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)

Spectacular, great story with a wonderful history

What did you love best about Winter of the World?

What an imaginative story with wonderful history background

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I would love to but it is way to long for listening to in one sitting

Excelent, I learned and had fun at the same time

Would you listen to Winter of the World again? Why?

yes, I would because it has a great story and it teaches us several points of view from the actors in the WW2

Which character – as performed by John Lee – was your favorite?

Lloyd Williams

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

In 1948, in occupied Berlin, when the USSR decided to ban transit from the American-English part of occupied Berlin, in order to suppress what they called "Bribes" and this discourage what they also called Secessionist Berliners. To continue with the aid to help Germans recover their prosperity ASAP, the US-Brittish started delivering aid by airfreight, including coal, milk and other goods at great expense for almost a year, until the Soviets reopened the roads...

Winter of the world

The story was very good. The reader John Lee did an excellent job. I was entertained all the way.

Spellbinding

Hard to imagine how the narrator can so quickly and expertly change his voice to fit each character.

Century Trilogy

I liked this book even better than the first. The characters were brought to life by the narrator, the story was compelling too. I will listen to the third book right away.

Read it over again for the second time!

Book 2 in the Century Trilogy. So good I am start book 3 now! A must read for Historical Fiction lovers!

Another Great Read by Follett

The story is fascinating, exhilarating, heartbreaking. It kept me interested throughout and the audio performance is fabulous. I want to know how they record this - he does so many accents!

Another great book by Ken Follett!

Follett uses his research and knowledge of Nazi Germany to create an amazing story full of real people and interesting characters.

Great story.

Good synopsis of events. Well told with excellent narration many interesting substories and plot
Lines

Ken Follet and John Lee 4eva

Every book by Ken Follet is my favorite. When it's read aloud by John Lee, it's an audible masterpiece. Follet's stories take you around the world, and John can mimic any accent perfectly.