Winter of the World

Description

Berlin in 1933 is in upheaval. Eleven-year-old Carla von Ulrich struggles to understand the tensions disrupting her family as Hitler strengthens his grip on Germany. Into this turmoil steps her mother's formidable friend and former British MP, Ethel Leckwith, and her student son, Lloyd, who soon learns for himself the brutal reality of Nazism. He also encounters a group of Germans resolved to oppose Hitler - but are they willing to go so far as to betray their country? Such people are closely watched by Volodya, a Russian with a bright future in Red Army Intelligence. The international clash of military power and personal beliefs that ensues will sweep over them all as it rages from Cable Street in London's East End to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, from Spain to Stalingrad, from Dresden to Hiroshima. At Cambridge Lloyd is irresistibly drawn to dazzling American socialite Daisy Peshkov, who represents everything his left-wing family despise. But Daisy is more interested in aristocratic Boy Fitzherbert - amateur pilot, party lover and leading light of the British Union of Fascists. Back in Berlin, Carla worships golden boy Werner from afar. But nothing will work out the way they expect as their lives and the hopes of the world are smashed by the greatest and cruellest war in the history of the human race. Winter of the World is the second novel in Ken Follett's uniquely ambitious and deeply satisfying trilogy 'The Century'. On its own or read in sequence with Fall of Giants, this is a magnificent, spellbinding epic of global conflict and personal drama.

Ken Follett was twenty-seven when he wrote Eye of the Needle, an award-winning thriller that became an international bestseller. He then surprised everyone with The Pillars of the Earth, about the building of a cathedral in the Middle Ages, which continues to captivate millions of readers all over the world and its long-awaited sequel, World Without End, was a number one bestseller in the US, UK and Europe. Fall of Giants, the first bestselling book in the Century trilogy is followed by this, Winter of the World.

"Lively and entertaining." -"The ""Washington Post "on "Fall of Giants" "Suspenseful, tightly constructed, sharply characterized, plot-driven...some of the biggest-picture fiction being written today." --"The Seattle Times" "A tireless storyteller...grippingly told, and readable to the end." --"The ""New York Times Book Review "on "Fall of Giants" "Follett never lets the action lag as he adeptly ties together all the sweeping economic, cultural, political, and social transformations of the entire era." --"Booklist" "Just as potent, engrossing, and prolix as the opening opus, "Fall of Giants". [Follett's] dedication and ability to keep so many plots spinning while delivering a story that educates, entertains...Will leave fans eagerly awaiting the trilogy's crowning capstone." --"Publishers Weekly " "Follett's storytelling is unobtrusive and workmanlike...he spins a reasonable and readable yarn that embraces dozens of characters and plenty of Big Picture history." --"Kirkus Reviews" Praise for "Winter of the World" "Just as potent, engrossing, and prolix as the opening opus, "Fall of Giants". [Follett's] dedication and ability to keep so many plots spinning while delivering a story that educates, entertains...Will leave fans eagerly awaiting the trilogy's crowning capstone. " -"Publishers Weekly" "Follett's storytelling is unobtrusive and workmanlike...he spins a reasonable and readable yarn that embraces dozens of characters and plenty of Big Picture history." -"Kirkus" "Follett never lets the action lag as he adeptly ties together all the sweeping economic, cultural, political, and social transformations of the entire era." -"Booklist" "Lively and entertaining." --"The ""Washington Post "on "Fall of Giants" "Tantalizing" --"Newsday "on "Fall of Giants" "Epic yarns in prose" --"The Wall Street Journal "on "Fall of Giants" "Meticulously researched and deftly weaves together historical fact, fictional characters and engrossing storytelling." -- Associated Press""on "Fall of Giants" "It's a book that will suck you in, consume you for days or weeks... then let you out the other side both entertained "and "educated." -- "USA Today" on "Fall of Giants" "[Follett] adeptly ties together all the economic, cultural, political, and social transformations of the entire era." --"Booklist" "Epic yarns in prose" -"The Wall Street Journal "on "Fall of Giants" "Tantalizing" -"Newsday "on "Fall of Giants"