"In The Garden of Beasts"

During my week away I got my hands on a book I cannot seem to put down. I recently picked up Erik Larson's novel "In the Garden of Beasts". Larson approaches "In the Garden of Beasts" as he did with his other bestseller, "The Devil in the White City", by taking historical documents and events and shapes them into a story that reads like fantastic fiction. "In the Garden of Beasts" follows William E. Dodd, a University of Chicago professor, to Berlin in 1933 as he is tapped by Franklin D. Roosevelt to be an American Ambassador. The news had just begun to spill over the Atlantic Ocean about what the newly appointed Chancellor of Germany was doing to the Jewish people. The reign of terror by Adolf Hilter was just starting to gain momentum. This is a fascinating novel and Larson's strong ability to paint such a wonderful landscape that you feel as if you are transported back in time to such a pinnacle point in history. This book reads fast and you find yourself wanting to know more. There is still a month left of summer. If you want to add another book to your summer list, I would say throw this on top of the pile.