Harry Turtledove

When the Viking lander on the planet Minerva was destroyed, sending back one last photo of a strange alien being, scientists on Earth were flabbergasted. And so a joint investigation was launched by the United States and the Soviet Union, the first long-distance manned space mission, and a symbol of the new peace between the two great rivals. Humankind's first close encounter with extraterrestrials would be history in the making, and the two teams were schooled in diplomacy as well as in science. But nothing prepared them for alien war—especially when the Americans and the Soviets found themselves on opposite sides. . . .Praise for A World of Difference“A master storyteller.”—Houston Chronicle“[Harry] Turtledove has proved he can divert his readers to astonishing places. he's developed a cult following over the years. . . . I know I'd follow his imagination almost anywhere.”—San Jose Mercury News“Turtledove never tires of exploring the paths not taken, bringing to his storytelling a prodigious knowledge of his subject and a profound understanding of human sensibilities and motivations.”—Library Journal

<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>The latest volume in Turtledove's colossal and brilliant saga of an alternate (and disunited) United States may be the strongest and most compelling since the opener, How Few Remain (1997). Juxtaposing historical dilemmas and universal human ones, the novel explores weird twists of history at both levels. Jake Featherston leads an independent Confederacy toward war, with his propaganda chief a scrawny undersized Jew. Anne Colleton attends the Richmond Olympics of 1936, still dynamic but worried about losing her sex appeal. George Enos has lost his mother, accidentally shot by her drunken lover Ernie, and is now following in his late father's footsteps as a commercial fisherman out of Boston. Cincinnatus Driver and Scipio are on a collision course with the Holocaust that the Confederacy is preparing for African-Americans in Alabama, but Cincinnatus has also borne the burden of making peace with the parents of his Chinese daughter-in-law. Jonathan Moss is climbing back into the cockpit of an alternate P-40, ready to wield it like a sword of vengeance against Canadian terrorists who killed his wife and daughter. And one does wonder what will come of a WWII with France and Britain under quasi-Fascist regimes. Readers will not have long to wait, as the WWII trilogy is only a couple of years from seeing the light of print-which many fans will find far too long.<br />Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p><h3>From</h3><p><em>Starred Review</em> The conclusion to American Empire, part of Turtledove's magisterial saga of an alternate America that also includes the trilogy The Great War, is the most powerful volume in it since the post-Civil War novel that launched it all, <em>How Few Remain</em> (1997). It demonstrates Turtledove's continuing mastery of historical fiction on the macrocosmic and the microcosmic levels. On the grand scale, there is Confederate president Jake Featherstone (the Confederacy won the Civil War, you see) shouting, "I'm here to tell you the truth," while he does nothing of the sort; the Olympics of 1936 unfolding in Richmond, Virginia; a France ruled by the Action Francaise and upholding a king, Charles XI; and the death of Kaiser Wilhelm II precipitating the next world war. On the smaller scale, three old friends from previous saga volumes are lost: Sylvia Enos to her drunken lover Ernie, the widowed Lucien Gautier to a heart attack while with a new lady-love, and Clara Jacobs to old-fashioned blood-poisoning. Cincinnatus Driver is torn between obligations to his old Red comrades, his family in Iowa, and his parents in a Kentucky that, having voted itself into the Confederacy, is preparing a Holocaust of its black population. Farther south, Scipio has no hope of refuge if Anne Colleton comes after him, while up north Jonathan Moss leaves Canada to return to a fighter cockpit after his wife and daughter are killed by a letter bomb. Busy, to be sure, but almost impossible to praise too highly. <em>Roland Green</em><br /><em>Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved</em></p>

