Kane and Abel is a 1979 novel by Jeffrey Archer. It reached No. 1 on the New York Times best-seller list.

It’s among the top 100 best-selling books in the world, with a similar number of copies sold as To Kill a Mockingbird and Gone with the Wind.

The intersecting life stories of two men born on the same day — 18 April 1906.

William Kane is a rich kid from Boston. Abel Rosnovski, a Pole born into poverty.

Both are super talented and ambitious. Kane becomes a top banker. Abel a hotel tycoon.

The two should have been friends and allies, yet become enemies.

That gets complicated when their children get married despite vehement protests.

A sprawling good book with plenty of historical references. Yet I feel Archer became a better writer over the decades since 1979. This book felt old to me, compared with his newer books.