Library News & Book Review
by Margaret Woodruff, Library Director, and Georgia Edwards,
August 11, 2011, page 6.....

News Flash #1: Library closing early on August 18
In order to participate in a training program for our new computer system, the library staff will close the library at noon on Thursday, August 18. We apologize for any inconvenience.

News Flash #2: We need your e-mail addresses!
To complete our upgrade to above-mentioned computer system, the library needs to gather patron e-mails. This information will allow us to communicate with you regarding overdue and held materials. In addition, it will allow patrons to place holds, renew books and maintain reading logs, as desired. Please call the library (425-3864) or e-mail (charlottelibraryvt@gmail.com) with your e-mail address at your earliest convenience.

Calling all kindergarteners: Library Card Party, August 29 at 5:30 p.m.
Drop by to pick up your very own library card, check out some new books, meet some new friends and enjoy some new treats!

August Adventures at the Charlotte Library:
August 3 at 2 p.m.: Movie Mystery: What will it be? Come and see!
August 17 at 10-11:30 a.m.: Last meeting for the summer of the Charlotte Community Playgroup.
August 22 at 5:30 p.m.: Teen Summer Beauty Essentials from Near and Far.
August 25 at 10:30 a.m.: Welcome Home Party: Stop by to collect your Summer Reading rewards.
August 29 at 5:30 p.m.: Library Card Party for in-coming kindergarteners and parents.

NEW BOOKS
Adult Fiction
Millennium People by J.G. Ballard
Death in the Summer by Benjamin Black
Ghost Story by Jim Butcher
Gamble by Felix Francis
Red Queen by Phillipa Gregory
Love of My Youth by Mary Gordon
Flowering Judas by Jame Haddam
The Angel of Blythe Hall by Darci Hannah
Alice Bliss by Laura Harrington
Deadlock by Iris Johansen
Turn of Mind by Alice Laplante
Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Dominion by Eric
Lustbader
Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin (#5 in
Song of Fire & Ice series)
Original Sin: A Sally Sin Adventure by Beth
McMullen
A Good Hard Look by Ann Napolitano
Devil Colony by James Rollins
The Return of Captain John Emmett by Elizabeth
Speller
Kindred Spirits by Sarah Strohmeyer
French Lessons: A Novel by Ellen Sussman
Monument to Murder by Margaret Truman
Clara and Mr. Tiffany: A Novel by Susan Vreeland
The Homecoming of Samuel Lake: A Novel by
Jenny Wingfield

Adult Nonfiction
Robert Redford: The Biography by Michael
Feeney Callan
Blood and Smoke: A True Tale of Mystery,
Mayhem, and the Birth of the Indy 500 by
Charles Leerhsen
Sex on the Moon: The Amazing Story Behind the
Most Audacious Heist in History by Ben
Mezrich
Reckless Endangerment: How Outsized Ambition,
Greed and Corruption Led to Economic
Armageddon by Gretchen Morgenson
Colonel Roosevelt by Edmund Morris
Will Eisner: A Dreamer’s Life in Comics by
Michael Schumacher
Fab: An Intimate Life of Paul McCartney by
Howard Sounes
-----------------
Book Review by Georgia Edwards
In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin, by Erik Larson


Erik Larson’s latest work, In the Garden of Beasts, is yet another success from the best-selling author of The Devil in the White City and Thunderstruck. Known for his “fictional nonfiction” writing style, Larson’s latest book is the true story of William Dodd, ambassador to Germany during Hitler’s first year in power. In 1933, newly elected President Franklin Roosevelt nominated Dodd, a university professor, diplomatic neophyte and frugal conservative, to the position of German ambassador. Obtaining his position by default, Dodd had no experience in negotiation or foreign social circles when he and his family arrived in Berlin. He assumed his post with the naive conviction that he could be a moderating influence on Hitler. His flighty 25-year-old daughter, Martha, also plays a large part in the book. She took the opposite position from her father and became infatuated with the decadence of Berlin, its controversial men and the extremist Nazi government of Germany. Toward the end of his first year as ambassador, Dodd became aware of increasing Jewish civil rights violations and the rising consolidation of Nazi power in one man, Adolph Hitler. His observations and concerns were communicated several times to the Roosevelt administration, which remained uninvolved. Unfortunately, as history demonstrated, Dodd’s warnings would become tragically accurate.
Larson’s work is a carefully researched account of human forces that led to dire consequences following Hitler’s first year as Chancellor of Germany. The book provides suspense equal to any fictional thriller as the story moves to its culmination. The author skillfully handles the politics and diplomacy of the time, always keeping the content palatable for the reader. He has thoroughly and thoughtfully studied his subjects. Dodd is depicted as a tepid, naive and perhaps weak man, but also a well-meaning one. Martha’s journey from selfish socialite to socially conscious woman is also ably explored.
In the Garden of Beasts is not only a compelling read, but a historically important one. While it is the story of William Dodd’s tenure as ambassador to Germany, it is also the story of humanity turning a blind eye while a psychopath took over a country.