Freedom: Memories 1954 – 2021

 
　　從2005到2021年的16年間，安格拉·梅克爾(Angela Merkel)擔任德國總理，帶領國家渡過無數次危機，她的行動與態度，牽動國家、社會和國際政治。她是如何躋身男性為主的基督教民主黨(CDU)領導層，並成為德國首位女性總理？在這本回憶錄中，梅克爾回顧了兩個主要的人生階段：前35年生活在東德，而接續的35年，則是在統一後的德國。
 
　　長達七百多頁的巨著，比過往更親密地講述她從柏林圍牆背後的生活到達權力頂峰的人生旅程，包含自己的童年、青少年時期以及在東德的學習經歷，回顧1989年柏林圍牆倒塌、同時也是她踏入政壇戲劇化的一年，細細講述從政，到擔任國家領袖的豐富歷程。
 
　　梅克爾分享自己與世界最具權力領導者會晤、對談的一些見解，她經常是會議室裡唯一的女性，而這些會議的決策，造就國內、歐洲及國際政治的轉折點，牽動我們的時代。這本回憶錄以獨特的視角，反思了日益對立與分裂的當代政治，帶讀者深入了解權力運作的內在機制，並堅定疾呼自由的價值。(文/博客來編譯)

For sixteen years, Angela Merkel was Chancellor of Germany and at the forefront of European and international politics. In her memoir, she looks back on her life in two German states--East Germany until 1990, and reunified Germany thereafter. How did she, coming from the East, rise to the top of the Christian Democratic Union to become the first woman to hold the office of chancellor? And how did she then become one of the most powerful heads of government in the Western world? What guided her?

In Freedom, Angela Merkel recounts daily life in the chancellor’s office as well as the dramatic days and nights when she made far-reaching decisions in Berlin, Brussels, and beyond. She traces the long lines of change in international cooperation and reveals the pressure politicians face when seeking solutions to complex problems in a globalized world. Here, she takes us behind the scenes of international politics, demonstrating both the importance of personal conversations and, crucially, their limits.

Reflecting on politics in a time of increasing confrontation and division, Angela Merkel’s memoir offers a unique insight into the inner workings of power--and is a determined and timely plea for freedom.

Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 2005 to 2021, was the first woman to hold the country’s most powerful office. Born in Hamburg in 1954 and raised in the GDR, where she studied physics and earned a Ph.D., she was elected to the German Bundestag in 1990. From 1991 to 1994, she served as Federal Minister for Women and Youth, from 1994 to 1998 as Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety, and from 2000 to 2018 as the leader of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany. She ended her active political career in 2021.