Fall of Giants (The Century Trilogy, #1) in Around the World in 80 Books

Jun 26, 2012 Elizabeth rated it really liked it

Shelves: austria, england, balkans, east-coast, france, germany, russia, europe, history

I think I liked this book best for the education it provided about the rise of the Bolsheviks and the disintegration of Russia. I enjoyed reading about the movement from a working class perspective, rather than from the removed, hilltop view that my old history books seemed to take.

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Jul 28, 2014 Katie rated it liked it

Shelves: male-author, historical-fiction, ___europe, kindle

I really enjoyed parts of this book. I like historical fiction, and I especially liked learning about the Russian Revolution and the labor movement in England. However, some of war scenes were SO long and boring, and I got really tired of reading about all international relations and political issues related to World War I. If some of that would have been cut out, I would have enjoyed the book a lot more.

I realized while reading this book that I have always pictured Lenin as a rather large stat ...more

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Aug 04, 2021 Erin (NY) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-i-own, war, historical-fiction, read-in-2021

I loved this book. It is a perfect combination of family drama and history. The time in history really did come alive for me. It takes place right before WW1 breaks out and ends with Russian Revolution. There are a few things that were glossed over that I would have liked the characters' opinion on, such as the murder of the Tsar's family. I really enjoyed that the characters are spread between 4 different countries, so you experience the history as it unfolds through their eyes. ...more

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Jul 22, 2011 Patrick rated it really liked it

I'm becoming a big Ken Follett fan. I never thought I'd be interested in such long fictions but I really enjoyed this read; enough that I'm looking forward to the next in the series (I believe there is more on the way).

I do feel that 'Pillars of the Earth' was overall a better book, but the real historical setting of WWI that was added to 'Fall of Giants' gave it something special. ...more

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