Konrad Adenauer shaped the Federal Republic of Germany like few others. He implemented the social market economy, reconciled Germany with France, and anchored the Bonn state in the West. Werner Biermann narrates this century-long life, which spanned from Bismarck to the Beatles. Based on previously overlooked sources, years of research, and extensive conversations with the family, he depicts Adenauer's equally fascinating and dramatic life path, his ideas and goals, as well as his weaknesses and fears. Biermann places particular emphasis on Adenauer's life before his chancellorship: his political rise in the German Empire, his rapid career as the mayor of Cologne and a prominent national politician during the Weimar Republic, and not least, his sudden downfall during the Third Reich, which nearly cost him his life when he was arrested in 1944.