Winter of the World

The Century Trilogy, Book 2

By: Ken Follett

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 31 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2012 Ken Follett (P)2012 Penguin Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Gripping....powerful." (The New York Times)

"[Follett] is so good at plotting a story, even one that takes on such a complex topic such as the World War II era. That's what makes Winter of the World so hard to put down. You want to know what happens next." (The Associated Press)

"A consistently compelling portrait of a world in crisis." (The Washington Post)

Ken Follett at his best.

Ken Follett at his best. I loved this audio book. Mr Lee as usual was at his best. A wonderful audio book.

history storytelling at it's best

great fictional story of actual events. understanding tuner world view of world war 2 and the how and why of the nuclear bomb. the hardship endured left me amazed at the human spirit. thank you

Wonderful book

Years ago I started this book & never finished it, but now thanks to Audible I have read it all & highly recommend it.

best ken follet book I've read

sometimes I feel like Ken follett's books follow a formula but not this time. And the history I learned was amazing

Good sequel

Nice mix of personal and history. Unabridged is the only option. Very enjoyable and recommended.

Outstanding!!!

Great series! Highly recommended. It will capture your undivided interest and attention; especially the audio versions.

the charactors

It is long, and you have to keep.track of the characters over the 30+ hours of listening, which is not in one sitting

Character variety

Description of actions and characters and scenes and how they were interwoven throughout the different continents.

specifically which part is missing?

I got an e-mail from audible saying they had fixed it, but need to know which section got fixed, since I have already listened to it and just assumed that was how the story went.

Living, breathing, human history

The problem with history books and history lessons is that they are almost always focussing on dates, statistics and major events rather than giving us an impression what this era was like for ordinary people living through it. Of course, in a lot of cases there is only very little source material, but in "Winter of the World" Follett takes advantage of the fact that the events he is describing have happened in recent history and that some of the people who lived through that time are still alive or have described their experience.

Of course, it is more than a little contrived that the handfull of families to whom he has introduced us in "Fall of Giants" are also miraculously present at all the pivotal events of this era - from the fire at the Reichstag to the first Soviet nuclear bomb - but to me this did not diminish the joy of reading (or listening).

"Winter of the World" creates a vivid picture of the years between 1933 and 1949, showing how ordinary people in almost all countries have suffered and struggled to survive. It's neither a depressing, nor uplifting book in that it shows there are heroes and villains in all countries.

I really enjoyed listening to the book, particularly since I live in Berlin at the moment and walked through the city while listening to events that had taken place more than 60 years ago, but which I could still very well imagine unfolding around me.

John Lee also does a superb job as a narrator and manages to give the countless different characters their own personalities and inflections.