Winter of the World
Page 95
Carla gazed fondly at her husband, still handsome at thirty. She recalled kissing him, and more, in the front of his sexy car, parked in the Grunewald, when she was nineteen. She still liked kissing him.
When she thought over the time that had passed since then, she had a thousand regrets, but the biggest was her father's death. She missed him constantly and still cried when she remembered him lying in the hall, beaten so cruelly that he did not live until the doctor arrived.
But everyone had to die, and Father had given his life for the sake of a better world. If more Germans had had his courage the Nazis would not have triumphed. She wanted to do all the things he had done: to raise her children well, to make a difference to her country's politics, to love and be loved. Most of all, when she died, she wanted her children to be able to say, as she said of her father, that her life had meant something, and that the world was a better place for it.
The carol came to an end; Maud held the final chord; and little Walli leaned forward and blew the candle out.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My principal history adviser for the Century Trilogy is Richard Overy. I am grateful also to historians Evan Mawdsley, Tim Rees, Matthias Reiss, and Richard Toye for reading the typescript of Winter of the World and making corrections.
As always I had invaluable help from my editors and agents, especially Amy Berkower, Leslie Gelbman, Phyllis Grann, Neil Nyren, Susan Opie, and Jeremy Treviathan.
I met my agent Al Zuckerman in about 1975 and he has been my most critical and inspiring reader ever since.
Several friends made helpful comments. Nigel Dean has an eye for detail like no one else. Chris Manners and Tony McWalter were as sharply perceptive as ever. Angela Spizig and Annemarie Behnke saved me from numerous errors in the German sections.
We always thank our families, and so we should. Barbara Follett, Emanuele Follett, Jann Turner, and Kim Turner read the first draft and made useful criticisms, as well as giving me the matchless gift of their love.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ken Follett burst into the book world with Eye of the Needle, an award-winning thriller and international bestseller. After several more successful thrillers, he surprised everyone with The Pillars of the Earth and then with its long-awaited sequel, World Without End, a national and international bestseller. Follett's new magnificent historical epic, The Century Trilogy, opened with the bestselling Fall of Giants. He lives in England with his wife, Barbara.