Erik Larson has that rare gift of making non fiction read like fiction. His latest book is set mainly in Berlin during 1933 and 1934, charting the ascent of Hitler and the transformation of Germany as seen through the eyes of Ambassador William E Dodd, and his daughter Martha.
Dodd - a history professor - not a natural choice for a diplomatic post – is sent to Germany. The whole family transplants to a vibrant Berlin. On the surface the capital is booming, but scratch beneath and slowly, with each bill of ‘co-ordination’ passed, each atrocity ignored, each show trial, each protestation of peace-while preparing for war, the horror of Hitler’s Germany emerges and Dodd like a political Cassandra attempts to warn his fellow Americans but they don’t want to listen. A riveting read.
1 comment:
The events of this period are told in much greater detail in Richard Evans' masterpiece "The Third Reich in Power". However, this book, which reads like a novel, is told from the perspective of an American family. With the insights of the American ambassador it provides another dimension and it helps to explain how the people of Germany and the rest of the world allowed the Nazi beast to be created.
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