I always look forward to a new Erik Larson book. The Devil in the White City and Thunderstruck were both incredible. His latest, In the Garden of Beasts, continues the tradition of brilliant history told like a story.

The book follows the lives of two people in the early years of Hitler’s reign. The two people are father and daughter, but couldn’t be more unalike. The father, a history professor from the American midwest who is appointed ambassador to Germany in 1933, is reserved, studious, and basically just wants to finish his volumes on the history of the South. The daughter is flirtatious, a lover of danger, and eager to embrace all that life can offer.

And here’s the thing — it is all a true story. Reading how the American Ambassador to Germany navigated the “garden of beasts” that was Berlin in the age of Hitler is fascinating. His inability to stop persecution, speak out for Jews, or resolve trade matters is telling. There was a sense that Hitler was just a flash in the pan and calmer heads would soon take over, but just the opposite happened…it got worse and worse. I love how Larson tracks that downward spiral.

Meanwhile, the social scene in Berlin was as glamorous and cosmopolitan as any city in the world. The daughter flirts with Nazi’s, dates Soviet spies, and is even suggested as a good mate for Hitler himself. Her naiveté of Nazi brutality is slowly peeled back and she becomes a communist (later she flees America in the 1950’s during the McCarthy years).

A brilliant book that I couldn’t put down. Loved it. So will you.