A valuable listen in these times

I've respected Merkel and envied Germany's stability during her years as Chancellor. Especially compared to the political story in Briatin during that time. Memoirs and autobiographies are inevitably biased, but Merkel has produced a great account of her life and times up to giving up her Chancellorship. This has elevated my opinion of her; deeply flawed since of course she's human like the rest of us, but ... well, listen for yourself. This is a good book, well narrated, and with lessons for real life.

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sense of duty! and the story behind.

enjoyed it very much. is sense of duty too much naivity in the current days ? I think she is one of a kind and I also think the world would be a better place with more women and particularly politicians like that.

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Brilliant.

Best book on geopolitics I’ve read. Highly recommended.
She’s a fabulous person and great writer

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A woman to admire and respect

As previously reviews have said, she is someone who was well qualified to lead the government in a country that was split and then reunified, which is such a rare event. I like and respect her but am so glad I listened on Audible as there is such a lot of detail to take in andI Juliet Stevenson was the perfect choice to narrate, she did an excellent job. Really glad I listened and wish there were more highly qualified and intelligent people leading the world today.

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Great overview of the events in this great chancellorsjip.

Enjoyed the parts about her infancy in the GDR. Unfortunately the book then becomes less of a narrative and more of a list of accomplishments speckled with anecdotes, albeit interesting ones. The last few chapters related to covid, Russia and Trump kept me interested till the end.

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Inspiring

Admiration and respect is what this book left me feeling, I think her life’s in east Germany was a training ground for her later role as chancellor, it allowed her to see both sides clearly, before and after freedom, and her scientific background helped her to separate facts from preconceived beliefs, which is uncommon in politics. Her way of expressing her experiences with other countries leaders is honest and respectful, a balance so difficult to obtain. I throughly recommend it.

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Disappointing and almost unnecessary

The book is more of a lesson on history of Europe and there are better books for that. Most of the book resembles press reports or briefings and actually there’s little in terms of personal opinion or feelings of Merkel on the subject of key geopolitical issues. Nothing of substance really on decisions that proved catastrophic in hindsight like mass immigration or policy towards Russia. Nothing on personal opinion or interactions with other political figures as if she were avoiding the risk of offending anyone.
The only interesting part is her childhood and university years which indeed show a previously unseen side of Merkel.

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Disappointing

I long admired Merkel as a politician and her leadership style. As such I eagerly awaited her biography. I was disappointed.

As a historical record, documenting a significant period in German, European and world history, this is a comprehensive and important book. At times, the level of detail seems excessive.

However, one learns very little new about the character, the personal, her feelings.

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Angela’s Storey

Bland ! Not enough detail of the key issues during her time in office. No humour - boring.

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