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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Dieses Buch ist ein Zeitdokument. Hier uns da werden persönliche Anekdoten, Eindrücke und Gefühle eingebunden. Aber es zeigt auch, welche Geschichte(n) erzählt wird/werden. Bzw. welche nicht. Der Rechtsruck findet kaum Raum. Es wird auch auch kaum über andere politische Perspektiven gesprochen. Es ist eher eine Herleitung und z.T. auch Rechtfertigung für das eigene politische Handeln.
informative
slow-paced
Like most political memoirs, could have done with a braver editor.
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Angela Merkel is one of the few politicians that I have deep respect for. The first female Chancellor of Germany. The first leader from the erstwhile East Germany to occupy that office. And a scientist too. Over the sixteen years that she was in office, every time her name popped up, it was in connection with something I admired, and that was even before I came to know that she was the chair of the first COP summit.
Naturally, I wanted to read her memoirs as soon as it was out, but I was also daunted by the sheer size of the volume. However deep my respect for Merkel, would she be able to hold my attention through so many words? I was not disappointed.
It was fascinating reading her account of her childhood in East Germany as the daughter of a Christian pastor in an atheist state. You saw history through the eyes of a person who walked the streets of (what would become) West Berlin the day before the Wall came up, and her elation when the Wall was later brought down. I always wondered how a scientist could make the transition to politics as she had done, but her memoirs made both careers seem totally natural and logical.
The tone of the book changed once she assumed political office. After that, the book was less about her life and more about what drove her to take some of the decisions she took, and of the political manoeuvring that often went on behind the scenes. It did occasionally get a bit tedious, but the candor with which she admitted to her mistakes added a layer of vulnerability and honesty that I liked.
I often worry that if I come to know more about people I admire, I might stumble onto something that makes me respect them less. But this was a rare case where it did not happen. Perhaps the only issue on which I disagree with her was in the stand she took after the Hamas attack on Israeli citizens in October 2023- while that act cannot be condoned or explained away, it is dishonest to dwell on it without also condemning the response of Israel in similar terms.
The book could have been much shorter- not everybody wants to read about everything in such great detail- but certainly a book worth reading.
" What does freedom mean to me? That question has preoccupied me throughout my whole life on both a personal and a political level. Freedom. To me it means finding out where my own values lie and going through those boundaries. Freedom. To me it means being able to start a new chapter in my life. Freedom needs the courage to engage with things unknown, but more than anything else it needs honesty towards other people and more importantly towards oneself. "
This is a book about that freedom
Naturally, I wanted to read her memoirs as soon as it was out, but I was also daunted by the sheer size of the volume. However deep my respect for Merkel, would she be able to hold my attention through so many words? I was not disappointed.
It was fascinating reading her account of her childhood in East Germany as the daughter of a Christian pastor in an atheist state. You saw history through the eyes of a person who walked the streets of (what would become) West Berlin the day before the Wall came up, and her elation when the Wall was later brought down. I always wondered how a scientist could make the transition to politics as she had done, but her memoirs made both careers seem totally natural and logical.
The tone of the book changed once she assumed political office. After that, the book was less about her life and more about what drove her to take some of the decisions she took, and of the political manoeuvring that often went on behind the scenes. It did occasionally get a bit tedious, but the candor with which she admitted to her mistakes added a layer of vulnerability and honesty that I liked.
I often worry that if I come to know more about people I admire, I might stumble onto something that makes me respect them less. But this was a rare case where it did not happen. Perhaps the only issue on which I disagree with her was in the stand she took after the Hamas attack on Israeli citizens in October 2023- while that act cannot be condoned or explained away, it is dishonest to dwell on it without also condemning the response of Israel in similar terms.
The book could have been much shorter- not everybody wants to read about everything in such great detail- but certainly a book worth reading.
" What does freedom mean to me? That question has preoccupied me throughout my whole life on both a personal and a political level. Freedom. To me it means finding out where my own values lie and going through those boundaries. Freedom. To me it means being able to start a new chapter in my life. Freedom needs the courage to engage with things unknown, but more than anything else it needs honesty towards other people and more importantly towards oneself. "
This is a book about that freedom
A chronicle of her meetings while chancellor was not interesting. It was quite the opposite.
informative
inspiring
reflective
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Merkel's memoir starts strong with fascinating insights into GDR life and her unlikely political rise. The middle sections illuminate the logic behind her major decisions, from refugee policy to eurozone bailouts. But somewhere along the way, Germany's former Iron Lady starts sounding oddly defensive, as if she's arguing with her critics rather than owning her controversial choices. Still, it's a solid peek behind the curtain of European power politics.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
"Because freedom is for everyone."
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
The rumors are true: this book is dry as hell. It felt like the title of her PhD thesis took up more words than information on either of her marriages. Much recounting and a lot of doubling down. The beginning, which recounts her family life in the GDR, is the best part of the book.
Still, I couldn’t help but be inspired. At 35, to go from dictatorship to democracy, scientist to politician, to then take down the old boys’ club of the West German CDU to become head of the party and eventually the longest-serving chancellor of Germany is remarkable. I admired her decision to take in millions of refugees in 2015, and I admire the moral clarity in her explanation of the decision ten years later. It took me six months to finish this book, but it was worth it. A timely reminder of why we should fight for our democracy every day.
Still, I couldn’t help but be inspired. At 35, to go from dictatorship to democracy, scientist to politician, to then take down the old boys’ club of the West German CDU to become head of the party and eventually the longest-serving chancellor of Germany is remarkable. I admired her decision to take in millions of refugees in 2015, and I admire the moral clarity in her explanation of the decision ten years later. It took me six months to finish this book, but it was worth it. A timely reminder of why we should fight for our democracy every day.