A pastor's daughter raised in Soviet-controlled East Germany, Angela Merkel spent her twenties working as a research chemist, entering politics only after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Within 15 years, she had become chancellor of Germany and, eventually the unofficial leader of the West. Again and again, she weathered complicated relationships with allies like Obama and Macron, and cleverly outmaneuvered strongmen like Putin and Trump. With unparalleled access to the chancellor's inner circle, Kati Marton seeks out and pinpoints the secret to Merkel's success.