Angela Merkel: Freedom

For 16 years, Angela Merkel was Chancellor of Germany. She led the country through numerous crises, shaping both Germany and international politics with her actions and attitudes.

In her memoirs, co-written with her long-time political advisor Beate Baumann, she reflects on her life in two German states – 35 years in the German Democratic Republic, 35 years in reunited Germany. More intimately than ever before, she talks about her childhood, youth and studies in the GDR, and the dramatic year of 1989, when the Berlin Wall fell and her political life began.

She also shares recollections and insights from her meetings and conversations with the world’s most powerful people. Discussing significant national, European, and international turning points, she shows how the decisions were made that shaped our times. Her book offers a unique insight into the inner workings of power – and is a compelling plea for freedom.

Katya Adler is an award-winning BBC journalist and the main host of the BBC’s daily, deep-dive Global Story current affairs podcast. She is also the BBC’s Europe Editor, travelling across the continent to provide her analysis of fast-paced news events from the rise of populist nationalism to the migrant crisis and beyond, on TV, radio, an online blog and on social media.