In the Garden of Beasts

Summary

Larson recounts the career of the American Ambassador to Germany, William Dodd, particularly the years 1933 to 1937 when he and his family, including his daughter Martha, lived in Berlin. The Ambassador, who earned his Ph.D. in Leipzig 40 years earlier, initially hoped that Germany's new Nazi government would grow more moderate, including in its persecution of the Jews. Martha, separated from her husband and in the process of divorce, became caught up in the glamor and excitement of Berlin's social scene and had a series of liaisons, possibly sexual, including among them Gestapo head Rudolf Diels and Soviet attaché and secret agent Boris Vinogradov. She defended the regime to her skeptical friends. Within months of their arrival, the family became aware of the evils of Nazi rule. Dodd periodically protested against it. President Roosevelt was pleased with his performance while most State Department officials, suspicious of his lack of background in their area of expertise, as well as his inability to finance embassy activities from his own wealth, found him undiplomatic and idiosyncratic.

The title of the work is a loose translation of Tiergarten, a zoo and park in the center of Berlin.

The other historical figures who appear in Larson's account include:

Awards and honors

Film adaptation

A film adaptation of the book is planned under likely direction of Academy Award winner Michel Hazanavicius, with Tom Hanks as William Dodd and possibly with Natalie Portman as his daughter Martha.