Fall of Giants / Ken Follett / 985 pages

Few authors can make history come alive like Ken Follett. In this book, the first in The Century trilogy, we are introduced to characters who live in Wales, England, America, Germany and Russia. The lives of the characters who come from different social strata are all intertwined in the events and politics that lead up to World War I, the advent of women's suffrage, the Bolshevik revolution, and the fall of giants....countries, rulers, and classes. Detailed research and well-drawn characters are drawn together and make you believe this is the way it could have really happened and how it felt to live as a Welsh miner, servant, factory worker, aristocrat, politican, etc. You can't help but draw parallel conclusions to the way decisions about war are still made, the factors that keep countries at war, and the people who suffer the most. It is not an easy book to read, but a worthwhile book in every sense of the word. Looking forward to reading the next volume.