Kane and Abel (Mass Market Paperback)

by Jeffrey Archer (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
'Archer has a gift for plot that can only be described as genius' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Probably the greatest storyteller of our age' MAIL ON SUNDAY --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"One of the top ten storytellers in the world." -Los Angeles Times

"A master at mixing power, politics, and profit into fiction." -Entertainment Weekly

"Archer is a master entertainer." -Time

"Archer plots with skill, and keeps you turning the pages." -The Boston Globe

"Cunning plots, silken style...Archer plays a cat-and-mouse game with the reader." -The New York Times

"A storyteller in the class of alexandre dumas...unsurpassed skill...making the reader wonder intensely what will happen next." -The Washington Post

"There isn't a better storyteller alive." -Larry King

See all Editorial Reviews

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Product Details Mass Market Paperback: 592 pages Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (March 2, 2004) Language: English ISBN-10: 0312995059 ISBN-13: 978-0312995058 Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.5 inches Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (166 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #29,660 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Citations (learn more)

18 books cite this book:

• The Eleventh Commandment: A Novel by Jeffrey Archer in Front Matter (1), and Front Matter (2)
• Current English Linguistics in Japan (Trends in Linguistics) by Heizo Nakajima on page 100, and page 137
• The Mother-Daughter Book Club: How Ten Busy Mothers and Daughters Came Together to Talk, Laugh and Learn Through Their Love of Reading by Shireen Dodson on page 72, and Back Matter
• Lights Out for the Territory: 9 Excursions in the Secret History of London by Iain Sinclair on page 169
• "The Solomon Key" and Beyond: DIGITAL FORTESS, ANGELS & DEMONS, DECEPTION POINT, THE DA VINCI CODE, and more ... by W. Frederick Zimmerman on page 62

See all 18 books citing this book

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	86% buy the item featured on this page: Kane and Abel 4.6 out of 5 stars (166) $7.99
	5% buy A Matter of Honor 4.4 out of 5 stars (25) $7.99
	3% buy Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less 4.4 out of 5 stars (70) $7.99
	3% buy The Prodigal Daughter 3.9 out of 5 stars (36) $7.99

