Thanks to the gracious hospitality and invitation to speak before members of the Rotary International Club of Hamburg and the Women’s International Club of Hamburg I traveled Germany’s 2nd largest city, and the Northern port city to promote my book.

On January 21, 2019 I spoke before a group of 25 members of the Rotary International Club. The group was a German based group, but members comprised of people from Russia and the U.K as well. I talked to the group about how Merkel and Obama’s relationship evolved from one of apprehension to one of respect and admiration. I read excerpts that illustrated this point including Merkel crying when she said good bye to president Obama for the final time.

The audience asked questions about how I obtained my research and I replied that I relied heavily on books written/published about the world leaders, articles written in newspapers and journals in both the United States, and Europe. I also emphasized that the majority of my research came from the transcripts provided by both the U.S. White House Archives and the Bundestag. I confirmed to rely authenticity I checked the transcripts of video and newsclippings with what was printed and provided by the White House and Bundestag.

The majority of the time was spent discussing the importance and timeliness of the book. I argued that the world have never seen another world war in over 70 years, and it was because of relationships between world leaders like Merkel and Obama and organizations such as the EU and NATO which attribute to that success. I emphasis that the current political climate across the world with the election of Trump, and Brexit illustrate a changing political culture away from a unified front to a more isolationist position. I plead that this type of change is dangerous not just among said countries, but for world security.