Winter of the World: Book Two of the Century Trilogy Mass Market Paperback – International Edition, August 26, 2014

This book is a sequel to Fall of Giants which followed seven families - Welsh English, German, Russian and American - through the cataclysmic events from 1912 through 1923. I thought it was quite a good book even if the characters were a little thin, the writing read something like a military bulletin (devoid of emotion) and because of the explicit sex scenes it should have been delivered anonymously in a plain paper binding. The same criticism can be said of this book; but , having said that, the fact remains that it's a darned good book. It will never get a prize for literary excellence. It will never be assigned reading for high school history students. But if you read it I guarantee that you will find at the end of the day - and at the end of its some 900 plus pages - satisfaction in having read a good story and having been reminded again - and fairly accurately - of the awful events which happened in our world from 1933 - 46: the rise of Hitler's Germany, the insane "cleansing" of the Aryan "race" from the Jews and Jewish influence, the beginning and end of World War II, the bombing of Britain, the Russian War and the Russian conquest of Germany plus the rape of Berlin and all the rest of the events which all of us of the age lived through, knew and were a part of during that time - when we never knew whether we would be alive at the end of it or not. So there are many witnesses to the truth of Follett's story and this writer is one of them. Yes, there's a little too much British politics thrown in - particularly Labour politics which Foollett obviously supports whole heartedly, but which most of u in America could have done without. And one has the same problem in keeping track of the various characters in this book one had in Fall of Giants. But, believe me, it's worth it. Do we meet the same characters in this book that we met in Fall? Yes we do; and if we don't met them we meet their children. So it's worth it. And if you can' figure them out I recommend going on the internet and click on the characters list for each book. And, now, before signing off I want to recount an incident in the book where Follett made me feel good, where he got it right. Remember Gregory Peshkov from Fall? (He's the brother who stayed in Russia, helped storm the Winter Palace and became a leading Revolutionary) Well, his oldest son Voloyda (Vladimir) is now in the NKVD and the Russians know that the US is developing an Atom bomb (as are they) but they don't know which "plan" the US is going with - Little Boy or a bigger one . Voloyda, loyal Soviet that he is, is sent in disguise as a Russian tourist or some such to the US - actually to Alamos, NM to contact one of Dr. Oppenheimer's team who is loyal to the Soviets - to fined out the answer to their problem. He has always had the opinion that the US is greatly inferior to Communism and the Russian State. However, when he gets off the boat, he takes a train and travels for two full days across America seeing who we are and what we have (takes him that long to cross the country!) and he returns to Russia with the desired information but having actually our seen country he has a different perception of the US than when he left. I loved it! Wish we could show it to more people like Voloyda with the same result! Go read the book and enjoy yourself!

With a heavy heart, this is only the second of nine books I've reviewed for Follet that I haven't given five stars. I'll explain why I gave four stars, still a good rating, and why I didn't give it five stars, a great rating. By the way, if I could rate the book something like a 4.25, I would, as four stars doesn't quite do justice, but rating five stars would be a little too much.Why I gave it four stars: In my opinion, one of the greatest signs that a book is entertaining is that it doesn't even feel like you're reading a book. Pages flew by for me, with the many storylines all being interesting and the characters once again very compelling. Follet doesn't really develop his character's with emotions, instead he develops them through dialogue, with the things they say, and actions, with the things they do. It's a little difficult to keep track of all the characters, though the major ones are easy to follow and each of the five or so storylines are almost equally enjoyable. Not only are many new characters introduced here, including the six or seven main characters, but previous characters from Fall of Giants appear frequently and sometimes play an important role in the events that take place. It can seem daunting, but the stories blend nicely and become easier to follow as the book goes on. As a reader, I can only applaude Follet for writing another story such as this on a grand scale, and keeping everything mostly in order. If you've read Fall of Giants, then you know what you're getting with this book. Fiction and history blended together *almost* seamlessly. For me, not knowing a whole lot about WWII, it was exciting because I had no clue what might happen next, and what way things would go. If you're very knowledgeable about the war, I could see how it might not be as exciting.Reasons why I didn't give it five stars: Mainly in the first half of the book, things seemed too coincidental, such as two characters running into each other in a large city like Washington D.C. However, even though these characters may have last seen each other only 50-100 pages before, sometimes a year or two has passed in that time, so it still was somewhat believable.Also, mainly again in the first half of the book, some things happened which felt a little "soap opera-ish", like a character falling in love helplessly in such a short time span. It might of helped the fictional aspects of the book become more exciting, but to me it came off as slightly unbelievable. Then again, it IS fction, so I'm not sure what to think.A minor complaint I had was the storyline with Lloyd Williams was focused on a little too much the first two-thirds of the book. I would of enjoyed reading more about Lev Peshkov or the Von Ulrichs than was featured throughout the book. Again, this is only a minor complaint, and during the last four hundred pages it was much more balanced.The last reason why I couldn't give five stars is because I felt like Follet may have tried to stick just a little too much history and too many events into the book. This causes some short-term storylines to feel a little thin. An example would be the Chuck Dewar or Erik Von Ulrich storyline. I guess I can understand why some evnts had to be hastened, as the book would probably end up around 1500 pages had Follet not skimped on the details.So, here's my bottom line. If, like me, you enjoy Follet, and especially Fall of Giants, then Winter of the World will almost certainly please you. It's worth the time and money in my opinion, and I do fully plan to read the third book. Although this wasn't my favorite book, I have an enormous amount of respect for the work that Follet puts in. Between Fall of Giants and this book, it's pretty much a 1900 page story concering five families and the events surrounding them during thirty years and two world wars. Phew! I have nothing but extreme admiration for Follet as author.If someone asked what I thought were Follet's best books, unfortunately I wouldn't say this. However, if someone asked me if I would recommend this, my answer would certainly be yes.

I am re-reading the Century Trilogy. This book, chronicling the Second World War is fascinating. What a horror the world went through. The family stories are easy to follow and engaging. Loved it the second time around.

Ho letto questo spettacolare e magnetico romanzo parallelamente in italiano e in inglese. Leggendo ti senti immergere letteralmente in quella convulsa epoca storica.

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One of the best books I have read in my life. A little too long but it kept me glued to the book with great anxiety😊Loved it. After all a Ken Follet book👍

Obviamente para quien gusta de temas históricos narrados a manera de novela. Muy bien ambientada en su época y con datos históricos muy interesantes y poco conocidos. Si te gustó la trilogía de Los Pilares de la Tierra, esta es mejor ya que es más contemporánea (casi) narrando hechos del siglo pasado.