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Customer Reviews

166 Reviews 5 star:  (135) 4 star:  (14) 3 star:  (9) 2 star:  (3) 1 star:  (5)           Average Customer Review 4.6 out of 5 stars (166 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 52 of 54 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Mesmerizing Multi-Generational Saga Entertains Completely, March 17, 2004 By  Antoinette Klein (Hoover, Alabama USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    This review is from: Kane & Abel (Mass Market Paperback) I am so glad to have discovered this "oldie" originally published in 1979 because it is one of the best books I have ever read. It has drama, suspense, romance, and enough plot twists to keep the most savvy reader breathlessly reading until the heart-wrenching conclusion. William Kane and Abel Rosnovski both enter the world in 1906. One is born to a wealthy, socially prominent Boston family. The other is born in poverty in Poland to an unwed woman who dies during childbirth. They each have a remarkable life story that makes for spellbinding reading until the finale in 1963. Abel is rescued from the woods beside the body of his dead mother by a hunter and taken into a peasant family. The Russian occupation of Poland, his fearful and solitary escape to Turkey and later America, will have you cheering this tough young boy. Meanwhile, young William Kane is growing up in the lap of luxury, attending the finest schools, and winning every honor his father before him achieved. You will be fascinated by Archer's storytelling and the vivid characters he portrays. You will root for Abel and take him to your heart. You will be fascinated with William and wish only the best for him. Unfortunately, when the two characters cross paths as young men, a fierce hatred erupts and they become life-long enemies, as Abel swears to destroy William Kane. The author has made each of his main characters so endearing that the reader is torn and loyalties falter. Do you root for Abel? Do you root for William? Dare you hope they will work this out? Whatever you are thinking, you will be surprised. This is not one of those novels where you will see the ending coming, but you will be stunned, sad, and uplifted as a gamut of emotions play with your mind and heart. I finished this late last night and have been thinking about Abel and William all day. I can hardly wait to start on the sequel, "The Prodigal Daughter." 27 of 27 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars One of my all time favorites, July 31, 2005 By  Pam from Texas - See all my reviews    The main reason I am writing this is to warn you against reading Matt Hetling's review because he gives away the whole secret/climax of the book. I can't believe it got past Amazon. Don't reviewers know not to give away the ending and secrets? Sometimes I'm afraid to read reviews for that very reason. I won't give a description of the book since so many others have, but I will say it's one of my all time favorites. I thought it was outstanding. Pam 11 of 11 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Kane & Abel - Polish nobleman versus American banker, April 28, 2000 By  Jozef A. Wawrzak (Stoughton, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews This review is from: Kane & Abel (Mass Market Paperback) This book is realy woderfull. I could not put this book away while reading. Jeffrey Archer put the action in the real world with a knowledge of the reality of Poland before the second war and the post war era. This is what I like about it. Since I am Polish I can say that the fact from the begining of Abel's life are set in the reality of those time. The Russian soldiers were shown in the actual reality what I know from the facts that my father was telling me about them. Anyway the characters of Abel and Kane are drawn nicely to shaw thedrive to success. Kane is driven by the financial purpooses to get rich by all means, while Abel's success is driven by his stubborness to destroy Kane who was gilty of dead of Abel's former boss. The action of this book is swift, and is very characteriscal to all books of Jeffrey Archer. Second part of this book "The Prodigal Daugther" is in the same style. I highly recomend to everyone this book, and of course when you read "Kane & Abel" do not forget to read "The prodigal daughter" to have the full picture of Kane's family.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorites of all time!! This is my fourth book by Jeff Archer. He is truly an amazin writer. I thought this books was one of the best books I've ever read. Read more Published 1 month ago by Ralph Holden 5.0 out of 5 stars Great story to enjoy immensely It is about two men of two different backgrounds born in the same day, one, William, born in a golden Wasp conservative affluent family of Boston, owners of a powerful bank, the... Read more Published 3 months ago by Manuel Gwiazda 5.0 out of 5 stars Not a very deep book, but extremely absorbing. As other reviewer has pointed out, this is almost like a soap opera. Very cliché at times. Nevertheless, it is a very enjoyable book that I would recommend to anyone looking for... Read more Published 5 months ago by demonk 3.0 out of 5 stars Haven't read it yet.. In the US version (St Martin's Paperbacks) , I found some wordings are different from the UK one (Pan Macmillan). Read more Published 9 months ago by Matthew Lee 5.0 out of 5 stars Kane and Abel I love this book. My last copy was so worn and ripped I had to get a new one. This is one book and can read more then once. Published 14 months ago by Sue Stevenson 3.0 out of 5 stars A bit disappointing Well written like all of his novels. I was very interested and involved with the characters. The characters are well developed, the story lines grew as we followed their lives... Read more Published 14 months ago by SD 5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book This book was absolutely awesome. It had romance, suspense, a bit of horror (concentration camp images), and revenge. Read more Published 15 months ago by M. Parsons 5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best story tellers of our time This was a book my mother recommended to me. She read it several years ago and remembered how good it was. And oh how good it was. Read more Published 17 months ago by Kel 5.0 out of 5 stars This book put Archer on my favorite author list Archer is a great story teller and this book is one of his best. It is a classic tale but demonstrates that a good story line is a good story line, no matter how many times it... Read more Published 18 months ago by J Davis 3.0 out of 5 stars OK Had begun reading it about a decade ago and hadn't had the opportunity to finish it, so decided to finish it. Read more Published 19 months ago by Rocky Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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This product's forum (3 discussions)   Discussion Replies Latest Post Is there another book as good as Kane and Abel out there? 4 2 months ago US version is different from UK one? 0 September 2008 A book like this one 2 September 2006 › See all 3 discussions...   [Start the discussion] Start a new discussion Topic: First post: Receive e-mail when new posts are made Prompts for sign-in   [Cancel] Guidelines Active discussions in related forums   Discussion Replies Latest Post fiction Have you written a book - tell us about it 787 15 seconds ago fiction Have You Written a Nonfiction Book - Tell Us About It 53 1 minute ago fiction On the Quality and Integrity of Self-Published Novels 152 32 minutes ago fiction Shameless Self-Promotion 146 3 hours ago fiction What are some books you loved so much you didn't want them to end? 46 1 day ago book recommendations 17yr old who hates reading 6 4 days ago family saga Have You Written a Family Saga-Come Tell Us About It 38 12 days ago

