Winter of the World: Book Two of the Century Trilogy
"This book is truly epic. . . . The reader will probably wish there was a thousand more pages." —The Huffington Post
Picking up where Fall of Giants, the first novel in the extraordinary Century Trilogy, left off, Winter of the World follows its five interrelated families—American, German, Russian, English, and Welsh—through a time of enormous social, political, and economic turmoil, beginning with the rise of the Third Reich, through the great dramas of World War II, and into the beginning of the long Cold War.
Carla von Ulrich, born of German and English parents, finds her life engulfed by the Nazi tide until daring to commit a deed of great courage and heartbreak . . . . American brothers Woody and Chuck Dewar, each with a secret, take separate paths to momentous events, one in Washington, the other in the bloody jungles of the Pacific . . . . English student Lloyd Williams discovers in the crucible of the Spanish Civil War that he must fight Communism just as hard as Fascism . . . . Daisy Peshkov, a driven social climber, cares only for popularity and the fast set until war transforms her life, while her cousin Volodya carves out a position in Soviet intelligence that will affect not only this war but also the war to come.
Picking up where Fall of Giants, the first novel in the extraordinary Century Trilogy, left off, Winter of the World follows its five interrelated families—American, German, Russian, English, and Welsh—through a time of enormous social, political, and economic turmoil, beginning with the rise of the Third Reich, through the great dramas of World War II, and into the beginning of the long Cold War.
Carla von Ulrich, born of German and English parents, finds her life engulfed by the Nazi tide until daring to commit a deed of great courage and heartbreak . . . . American brothers Woody and Chuck Dewar, each with a secret, take separate paths to momentous events, one in Washington, the other in the bloody jungles of the Pacific . . . . English student Lloyd Williams discovers in the crucible of the Spanish Civil War that he must fight Communism just as hard as Fascism . . . . Daisy Peshkov, a driven social climber, cares only for popularity and the fast set until war transforms her life, while her cousin Volodya carves out a position in Soviet intelligence that will affect not only this war but also the war to come.
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Community Reviews
While not as good as the first in the series it was still a great read. It is a sweeping portrait of a crucial period in time. He glossed over some details but gave such an overall picture of the devastation of the war and the political upheaval.
After reading Ken Follet's first novel in this Trilogy, The Fall of Giants, I had to read the next one. This one revolved around the lives and adventures of all the children of the characters in the first novel. So even though it has some continuity, all the stories are fresh.
I love Ken's style of weaving historical events around the tales of his fictional characters.
I wish someone would have taught us History in this manner, with such tales, instead of the boring books we had to mug up. I would have probably ended up taking Political Science then.
A lot of times when I was reading the book, I used to Google certain events that I knew sparingly from memory, but never really knew the details.
But it was great to know about the events that led up to the World War II from the point of view of the Germans, the Russians, the British and the Americans.
I've also liked how Ken portrays strong-willed, fallible but unapologetic women in his stories.
A couple of critiques are unnecessary scenes of characters who didn't play a major role in the overall story and too little involvement of the Fuhrer and inside peak into the Nazis. It would have been fun to read.
Overall, a GREAT book if you love History and are curious about how things lead to events like the World War II.
However, the book was quite long and I read it immediately after I read The Fall of Giants. So, I'm going to give some space before I pick up the final book in the Series.
I love Ken's style of weaving historical events around the tales of his fictional characters.
I wish someone would have taught us History in this manner, with such tales, instead of the boring books we had to mug up. I would have probably ended up taking Political Science then.
A lot of times when I was reading the book, I used to Google certain events that I knew sparingly from memory, but never really knew the details.
But it was great to know about the events that led up to the World War II from the point of view of the Germans, the Russians, the British and the Americans.
I've also liked how Ken portrays strong-willed, fallible but unapologetic women in his stories.
A couple of critiques are unnecessary scenes of characters who didn't play a major role in the overall story and too little involvement of the Fuhrer and inside peak into the Nazis. It would have been fun to read.
Overall, a GREAT book if you love History and are curious about how things lead to events like the World War II.
However, the book was quite long and I read it immediately after I read The Fall of Giants. So, I'm going to give some space before I pick up the final book in the Series.
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