My audiobooks recently have been mostly long, nonfiction books that I worry would have a hard time holding my interest, even if the topics themselves are of interest to me. At some point, though, I stumbled upon Ken Follett’s writing and decided to give some of his longer books a listen. The first of these was Fall of Giants.

The story begins in 1911 and follows five families through the First World War. The Fitzherberts are wealthy owners of a Welsh coal mine. Ethel Williams works in their home as a maid, while her father is a union organizer, and her brother, Billy, is a worker in the mine. Maud Fitzherbert is the Lord’s sister who is quite progressive. Walter von Ulrich works at the German Embassy in London and is a close friend of the Fitzherberts. Two orphaned brothers, Lev and Grigori Peshkov are Russian orphans who dream of a better life in America. Gus Dewar is an American lawyer who finds himself working for President Wilson and traveling to Europe to advise him on the state of things there.

Fall of Giants takes place at a crossroads in time for the world. It’s not just the events leading up to World War I, but also the world is turning away from a society built on birthright. The Fitzherberts reap the benefits of a coal mine on their property while trying to stay out of the day-to-day management and the conditions of the working class. This will change over the course of the book as the workers begin to organize and demand more from those who profit from their work. Maud Fitzherbert is a woman who wants more than to be someone’s decoration and is in danger of becoming “an old maid” because she refuses to follow the path of marrying for the sake of marrying. Along with Ethel Williams, they fight for the rights of women and workers.

This is mirrored in Russia, where they are on the cusp of the workers’ revolution. Follett’s style reminds me a lot of John Jakes, where his fictional characters interact with more notable names as they go through historical events. He takes the reader into the world at the time and we can understand better why things had to change. During the war, much is made of the officers being in their position due to birthright. They are not necessarily the best men to be in charge, however.

There are some things that are glossed over. Gus Dewar interacts with President Wilson and nothing is said of the overt racism that Wilson became known for. Maud Fitzherbert is able to do what she wants with her brother paying the bills, yet he never questions her about where she has gone when she makes several trips during the war that could be considered questionable.

However, I really enjoyed the evolution of the Peshkov brothers. Grigori is the one who wants to emigrate to America, yet it is Lev who finds himself there. Each of them finds their place in their world, with Grigori becoming part of the revolution while Lev is still looking for the easy money.

What was refreshing was the role of women in Fall of Giants. Follett gave the women purpose beyond just keeping a house while the men did everything. There is a woman reporter, Rosa, who gives Gus a run for his money as she attempts to become the first female White House correspondent. Ethel Williams finds herself involved in politics but must hesitate to do all that she could accomplish. It is still a man’s world, but women are making great strides here and definitely are more than window dressing.

John Lee narrated the audiobook. I enjoyed his reading, except he seemed to struggle with the love scenes. I have to say, hearing a man read these love scenes was a bit comical.

If you enjoy John Jakes’ historical fiction or books such as The Winds of War, I think you’ll like this offering from Ken Follett. I felt he did a great job putting the reader or listener in the middle of the events leading up to the war and the war itself. I learned for the first time how the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was an immediate cause of the war when alliances had to be called on. I’ll be moving on to the next book in the trilogy soon, and I hope to enjoy it as much as I did this one.

Next book in the series: