly done their job. Of course not every book is written with that outcome in mind but this book definitely got me wanting to learn more about WWII. So much so I will be purchasing and reading the book on the History of the Third Reich written by Shirer, one of the main people in this book, Hitlerland.

If you want to get a first hand feel of what it was like to be an American living in or just visiting Germany just before Adolf Hitler came into power, this is the book to read. Not only that, but this takes the journal/diary entries of several journalists who were able to interview Hitler himself! It's mind-boggling to understand their mindset as they were sent to Germany with the express purpose of informing those in the United States is this man was truly a threat. Many either felt he was too insane to pay any real attention to while the few who had a bad feeling were told not to "over exaggerate" their isolated feelings so as not to incite an unnecessary fear here in the U.S.!

Read the rest of my review here. ( )

A companion to Erik Larson's In the Garden of Beasts. Author tells the story of pre-war Nazi Germany through the eyes of American journalists and others who are residing in Germany. ( )

A very detailed and thorough look at an interesting slice of history. There were quite a few times when things became repetitive with references to quotes, people, and events being mentioned as if the author forgot he included them earlier. For an excellent look at this period in history I would recommend Eric Larson's "In the Garden of Beasts" - a much better work. ( )