Despite it's lower average rating on Goodreads, I found Larson's In the Garden of Beasts more interesting, compelling and informative than Devil in the White City. For one, the flow of the story wasn't broken up by two entirely separate narratives. For another, In the Garden of Beasts is a novel take on an absorbing historical period - the march to power by the Nazi's in 1930's Germany. His account carries more than one lesson for those interested in international affairs, and provides a useful window into the daily life of people who drove these events.

Far too often when we read about history, we immortalize or make caricatures of the central players. Larson's exploration of key observers to the events that gave rise to Nazi control of Germany humanizes these players - revealing them as relatable, flawed and real human beings.

And that's what makes this account all the more terrifying. History can repeat itself. The events that led to World War II and the holocaust were driven by evil, but not by exceptional evil outside the capability of people in any given time period. Only through accounts like this can we learn some of the important lessons that may help us prevent similar tragedies in the future.

The only thing that kept this from being a 5 out of 5 was that his subject was limited. The reader is left with a yearning for more. That's not fault of Larson's, just a limitation of the subject.