Angela Merkel’s biography is so much more than that. Besides being able to get a glimpse at her very private life and learn more about what made her as successful as she was, this book is also a vivid, impactful, and insightful summary of our global history over the last decades. Kati Marton starts out with setting the stage of Angela Merkel’s foundation, explaining the time after ww2 and how those living in East Germany dealt with the Communist regime. With Angela’s ascend into politics, we learn more about the person herself, her strengths and ambitions. And in the last part, with Angela Merkel being elected chancellor of Germany in 2005, we receive a great view into the various aspects of her leadership during the global events that she maneuvered with patience and strength - everything from the 2008 housing crisis to the Syrien refugees, and Covid (and a lot of events in between). While the focus is on Angela Merkel’s leadership, Kati Marton managed to include a great summary of the world’s events. Throughout the book Kati Marton provides an amazingly accurate glimpse into the life of Germans, what it means to grow up in a country that constantly has to deal with their past and doesn’t shove it aside to forget it. Because of Kati’s ability to explain German’s history in such a way, she was able to outline how Angela Merkel was shaped and what that meant do how she ruled the way she did. As someone who grew up in Germany, I always had a hard time explaining what it meant to not be proud of your country and why certain customs in the US, the country I am living in now, are still so foreign to me. I was truly moved, especially by the chapters talking about East Germany and how Germany has evolved since then. If it wouldn’t have been for NetGalley, I might not have found out about this book. I’m so grateful for them and Simon & Schuster for approving me for an early access copy. This book deeply impressed me and I will definitely read it again.