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 592 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (March 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312995059
• ISBN-13: 978-0312995058
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (166 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #29,660 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mesmerizing Multi-Generational Saga Entertains Completely, March 17, 2004

By	Antoinette Klein (Hoover, Alabama USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Kane & Abel (Mass Market Paperback)

I am so glad to have discovered this "oldie" originally published in 1979 because it is one of the best books I have ever read. It has drama, suspense, romance, and enough plot twists to keep the most savvy reader breathlessly reading until the heart-wrenching conclusion.

William Kane and Abel Rosnovski both enter the world in 1906. One is born to a wealthy, socially prominent Boston family. The other is born in poverty in Poland to an unwed woman who dies during childbirth. They each have a remarkable life story that makes for spellbinding reading until the finale in 1963.

Abel is rescued from the woods beside the body of his dead mother by a hunter and taken into a peasant family. The Russian occupation of Poland, his fearful and solitary escape to Turkey and later America, will have you cheering this tough young boy.

Meanwhile, young William Kane is growing up in the lap of luxury, attending the finest schools, and winning every honor his father before him achieved.

You will be fascinated by Archer's storytelling and the vivid characters he portrays. You will root for Abel and take him to your heart. You will be fascinated with William and wish only the best for him. Unfortunately, when the two characters cross paths as young men, a fierce hatred erupts and they become life-long enemies, as Abel swears to destroy William Kane.

The author has made each of his main characters so endearing that the reader is torn and loyalties falter. Do you root for Abel? Do you root for William? Dare you hope they will work this out? Whatever you are thinking, you will be surprised. This is not one of those novels where you will see the ending coming, but you will be stunned, sad, and uplifted as a gamut of emotions play with your mind and heart.

I finished this late last night and have been thinking about Abel and William all day. I can hardly wait to start on the sequel, "The Prodigal Daughter."

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my all time favorites, July 31, 2005

By	Pam from Texas - See all my reviews

The main reason I am writing this is to warn you against reading Matt Hetling's review because he gives away the whole secret/climax of the book. I can't believe it got past Amazon. Don't reviewers know not to give away the ending and secrets? Sometimes I'm afraid to read reviews for that very reason.

I won't give a description of the book since so many others have, but I will say it's one of my all time favorites. I thought it was outstanding.

Pam

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kane & Abel - Polish nobleman versus American banker, April 28, 2000

By	Jozef A. Wawrzak (Stoughton, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kane & Abel (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is realy woderfull. I could not put this book away while reading. Jeffrey Archer put the action in the real world with a knowledge of the reality of Poland before the second war and the post war era. This is what I like about it. Since I am Polish I can say that the fact from the begining of Abel's life are set in the reality of those time. The Russian soldiers were shown in the actual reality what I know from the facts that my father was telling me about them. Anyway the characters of Abel and Kane are drawn nicely to shaw thedrive to success. Kane is driven by the financial purpooses to get rich by all means, while Abel's success is driven by his stubborness to destroy Kane who was gilty of dead of Abel's former boss. The action of this book is swift, and is very characteriscal to all books of Jeffrey Archer. Second part of this book "The Prodigal Daugther" is in the same style. I highly recomend to everyone this book, and of course when you read "Kane & Abel" do not forget to read "The prodigal daughter" to have the full picture of Kane's family.