17 Jun 2014

ANGELA MERKEL: THE CHANCELLOR AND HER WORLD.

ANGELA MERKEL: THE CHANCELLOR AND HER WORLD by STEFAN KORNELIUS.

SOURCE: Received for review from Publishers, Alma Books.

THE BOOK {According to the back cover}: With the Eurozone engulfed in an unprecedented crisis, one political figure looms largest of all, Angela Merkel, the leader of its most powerful economy. While foreign affairs have become the central issues of her chancellorship in this crucial election year, the entire world is anxiously looking to Germany to play its part in Europe’s rescue.

This authorized biography sheds light on the person behind the politician – from her youthful days of hitchhiking in Tbilisi to being the guest of honour at a White House state dinner – and examines how a girl from East Germany rose to the highest echelons of European power. As well as explaining how Angela Merkel’s world view was shaped and influenced by her background and ideology, Stefan Kornelius’s lively account discusses her personal relations with international counterparts such as David Cameron, Barack Obama or Vladimir Putin, as well as her attitude towards the countries and cultures over which they rule.

FIRST SENTENCE {Merkelmania: The Chancellor's New Power}: In the eighth year of her chancellorship, Angela Merkel has reached the zenith of her power - again.

MEMORABLE MOMENT {Page 11}:I further evidence of the German Chancellor's new power were required, this was provided by the Mattel toy company, who designed a Barbie doll modelled on her - claiming that Merkel was a role model for girls who dreamt of being able to become 'whatever they wanted'.

MY THOUGHTS: Not nearly as dry (dare I say as boring?) as I had feared it might be. As it turns out this, the official biography of Germany's first female Chancellor, was actually an interesting and illuminating read though I personally would have preferred to read a little more about Angela Merkel the woman as opposed to Angela Merkal the politician.

A well written, and what I felt was a fairly unbiased read that, not too heavy going, combines the story of Merkel's life as a child and student to what is described as her 'meteoric ascent to the senior ranks in German politics' to her time as Chancellor with a look as to what might follow post-chancellorship.


Copyright: Tracy Terry @ Pen and Paper. All original content on http://pettywitter.blogspot.co.uk/ is created by the website owner, including but not limited to text, design, code, images, photographs and videos are considered to be the Intellectual Property of the website owner, whether copyrighted or not, and are protected by DMCA Protection Services using the Digital Millennium Copyright Act Title 17 Chapter 512 (c)(3). Reproduction or re-publication of this content is prohibited without permission.
Disclaimer:  Read and reviewed on behalf of publishers, Alma Books, I was merely asked for my honest opinion, no financial compensation was asked for nor given.

11 comments:

Brian Joseph said...

I am really interested in world affairs and Angela Merkel seems like such an interesting character who is well worth reading about.

I must admit that no matter how unbiased they seem to be, I am a bit distrustful of authorized biographies.

Kelly said...

Despite your very positive review, I don't think this is one that would interest me at all. I'm fairly picky about memoirs/biographies, etc.

Suko said...

I'm glad you found this interesting, Tracy. I probably would, also. Thanks for another well-written review.

Yvonne @ Fiction Books Reviews said...

Hi Tracy,

Whilst I have no real interest in biographies and therefore wouldn't read this book, I would certainly watch a television programme about her life and political career.

Whilst she doesn't seem like a very charismatic person, (I can see why you might even say she was a little boring!)I can well imagine her having a deeply buried, wicked sense of humour, which is all to the good, given the responsibilities and decision making powers with which she is charged.

I think that the European Union would be faced with even greater uncertainty and unrest, if she was no longer in power.

She is certainly a great role model for female politicians the world over and I think that we shall see their numbers increase in positions of power substantially over the next few years.

Thanks for a good review,

Yvonne

Literary Feline said...

I'm not generally a fan of biographies of well known people, including politicians. If I did read this, I would prefer it delved more into Angela Merkel as a person.

I am glad you enjoyed this book more than you expected!

Stephanie Faris said...

That was my first thought. "Sounds like a dry read!" Glad to hear the topic was handled well. Sounds like a great book for learning and enriching oneself.

Alexia561 said...

I'm not big on biographies, but she sounds like a fascinating person! Glad to see you enjoyed it!

Melliane said...

I'm glad you had a good time with this one but I confess that I don't think it's for me. It's not really my kind of books.

Lindsay said...

I'm interested in her too and would think about reading this one possibly at some point but then I tend to favour fiction to biographies. I'd have liked to know more about her as a person and a woman too I think if I was reading it. Great review Tracy.

LL Cool Joe said...

I'm not much of a book reader but I would be interested in reading this, she fascinates me.

Stephanie@Fairday's Blog said...

I don't read many autobiographies, but this sounds interesting. Glad you enjoyed it!