India, Dec. 26 -- The middling Russell Crowe film Nuremberg, released some months ago, is a reminder of the West's obsession with World War II. 80 years on, filmmakers, writers continue to look for insights into twentieth century's defining event, their storytelling made more urgent by another ongoing war in Europe and the genocide in Gaza.

Erik Larson's In the Garden of Beasts is an account of Hitler's ascent to power as witnessed by a reluctant American ambassador and his vivacious daughter. It is 1933; Adolf Hitler is the new chancellor of Germany and Berlin is a swinging European capital. Amid opposition from colleagues, Roosevelt picks a mild-mannered gripey academic William Dodd to be his new ambassador. His main task is to get Hit...