08/30/2021
Journalist Marton (True Believer) largely succeeds in this meticulous and even-handed biography at her stated goal of creating “a human rather than a political portrait” of German chancellor Angela Merkel. Marton ascribes Merkel’s “supreme public reticence” to her youth as a Lutheran pastor’s daughter in “atheist East Germany,” where her career as a physicist was “a safe outlet for her inquiring mind.” After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Merkel made a swift ascent through the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) to become “the most prominent East German” in Chancellor Helmut Kohl’s Cabinet. When Kohl was tainted by a financial scandal in 1998, Merkel was one of the first members of the CDU to publicly denounce him, and assumed leadership of the party in 2000. Marton credits Merkel with being a “forceful listener” who is “hungry to understand how things work and what motivates people,” but also notes that her “sluggish” and “methodical” response prolonged the 2008 financial crisis. Incisive analyses of Merkel’s relationships with other world leaders, including Vladimir Putin, shed light on her geopolitical views and tactics, though her private motivations remain somewhat mysterious. Still, this is a lucid and accessible introduction to “the most powerful woman in the world.” Agent: Amanda Urban, ICM Partners. (Oct.)
10/01/2021
Biographer Marton (True Believer: Stalin's Last American Spy) looks at the life and career of the famously private German chancellor Angela Merkel. Raised in authoritarian East Germany, Merkel studied as a physicist before turning to politics. Marton argues that Merkel's training as a scientist, as well as her devout Lutheran faith, have greatly contributed to the steady, precise nature that has marked her success as a politician. The majority of the biography is focused on Merkel's political career as Marton evaluates her strengths and limitations as a politician. The author effectively tells how Merkel is often acutely reminded of Germany's past and strives to ensure that Germany is a moral leader, resists authoritarianism, and remains a part of the European Union and a key member of the global community. The major events of Merkel's chancellorship are explored, particularly Russia's takeover of Crimea, the Syrian refugee crisis, the 2008 financial collapse and subsequent destabilization of the European Union, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, Marton looks at Merkel's relationships with prominent world leaders such as Vladimir Putin, Barack Obama, Emmanuel Macron, and Donald Trump. VERDICT A fascinating look at a highly influential leader. Recommended for readers interested in world politics.—Rebekah Kati, Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
★ 2021-08-13
A glowing biography of the famously cautious yet effective chancellor of Germany.
Marton, A Hungarian-born American foreign correspondent, clearly admires Angela Merkel (b. 1954), who has served as chancellor since 2005 and was hailed in a 2020 Pew Research poll as “the world’s most trusted leader, regardless of gender.” The author marvels especially at Merkel’s early years in East Germany, where her pastor father joined the call to serve the socialist East by moving his family from Hamburg to the rural hamlet of Templin, in the heart of the Soviet-occupied Democratic Republic of Germany. Indoctrinated in school, sealed off from the West by border walls in 1961, and spied on by her neighbors for the state security police, Merkel toed the line and kept a low profile while excelling at physics, first in Leipzig and then in East Berlin. With the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, she embraced a new profession: politics. When the East German DA party merged with the West German CDU, she became the mentee of the powerful Helmut Kohl. Working her way steadily up the ranks, Merkel ultimately assumed leadership of her party after Kohl left office. Unglamorous by choice, workmanlike to a fault, and used to sidestepping male egos, Merkel proved herself to be a deft civil servant and leader, especially in opening Germany’s borders to refugees in 2015 despite the backlash. “Her political rise,” writes Marton, “would be fueled by self-control, strategic thinking, and, when necessary, passive aggression.” Merkel’s determination to bolster Europe’s cohesion with French president Emmanuel Macron’s help and to strengthen ties between Europe and the U.S., despite opposition and/or apathy from the Trump administration, form her lasting legacy. Though the text is somewhat short on criticism, Marton clearly knows her subject and writes smoothly, pulling back the curtain on an enigmatic, significant world figure.
A human portrait more than a political one that amply captures the essence of a moral, determined leader.
Captivating.”
—Michelle Goldberg, The New York Times
“Terrific.”
—Fareed Zakaria, CNN
“A masterpiece of discernment and insight.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“Kati Marton has come closer than anyone to unlocking the mystery of Angela Merkel, the most important politician of the twenty-first century.”
—George Packer, National Book Award-winning author of Last Best Hope
“A riveting story, adroitly told, full of engrossing anecdotes and rich details.”
—Los Angeles Review of Books
“Kati Marton’s cogent and penetrating portrait of Angela Merkel will change our understanding of the most powerful woman in the world. With a rare grasp of the subtleties of global politics, Marton explains how an unassuming science PhD from East Germany emerged to save the Western Alliance. It’s a thrilling tale, skillfully told.”
—Jonathan Alter, New York Times bestselling author of His Very Best
“To understand how we can protect democracy in an era of populist and authoritarian upheaval, we need to understand Angela Merkel. Kati Marton has produced an intimate, insightful portrait of an extraordinarily private leader, who, in her quiet and determined way, made Germany the economic and moral leader of Europe.”
—Walter Isaacson, New York Times bestselling author of The Code Breaker
“Elegant, concise and accessible.”
—Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books
“Impressively researched... with deftly drawn depictions of Ms. Merkel’s early years, personality and daily working life, depictions made all the more interesting by how little most of the public knows about what makes Ms. Merkel tick.”
—The Wall Street Journal
“The private Merkel also makes an appearance in this biography, with accounts of her marriages, her love of music and nature, and her sense of humor on full display. After finishing the book, readers will likely feel that the description of Merkel as “elusive” no longer serves... [I]t takes a writer of Marton’s caliber to reveal what has been in front of us the whole time.”
—Christian Science Monitor
“A compelling and memorable portrait. Angela Merkel’s life is a testament to the power of commitment, diligence, and the possibilities of politics. The Chancellor tells that story with insight and grace.”
—Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of His Truth is Marching On
“It’s instructive to spend time in Merkel’s competent and humane company... [Marton] has doggedly retraced Merkel’s trail, and the story she brings is a good one.”
—Dwight Garner, The New York Times
“With her signature superpowers of rigorous research and unparalleled empathy, Marton brings us deep into the private sphere of Angela Merkel.”
—Eliza Griswold, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Amity and Prosperity
“This smart, readable biography chronicles Merkel’s remarkable odyssey... knit from a thousand threads of details revealed over the years.”
—Susan Page, USA Today (3 1/2 out of 4 stars)
“This is the best English-language biography of her rise from a tough and traditional family, through her career as a physical chemist in communist East Germany, to her current renown.”
—Foreign Affairs
“A fascinating picture of a powerful woman whose repeated denigration of power only concealed how wedded she was to power as a means of getting her own way.”
— London Times Literary Review
“Marton... [has] obtained a remarkable degree of access to the chancellor’s inner circle... Merkel emerges as a sympathetic and down-to earth figure... [and] winningly independent-minded.”
—The Times (UK)
“We need many more Angela Merkels in the world; aspiring leaders should start with this book.”
—Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO, New America
“Definitive and brilliantly written, The Chancellor reads like a mystery, as if we didn’t yet know the outcome. This is the biography for history!”
—Volker Schlöndorff, Academy Award-winning director of The Tin Drum
“Fascinating. For anyone who thinks they know a lot about Angela Merkel; for anyone who knows nothing about Angela Merkel—pick up this book and do not put it down until the very last page.”
—New York Journal of Books
“Marton’s beautifully written, balanced and insightful biography should be enjoyed by anyone interested in global politics or a fascinating life story.”
—BookPage (starred review)
