How the Beasts Took Over the Zoo

Well, this week I decided to stop reading the Laurie R. King book and start reading the latest book I have by Erik Larson, In the Garden of Beasts, about an American family's experiences in Berlin during 1933-34.  As ever, Mr. Larson does a great job making historical events seem alive to us today. I've read most of his other books, and they are all very well written.

In the Garden of Beasts is a very disturbing portrait of Germany, a country that was in the mid-1930s changing rapidly into the frightening world power that it became by the dawn of WWII. William E. Dodd was an American professor who became ambassador to Germany in 1933 because no one else wanted the job. He ended up spending seven years at his post, but the first year was during a crucial time in world history.  It is this year that Erik Larson chronicles.

What's most disturbing (and interesting) about the story is how easy it was for Hitler to convince the world to go along with him and his attacks on many of his own citizens.  Each escalation of violence and curtailment of human rights was a seemingly small step, the accumulation of which was gradual enough that people who were alarmed allowed themselves to be mollified by the excuses (some of them quite threadbare) offered by the regime.

The book really gets into detail about the principal players in government during this time, both German and American, and the discussions that were going on among the diplomatic corps over what to do about Germany's actions. What should have been seen as clear cut aggressive acts and build up for war were characterized by most officials of our government as necessary actions and Germany's business.

For some reason, we were afraid of making Germany mad at us.  Even when more and more Americans were being attacked by brown shirts and other Nazi zealots, we did not warn people not to travel to Germany because we feared tarnishing Germany's reputation in the world!

There were a few people in high office who saw the handwriting on the wall, but those who did were ignored or discredited, one by Mr. Dodd himself.

An interesting aspect of this book is the side story of Dodd's family, who accompanied him on his posting; in particular, Larson focuses on Dodd's grown daughter, Martha, who enjoyed partying with the Nazis.  She was especially averse to criticizing the Germans, and reading her words you want to just shake her and say, "Wake up!"

I'm about half way through the book and it's about to turn 1934.  Since I don't know much about this era in Germany, I'm in suspense about what will happen next.  The book is riveting.  I can't stop reading it, but it's the kind of fascination you have for a terrible auto accident or a horrific murder scene. You want to turn your head, but also to look, to see it all in its grisly detail.

I'll let you know how things are going for Germany and the Dodds next week. Stay tuned!

Murder on the Light Side

This week I went for something light. I read a Murder She Wrote novel, Gin and Daggers.  These books are written by Donald Bain and are based on the Murder She Wrote series that ran for many years in the 80s and 90s.  They're what are called "cozy" mysteries, meaning they have very little violence or sex and focus on whodunit. The protagonists are often women who are more or less amateurs but somehow manage to solve the mystery anyway because of their natural talent at detection.  The books are formulaic, but satisfying in that they give their readers what they want.

Gin and Daggers was no exception. It was actually much better than I thought it would be (once I got used to the somewhat unnatural sounding dialogue).  It really helps to envision Angela Lansbury's character acting out the part, especially since I always liked that show and others like it (e.g. Diagnosis Murder, Columbo, Matlock, Monk). I recommend it to those who enjoy a fast, fluffy mystery.

This week I'm continuing the latest Laurie R. King mystery, Pirate King, featuring Sherlock Holmes' wife, Mary Russell. That series is delightful--the main character is very appealing and the plots are complex and historically accurate (for the most part).  This one deals with some malfeasance at a British film studio in the 1920s.

Maybe following my foray into genre fiction, I'll get back to some non-fiction.

Meet me here next week for my report!

Central American Solutions

The book I read this week, The Lady Matador's Hotel, by Cristina Garcia, was a very well written novel. It's about a collection of people who are all staying at a hotel in a Central American city.  They are a diverse group comprised of the lady matador, a former guerilla, a man who committed atrocities during the most recent civil war, a Korean businessman with a teenaged girlfriend who's pregnant, a lawyer who brokers baby adoptions, and a Cuban poet and his wife hoping to adopt an infant.  Each of the characters has a particular problem that he or she must solve before the end of the book.  Each does, and in a way that I found unexpected but also strangely satisfying.

This is the first book I've read by Ms. Garcia, though she's written several.  I will definitely try to read more of her work in the future.

I highly recommend The Lady Matador's Hotel.

History of Hope and Struggle

Well, I finally finished In Hope of Liberty, and I must say it's one of the best books of African American history I've read. It was filled with all kinds of information about what life was life for the many people of African descent who lived in the northern states from the beginning of European colonization up to the Civil War.  I learned so much I can't even describe most of it, but the major thing I learned was that the experience of enslaved people, both freed and not freed, was very complex and diverse across the northern colonies, territories, and states.

In addition to that, I was distressed by how difficult it was for blacks even in the north, how they struggled to gain full liberties and rights as citizens of the United States, and how they were resisted by many, many people and institutions over the centuries. I also learned that many white people helped them and were in fact quite vocal about their views on the disgrace that was slavery. There were also many brave African Americans who risked their livelihoods, their homes and even their lives to try to be fully free.

I highly recommend this book to all people who think they know something about African American history, or even American history.  The story of slavery in this country is long and complex, and cannot be told by simply stating that the north was where slaves went to be free.

The next book I read on this topic, I think, will be the one I have about the underground railroad.  I think I'm ready to truly understand that phenomenon after reading In Hope of Liberty.

Next week I start a novel by Cristina Garcia, The Lady Matador's Hotel.