Fall of Giants: Book One of the Century Trilogy (Century Trilogy, #1)

by Ken Follett

Ken Follett’s magnificent historical epic begins as five interrelated families move through the momentous dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women’s suffrage.

A thirteen-year-old Welsh boy enters a man’s world in the mining pits. . . . An American law student rejected in love finds a surprising new career in Woodrow Wilson’s White House. . . . A housekeeper for the aristocratic Fitzherberts takes a fateful step above her station, while Lady Maud Fitzherbert herself crosses deep into forbidden territory when she falls in love with a German spy. . . . And two orphaned Russian brothers embark on radically different paths when their plan to emigrate to America falls afoul of war, conscription, and revolution. 

From the dirt and danger of a coal mine to the glittering chandeliers of a palace, from the corridors of power to the bedrooms of the mighty, Fall of Giants takes us into the inextricably entangled fates of five families—and into a century that we thought we knew, but that now will never seem the same again. . . .

• ISBN10: 0451232577
• ISBN13: 9780451232571
• Publish Date: 30 August 2011 (first published 28 September 2010)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Penguin USA
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 1008
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780451232571

Reviews

[flybymoonlight]

When I first picked up this book, I was a bit overwhelmed by the page length. I thought it would get dry and boring, as I'm not the biggest history fan. I was wrong. This book was highly entertaining. I definitely learned a few new things about WWI history. Would definitely recommend.

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

This is the 3rd Follett novel I've read. Previously I had tackled The Pillars of the Earth, which I really enjoyed, and World Without End, which was a re-hash of The Pillars of the Earth. Knowing little about WWI, I found the book to be a bit dry. In the last 100 pages or so, I couldn't wait for the war to wrap up so the character's storylines would be tied up. The ending was satisfying and open-ended enough (political turmoil in Germany, women serving in Parliament in Britain) that it will be intriguing to see where during WWII, Follett picks up with Book #2.

[dpfaef]

This book went on and on and on. A epic... but he has lost something from his first book The Pillars of the Earth that book was exceptional - Fall of Giants just felt too long.