Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Waiting on Wednesday (4-6-11)


Happy Wednesday everyone! Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It's a way to highlight new releases and books that you just can't wait to read! This week, my pick is In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson (expected release date: May 10, 2011).


Synopsis (from borders.com): The time is 1933, the place, Berlin, when William E. Dodd becomes America’s first ambassador to Hitler’s 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.

I have read Larson's other book, The Devil in the White City and couldn't believe at how it read like a work of fiction! I definitely cannot wait for this book to come out!

So, what are you waiting on this Wednesday?

6 comments:

  1. Wow this sounds really good! So then this is historical fiction or non-fiction? I am originally a fan of non-fiction but have slowly been coming over to the historical fiction side as well :) In any case, this book has a very interesting plot setting, good choice!

    http://lcsadventuresinlibraryland.blogspot.com/

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  2. Would love to read this one.Enjoy your read.

    Stop and see mine and my giveaways.

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  3. I'm excited about this book. My book group read DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY and it went over very well. Nice choice!

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  4. Whoa! That sounds amazing. My grandmother grew up in this Germany and it would be interesting to see a historical account of it.

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  5. OMG! I just scheduled my reviews for the week and what a coincidence... I'm reviewing Erik Larson's The Devil and the White City. I totally agree that he has a way of making nonfiction read like fiction. I haven't read any of his other books, but I will keep an eye out for this one. Thanks for sharing :)

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  6. Alexis - can't wait to see your review! I really did enjoy his first book, and I can't wait for the second one to come out! Hope you are having a great week!

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