hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

deb54's review


Very dense material 

agiovan's review

4.0

Politically dense at times (for a science person lol) but overall really well-written and inspiring.

lottie1803's review

4.5
informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

leanne_banks's review

4.0
informative inspiring medium-paced

dsollick's review

3.75
fast-paced

brizreader's review

4.0

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.
jaccachang's profile picture

jaccachang's review

4.0
informative reflective medium-paced

katymvt's review

1.75
informative medium-paced

gray_05_sea's review

2.5

The biography was too laudatory and too shallow. It was a fan biography and not a deep analysis.