Non-Fiction Summer Reading

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin
by Erik Larson

If you prefer your summer reading to include some non-fiction try Larson’s In the Garden of Beasts. While not a “light” subject to be sure, Larson’s narrative keeps the book moving and readers will be drawn into this true story of an American father and his family, including his promiscuous grown daughter, living in Berlin as the Nazi’s took power. Giving readers a more personal account of what it was like to live in one of the worst regimes in history, it will help us to understand how terrible things can happen and that the study of history relates to people, not just dates and facts.  Written with the help of many first and second person accounts this book presents a detailed picture of what it was like as an outsider in Nazi Germany. 
This book was also selected for the Friends of the UNCG Libraries discussion group. Dr. Karl Schelunes, history, will lead the discussion on March 18, 2013. For details, see the FOL blog.

if you like it, try:

The devil in the white city: murder, magic, and madness at the fair that changed America 

by Erik Larson

Blood done sign my name: a true story by Timothy Tyson

Under the Banner of heaven: a story of violent faith by Jon Krakauer