And all this is very human as he interlaces stories of the personal lives of interesting characters. Grigori tells Dewar that he and Lev are saving money to go to Buffalo, where Dewar is from, to get jobs with the Vyalov family. Dewar knows that the Vyalovs are a criminal gang, but he tells Grigori simply that they employ several hundred people in their hotel bars. Walter goes to his father’s office and shares what he has learned. He then meets Maud at tea at the Duchess of Sussex’s home. Maud manages to get Walter alone in the library, but they are soon interrupted by Lady Hermia, Maud’s aunt. In June 1916, Billy and his father make amends after two years of silence as Billy prepares to leave for war. The Germans and British prepare for battle near the river, Somme as Walter thinks about Maud. It is then revealed that Maud is the editor for a newspaper called The Soldier’s Wife and works alongside Ethel, both of whom support equal voting rights for women. Billy comes to visit Ethel before he leaves and sleeps with Mildred. Fitz then learns he was assigned a battalion of new recruits from Aberowen as he discusses the fight with other leaders. Billy and the others arrive at Somme just before the British begin their bombardment of the trenches.

When you first read about Billy Williams in chapter one, did you anticipate how his life would unfurl—for example, that he would end up in running for Parliament? What about other characters: Could you guess what some of them would end up doing or being at the book’s end? Do you think it will surprise readers to realize how little freedom and equality women in Europe and America had in the early twentieth century? That an unmarried upper-class Englishwoman was not allowed to be alone with a man, for example, or that she had to ask her father's or brother's permission to get married—or that he expected to read all her mail?My rule is either the scene did happen, or it might have; either these words were used, or they might have been. And if I find some reason why the scene could not have taken place in real life, or why the words would not really have been said—if, for example, the character was in another country at the time—I leave it out. Billy and Tommy, now sixteen years old, are working when they hear the explosion. They go down to rescue the trapped workers. It becomes clear that changes to the safety conditions required by recent laws have not been implemented. Billy gains a reputation as a hero for his efforts in the rescue operation. Walter has been reassigned to the battlefield as the fighting has become crucial in the final days of the war. On the fog-covered no-man’s-land, Walter’s company faces Billy Williams and the boys of Aberowen. When the fog lifts, the gunfire begins. The Germans split and come at the British from both sides. Billy and his men retreat. In Paris, personal grievances between the British and French commanding generals slow communication as the Germans march on the city. Fitz learns that the French government has fled Paris. He receives a call from Maud with the news of the London home front. Fitz tells her of his prediction that the war will be over, one way or another, in a few days. Follett takes you to a time long past with brio and razor-sharp storytelling. An epic tale in which you will lose yourself."

Ken Follett’s magnificent historical epic beginsas five interrelated families move through the momentous dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women’s suffrage. During November and December 1916, Mildred asks Ethel if she can use the room to start a seamstress business. Ethel agrees then talks to Bernie as she reads through letters sent to them by wives of soldiers. She thinks the newspapers are too busy glorifying war to advocate for peace and Bernie says the government both makes a lot and owes a lot of money due to the war. Bernie asks her to marry him, but she asks for time to think about it. Meanwhile, Gus waits for the reelection of Wilson and learns from Rosa that Olga married Lev. Follett writes from the vantage points of people whose home countries come to the brink of—and finally enter into—a world war. What was it like to read the perspectives of enemies as they embark on battle with one another? Did you find yourself taking sides in any way? Did reading about World War I through fiction cause you to think differently about the conflict? I keep recommending this book to friends. It's one of those books that both educates and entertains - a real winner as I feel I'm improving myself rather than simply indulging in escapism. If the sheer size of the traditional paper version puts you off, then this is definitely one to do audio-style. The narration is spot on.

When Da Williams comes home he says he has no grandson, and Ethel leaves in tears. She is still in Aberowen when telegrams are delivered to the families of the soldiers killed at the Somme. Da, Mam, and Gramper watch as the post office boy passes them, meaning Billy is alive. Da looks at Ethel, and they run into each other’s arms. The following morning, Maud asks Ethel to go for a walk with her as a chaperone and they exchange gossip about political figures. They meet Walter von Ulrich, which is the purpose of the walk. As Ethel walks separately, she sees them holding hands and then kissing passionately until they are interrupted by the ground shaking. It takes twenty-three days for Billy and the Aberowen Pals to reach Omsk. Billy finds the countryside unexpectedly beautiful. Omsk is the headquarters of the anti-Bolshevik movement, and the citizens exuberantly greet the American soldiers. Before reading Fall of Giants, what did you know about World War I? Did you learn anything new upon finishing the novel?

The war is going badly for the Allies, and French soldiers are becoming mutinous. Russia is an unknown quantity as the government remains unsettled since the revolution. Bea receives news that her brother Andrei has been wounded, his arm amputated.Walter sneaks into Petrograd disguised as a Russian peasant. He runs into Grigori at the train station and they discuss the position of the Bolsheviks in the government. Followed by a policeman, Walter manages to kill his pursuer. The Conservatives start a counterrevolution against the Bolsheviks, as Grigori had predicted.

Rich story-telling in satisfying Follett style. I happened to be listening to the Battle of the Somme as we reached Remembrance Sunday this year - right at the time the papers were full of photos of the poppies at the Tower of London. Really quite poignant. The publication of Fall of Giants will be a major international event, with simultaneous publication in at least fifteen countries. Is this the biggest publication event of your career to date?Is there a custom or practice from the book’s early twentieth-century time period that you wish existed in our modern day? What would it be, and why do you think it should have a place in today’s world? Ken Follett’s magnificent new historical epic beginsas five interrelated families move through the momentous dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women’s suffrage. On June 22, 1911, the day George V is crowned king, thirteen-year-old Billy Williams, called “Billy Twice," goes to work for the first time in the mines of his home in Aberowen, Wales. His one surviving sister, Ethel, comes to wish him a happy birthday and a good first day in the mines. She is in service to the local aristocrat, Earl Fitzherbert.