Wladek Abel Rosnovski and William Kane were both born on the same day in 1906, but on completely different ends of the earth and side of the tracks. While William was born to a wealthy Boston family, Wladek was found in the woods near a castle in Poland, where he was raised by a poor family already saddled with nine mouths to feed.

The story chronicles their lives growing up in an era of war, where William deals with the loss of his father in the Titanic and Wladek losses the only family he knows in World War 1. He becomes a prisoner of the Russians, but eventually escapes to Turkey where he is rescued and soon sent to America to start a new life.

While William continues to grow in wealth, Abel works his way up from being a simple waiter at the Plaza in New York city, to eventually being in charge of a hotel chain. The two men will eventually meet when Abel needs backing for his failing business and needs the help of William's bank. Unfortunately, things do not go as planned and Abel soon blames William for the loss of his mentor and friend, Leroy.

This personal vendetta will go on for years between the two men, who do all they can to bring each other down financially. But fate can play a cruel hand, as it leads these enemies to do good things for each other without ever knowing it.

Mature readers, readers who are into suspense, drama, intrigue and romance.

The attention and detail paid to each character as we are taken into their lives. By the end of this story, you feel drawn to Abel or Kane, wanting each man to snap out of their stubborness to see what is so obvious. Their lives are enriching and heartbreaking.

Read it all over again. This is actually the second time I'm reading it.

It actually got me teary-eyed at the end. What a way to finish. I felt like I had been wrung dry with my emotions and I wanted to story to go on long after the main characters' stories were told.

Jeffrey Archer

You will be unable to put this down. If you are looking for a book that talks about life in the early 1900s, to see how ruthless and cutthroat the business world is, to see the impact of friendship and family, then this is the story for you.

Kane and Abel is considered one of Archer's best works and I'll have to agree. It's been made into several serial movies and I'm glad to say I haven't watched them yet because I do not want to ruin the images I have in my head of these two great men.

This is a story that will strike a chord with many readers. It will take you on a rollercoaster ride and I guarantee, you'll be left eager for more at the end of this.

This is a classic and I urge everyone to read it.

Interested in buying this? Support Writing.Com by making your purchase of Kane and Abel   from Amazon.Com!

Created Mar 04, 2007 at 8:23pm • Submit your own review...