WINTER OF THE WORLD

As I move toward finishing this trilogy....I am well into Book 3– (&; I recommend this series unreservedly)... I can attest to the meme. Trump tactics match Hitler &; other malignant despots almost perfectly. These 3 works (this fascinating trilogy) tell a true story of the twentieth century via five generations on three continents. It has been a stunning, deep read. In addition to a fascinating &; complex story, from the coal mines of Wales to the Stazi terror of East Germany, I learned much I didn’t know about how major political movements created war, peace, poverty, cruelty, opportunity, unrest. In this trilogy Follet, as always, meticulously researched the history &; events, placing his literary characters in the world as it really was...and he bores into the psyche / soul of his characters, just as people of actual world unfolded their lives

Book 2, 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. certainly this book was as grim, dark and often horrific in its depiction of human cruelty and murderous sociopathic politicians.