The Chancellor

This might be my favorite political biography I've read. Merkel is fascinating and the way the author told her story was fantastic.

I learned a great deal in this book, and I appreciated that I felt like I had Angela next to me for days. One of my colleagues has suggested that the book dramatically minimizes her responsibility for Putin's recent aggression in Ukraine. I agree that the book is quite positive about her overall. (And it concludes with 2019.). I'll be looking at some of the reviews next. But I thoroughly enjoyed it, and understand this leader and her worldview much better now. I already knew that I liked her, but now that respect and affection is deeper still.

Several years ago, I read a New Yorker profile of Angela Merkel that made me cry. This book did not make me cry. But it was still quite good. I loved learning about Merkel's upbringing, her values, and her character. I went into this loving Merkel with 10/10 hearts. I had moments when the book felt hagiographic and I was like ehhhh. Or when they stressed just how very Christian/Lutheran Merkel is, and how her favorite presidents are Reagan and Bush Senior, and I was like ehhhh. And one of my 10 hearts dimmed. But, who am I kidding. I love this lady.

Dumping some stuff just cuz it's interesting:
- The remarkable time when Merkel made a young immigrant girl cry. There's something so eminently German about this exchange: just brutal honesty. But also - the compassionate hug? And this apparently got Merkel's Lutheran heart rolling re: her remarkable decision to throw the gates open to refugees.
- The chapter on the AfD's rise agitated me greatly.
- Her awkwardness hehehe. The hand-vee!!
- Trevor Noah's bit on her leaving.