Freedom
German, Beate Baumann, Angela Merkel, 2024
Non-fiction bestseller: autocrats, midlife crises and Merkel
9.12.2024
Translation: machine translated
Reading educates. This applies to fiction, but even more so to biographical and non-fiction books. Here is a selection of current bestsellers from Switzerland and Germany.
I read a lot, I would say. Lately it's been plus or minus two dozen books a year. Until recently, it was mostly novels of all kinds. For the year 2025, I have resolved to only read non-fiction and specialised books as well as biographies or biographical novels. In the third bestseller overview - after fiction and children's and young adult books - I am therefore focussing on just such works.
However, I have one caveat: some of the bestseller lists for specialised books also include cookbooks and how-to books. I am deliberately excluding both here because they are separate categories for me. I will at least devote myself to cookery books in the future. For guidebooks - not so sure ...
The following listicle is a selection from the bestseller lists from Switzerland and Germany from the beginning of December:
"Freedom" from Angela Merkel
It was to be expected that Angela Merkel's autobiography "Freiheit" would conquer the non-fiction bestseller list. It was also to be expected that the reviews would be rather mixed. There is little new to be learnt, according to almost everyone. There is no trace of self-criticism or insights behind the scenes. The first half of the 700-page book, in which Merkel discusses her life in the GDR, is the main positive aspect of the reviews.
"Ageing" by Elke Heidenreich
As a literary critic, including on Swiss television's "Literaturclub", Elke Heidenreich is known for her very pointed opinions and statements - and doesn't always meet with favour. But that doesn't matter to her. The same can be said of her latest work "Ageing", in which she addresses her own ageing and that of society in general. In addition to her own ideas, she also quotes the thoughts of numerous other authors and thinkers.
"Nexus" by Yuval Noah Harari
The Israeli historian and author Yuval Noah Harari has become known worldwide for his books on the past, present and future of humanity. In his latest work "Nexus", he deals with the topic of communication in human societies from the beginnings of mankind to the present day and into the future. His focus is on the relationships between "information and truth, bureaucracy and mythology, wisdom and power".
"The Axis of Autocrats" by Anne Applebaum
Mankind has tried out many forms of society in its history. For almost 100 years, Western societies have agreed that democracy is the best. But by no means everywhere. And in "The Axis of Autocrats", Anne Applebaum looks at these countries where autocratic rulers and systems are in power. Above all, she also shows how these autocracies from Syria to China to Belarus work together.
"Patriot" by Alexei Navalny
Speaking of autocracies: Hardly any other current life story shows more clearly what you can expect if you oppose the autocrat than that of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny. He ultimately paid for his fight against Putin and his system with his life. The biography "Patriot" is a beacon and a memorial to the fact that freedom and democracy cannot be taken for granted and must be fought for again and again, says Navalny's widow Yulia Navalnaya.
"The Centre of Life" by Barbara Bleisch
Will everything go downhill from now on? Or are we finally mature enough to analyse the past and appreciate the future? Most people ask themselves these questions in their "middle years", the phase that Barbara Bleisch approaches from a philosophical perspective. And explains why this, used correctly, can lead to living and appreciating life.
"When my heart broke" by Loredana
In 2019, Loredana entered the music stage with a bang with her debut album "King Lori" and quickly became one of the biggest names in German rap. Self-confident to the point of arrogance, she made headlines with a cheating scandal and publicly portrayed the tough guy. Her autobiography "Als mein Herz brach" is now the exact opposite, in which she deals with her break-up with cents Mozzik and shows her fragile, soft-spoken side.
"The Not-to-do List" by Rolf Dobelli
Instead of desperately searching for the things in life that make you happy, it would be much easier and more sensible to avoid the things that make you unhappy. This could be the conclusion of Rolf Dobelli's "The Not-to-do List". In it, the author has compiled 52 not-to-do's that you should avoid as much as possible in order to, if not be happy, at least not be unhappy.
"The Berset Code" by Gregor Hasler
Resilience, decision-making, dealing with pressure and stress - that's what author Gregor Hasler, psychiatrist and therapist, talked to former Federal Councillor Alain Berset about. As with the first book in this list by and about Angela Merkel, there is no self-criticism in "The Berset Code" about decisions, mistakes and scandals in Alain Berset's life. This is explicitly not the idea and aim of Hasler's book, which is primarily interested in the psychological and medical case of Berset. Nevertheless, a certain amount of critical reflection would do no harm to the credibility of the man and his work.
Header image: Oliver Fischer
Oliver Fischer
Teamleader Editorial
Oliver.Fischer@digitecgalaxus.chGlobetrotter, hiker, wok world champion (not in the ice channel), word acrobat and photo enthusiast.