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Book Summary InformationAuthor: Jeffrey Archer Edition: Mass Market Paperback Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published) Published: 2004-05-16 ISBN: 0312997116 Number of pages: 800 Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Book Reviews of As the Crow FliesBook Review: As the Crow Flies Summary: 5 Stars
Charlie Trumper learned his Granpa's pitch before he could talk. Little Charlie grew up listening to his Granpa's cockney accent as he sold fruit and vegetables from a barrow in Whitechapel Road. And according to locals the old man was the finest trader in the East End of London.
Charlie learned from his Granpa and eventually bargained for and bought his own barrow. But before he had time to show it off to the old man, Granpa Trumper was dead.
Charlie took over the stand and after an early struggle, he learned and began to function as his Granpa had and became known as Charlie Trumper the honest trader.
With the idea of expanding the business, the young man began making home deliveries.
A tragic death in the Salmon family gave Charlie his first business outside his barrow and pitch. The surviving daughter, Rebecca Salmon, had noticed Charlie's reputation and asked young Trumper to come in as a partner and operate the Salmon family bakery. Charlie knew nothing about the bakery business, but within a few weeks he learned the basics and took charge.
World War I came along and feeling it was his duty Charlie joined up and spent some harrowing months on the battlefield.
When the war was over Charlie had no idea what to expect when he got back to Whitechapel, whether his partner had saved a place for him or not. But he soon learned that Rebecca Salmon had indeed saved his place, but moved from Whitechapel to Chelsea and exchanged the bakery for a grocery store.
Charlie Trumpers integrity and hard work never let him down and the business flourished. Charlie and Rebecca eventually married and the two of them worked toward a common goal building on the foundation they had already established.
They kept an eye on local business affairs and as stores and shops became available along their block they bought them up one by one until they owned every business on the block.
Charlie's reputation as an honest trader pulled him through some hard times even as the business continued to grow. However, before his grand dream could see the light of day Charlie had to convince banks, finance companies and investors to take a stake in his plan to build the "biggest barrow" in the world.
Charlie and Rebecca's plans grow far beyond early expectations and even as they are invited to wine and dine with top business leaders and royalty they never lose sight of their humble beginnings and understand that the distance between Whitechapel and Chelsea is only a couple of miles - as the crow flies.
Archer is a great storyteller and this is one of his best.
Tom Barnes Author `Doc Holliday's Road to Tombstone,' `The Goring Collection,' `The Hurricane Hunters and Lost in the Bermuda Triangle.'
Summary of As the Crow FliesGrowing up in the slums of East End London, Charlie Trumper dreams of someday running his grandfather's fruit and vegetable barrow. That day comes suddenly when his grandfather dies leaving him the floundering business. With the help of Becky Salmon, an enterprising young woman, Charlie sets out to make a name for himself as "The Honest Trader". But the brutal onset of World War I takes Charlie far from home and into the path of a dangerous enemy whose legacy of evil follows Charlie and his family for generations.
Encompassing three continents and spanning over sixty years, As the Crow Flies brings to life a magnificent tale of one man's rise from rags to riches set against the backdrop of a changing century.
When Charlie Trumper inherits his grandfather's fruit and vegetable barrow, he inherits as well his enterprising spirit, which quickly lifts him out of poverty in London's East End. Success, however, does not come easily or quickly, particularly when World War I sends Charlie into combat and into an ongoing struggle with a vengeful enemy who will not rest until Charlie is destroyed. Charlie Trumper's epic journey carries him across three continents and through the triumphs and disasters of the twentieth century, all leading toward the fulfillment of his greatest dream.
Family Saga Books
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