Edge of Eternity
Book Three of The Century Trilogy
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4.3 • 3.4K Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Ken Follett's extraordinary historical epic, the Century Trilogy, reaches its sweeping, passionate conclusion.
In Fall of Giants and Winter of the World, Ken Follett followed the fortunes of five international families—American, German, Russian, English, and Welsh—as they made their way through the twentieth century. Now they come to one of the most tumultuous eras of all: the 1960s through the 1980s, from civil rights, assassinations, mass political movements, and Vietnam to the Berlin Wall, the Cuban Missile Crisis, presidential impeachment, revolution—and rock and roll.
East German teacher Rebecca Hoffmann discovers she’s been spied on by the Stasi for years and commits an impulsive act that will affect her family for the rest of their lives. . . . George Jakes, the child of a mixed-race couple, bypasses a corporate law career to join Robert F. Kennedy's Justice Department and finds himself in the middle of not only the seminal events of the civil rights battle but a much more personal battle of his own. . . . Cameron Dewar, the grandson of a senator, jumps at the chance to do some official and unofficial espionage for a cause he believes in, only to discover that the world is a much more dangerous place than he'd imagined. . . . Dimka Dvorkin, a young aide to Nikita Khrushchev, becomes an agent both for good and for ill as the United States and the Soviet Union race to the brink of nuclear war, while his twin sister, Tanya, carves out a role that will take her from Moscow to Cuba to Prague to Warsaw—and into history.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
After tracking the fates of five families from the outbreak of World War I through the aftermath of World War II, bestselling author Ken Follett wraps up his ambitious Century Trilogy with the breathtaking Edge of Eternity. As his intriguing characters deal with the Cold War, the civil rights movement, the emergence of The Beatles, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and other seismic shifts between the ‘50s and ‘80s, Follett portrays their personal tragedies and triumphs with warm feeling.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In the ambitious, commanding capstone to his multigenerational Century Trilogy (after Winter of the World), Follett expertly chronicles the pivotal events of the closing decades of the 20th century through the eyes of a vast array of deftly-drawn characters, all suffering the slings and arrows of a world marred by war and global unrest. Among them is Rebecca Hoffman, a good-natured school teacher in Communist Berlin, who discovers in 1961 that her secretive husband, Hans, is a clandestine Stasi agent and has been spying on her for years. When she eventually confronts him, he angrily vows to destroy her family. Elsewhere, mixed-race, civil-rights-minded George Jakes forsakes a lucrative law career to work for Bobby Kennedy and the Justice Department, then battles racial inequality as a congressman. Dmitri "Dimka" Dvorkin, an aide to Nikita Khrushchev, finds himself embroiled in heated U.S.-Soviet nuclear political power plays and his sister, Tanya, thrusts herself into the fray of governmental global turmoil. Cameron Dewar, a senator's grandson, also becomes politically active with espionage on his mind while Rebecca's brother, the musician Walli, must choose between a rising-star career in rock-and-roll and his pregnant lover, Karolin. Sweeping through the Johnson, Nixon, and Reagan administrations, Follett's smooth page-turner concludes in 2008 with an epilogue set on the night of President Obama's electoral victory. This mesmerizing final installment is an exhaustive but rewarding reading experience dense in thematic heft, yet flowing with spicy, expertly paced melodrama, character-rich exploits, familial histrionics, and international intrigue.
Customer Reviews
The '60's
I was disappointed in the revisionist writing on the '68 Tet offensive & the portrayal of Republicans throughout the sixties & seventies.
Edge of Eternity
Several of Follett's books are among my favorites of all time. "Pillars", "Dangerous Fortunes", etc. This tale actually offended me by it's anti-American, anti-conservative bent, written by a foreigner. Very dissappointed.
Edge of Eternity
I think this book was written by the Democratic National Committee instead of Ken Follett. Every democrat is portrayed as noble, smart and caring. Every republican is portrayed as stupid, evil, and greedy.
I have read and enjoyed most Follett books, but now consider him a purely fiction writer vs historical fiction author. I am very disappointed because without a political slant this could have been a great book.