A Place Called Freedom

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed...
Review: ...when I finished this book. This was one of the fastest reads I've ever had. The story starts out in the coal mines of Scotland and ends up in the "new west" in the United States. Great story. If you like Follett and the "new colonies" time period, you'll love this book.

Rating:
Summary: Engaging historical romance
Review: "A Place Called Freedom" is a good book, not a great one reminiscent of the works of other very popular yet lighter weight authors. The story kept me interested but seemed somewhat watered-down when compared with other Ken Follett titles. A good one to read on the beach or on a plane.

Rating:
Summary: Reminded me of "Far and Away."
Review: Good book, but a lot of it seemed lifted from the Tom Cruise/Nicole Kidman movie "Far and Away," including the journey from Great Britain to America, the boxing scenes, the class differences (the same rich-girl/poor-boy formula as "Titanic" and "Aladdin"), etc. I suppose much of this fits the history of the era, I guess.

Rating:
Summary: Historically and emotionally accurate novel.
Review: This book seems to be historically accurate as far as the history of England sending criminals over to the colonies. Follett always has a way of communicating what both men and women must be feeling. I am a woman, and I am impressed with how much understanding the author has of a female's perspective. Great story.

Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly enjoyable, couldn't put it down!
Review: This was my first Follett book which led to many others. I am busy and would rather learn as well as enjoy a good novel. With Follett, I find I can do both, enjoy while learning about history and various other things. This book was so interesting and intense that I was spellbound by it and was sad when it ended, although it was a superb ending. I'm often annoyed with book endings but not Follett's. This story is about integrity & freedom, something that is close to us all. *Also highly recommended is "A Dangerous Fortune", "Night Over Water", "The Key to Rebecca" and "Lie Down With Lions".

Rating:
Summary: An excellent historical novel of the late 18th century
Review: This book was a change of pace for Ken Follett who has carried out some outstanding research into conditions in late 18th century Scotland, England, and the American colonies. The main character, who's ambition is the freedom to go his own way, comes up against the class structure of the times and the limited rights of the working man. This develops into a superb tale as the hero encounters first the conditions of servitude and slavery in Scotland, then the conditions of repression in England, and finally the conditions of bondage in Virginia. While it is historical fiction, the book is especially recommended for readers delving into conditions that brought people to the American colonies. Readers should be forewarned that the book has significant sexual content and some violence that would give it at best a PG-13 rating.

Rating:
Summary: Great, Couldn't put it down
Review: I picked up this book 2 years ago and never got around to reading it, now I can't wait to order some of his other books. I would recommended it highly.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing, and not very satisifying.
Review: I am a BIG Ken Follett fan. I actually met him here in Boston while he was prompting "The Pillars of the Earth". He's a very nice man, and excellant writer, but "A Place Called Freedom" started off with good intentions and fizzled out.

Rating:
Summary: No Pillars of the Earth, but a breezy, if predictable, read.
Review: I found this story to be rather over-ripe and predictable, but it kept me turning the pages. Something not previously noted by this reader in Follett's work, a rather pedantic, even patronizing attitude towards the reader. Follett seems to write the way the army teaches its instructors to teach: 1. Tell them what you're going to say 2. Say it 3. tell them what you just said. Well, DUH....

Rating:
Summary: A Place Called Freedom is an extraordinary book.
Review: When ever i read Ken Follet i can never put him down and that was true with the Place Called Fredom.