<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Alternate historian extraordinaire Turtledove (Hitler's War) explores a dozen different "what if?" scenarios in this reprint collection. These stories, some dead serious and some absurdly improbable, demonstrate his ability to slip, chameleonlike, from one mode to the next. An aging John Audubon searches for rare birds in "Audubon in Atlantis," and Hitler's life takes a very different turn in the epistolary "Uncle Alf." "The Catcher in the Rhine" adeptly blends an American classic and a Wagnerian opera. Perhaps the most outrageous is "Bedfellows," featuring George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden. Turtledove also takes a few potshots at the modern media in "News from the Front." Helpful forewords explain the inspiration for, or divergence point of, each story. Whether he's going for humor or pathos, action or social commentary, Turtledove's research is always solid, his speculation thoughtful, and his execution professional. (Dec.) <br />(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>Turtledove has long been established at the head of the alternate-history field. This short-story collection suggests that he can also thrust his tongue farther into his cheek than most authors can dream of. The first and last stories are laid in his new creation, the mid-Atlantic subcontinent of Atlantis. In one, John James Audubon sets out to capture on canvas the fast-disappearing birdlife; in the other, an eminent London detective and his doctor partner tackle the mystery of the Scarlet Band. In “Daimon,” the Greek general Alkibiades rises to the level of Alexander the Great, with unfortunate results for Socrates. “The Horse of Bronze” is a wild romp through classical Greece, while “Occupation Duty” explores another possible conqueror for Southwest Asia. “The Catcher in the Rhine” is a send-up that a certain cult novel has long deserved, while “News from the Front” savagely juxtaposes modern mediaocracy with WWII. And let’s not forget “Uncle Alf,” wholly spent inside the mind of an alternate Adolf Hitler (the Germans won WWI), and just plain scary. High Demand Backstory: Publisher promotion, plus his recognizable name, equals buzz. --Roland Green </p>

<h3>From Library Journal</h3><p>In the aftermath of World War II and the invasion by the alien Lizards, decades of struggle have led to an uneasy attempt by the aliens to maintain a colony on Earth. Collaboration, rebellion, and attempts at understanding each other bring humans and Lizards to the brink of new hostilities, threatening the destruction of the world but holding out hope for its renewal. This conclusion to Turtledove's multivolume alternate history features the author's close attention to detail and his ability to paint broad, panoramic pictures without sacrificing the personal stories of his characters. A good addition to most sf collections, particularly in libraries that own previous series titles. <br />Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p><h3>From</h3><p>Colonel Sam Yeager has a terrible secret that he can share with only one person--and no humans. The former shiplord Straha, a lizard now exiled to L.A,, is willing to keep the army officer's secret as a protective measure for Yeager and his family. But when Yeager goes missing, and Straha decides to take his secret to the colonization fleetlord, the outcome shocks everyone, from the crew of the American spaceship <em>Lewis and Clark</em> to the ginger dealers in Marseille. Turtledove concludes his highly entertaining Worldwar alternate-history saga with a series of deadly nuclear confrontations and happier, more intimate encounters between lizards and humans. Characters once mired in the struggles between the doomed Reich and the Race are now free to travel, and Cockney Jew David Goldfarb finds himself in Edmonton, inventing a caller ID system, while Rance Auerbach moves from South Africa to the south of France. Mao and Molotov remain in power, but new humans and lizards are climbing the ranks to challenge the old guard. Turtledove explores ethics, vengeance, and the duties of familial love versus those of friendship with his trademark wry humor--for instance, the Warren Commission turns out to be a loose gathering of lizards intent on understanding the death of President Earl Warren. If only there were another five books in the series to look forward to! <em>Roberta Johnson</em><br /><em>Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved</em></p>

<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p><em>Colonization: Down to Earth</em> marks part two of part two of Harry Turtledove's epic alternate history in which WWII gets interrupted--and violently abridged--by a hostile alien invasion. With some of the same characters introduced in the four-volume __, the story arc continues through the 1960s, as the Lizards (along with their second fleet, composed not of soldiers but of colonists) continue to grapple with their not-quite-subdued conquest, Tosev 3 (a.k.a. earth). And Turtledove's alt-'60s are not--to say the least--about peace, love, and understanding. </p><p>Now the reptilian ETs must face off against three world superpowers in an uneasy truce: the United States; Molotov's SSSR; and the psychotic, nuke-wielding Nazis under Himmler. Elsewhere, the U.K. flirts with fascism, Red China (commanded by none other than Chairman Mao) wages a bloody resistance against its scaly oppressors, and the Arab world does likewise under the guidance of Ayatollah Khomeini. As ever with Turtledove, plot takes precedence over characterizations, but his suspenseful twists and turns don't disappoint. And while <em>Down to Earth</em> proves a bit less martial than its predecessors, the action still satisfies--if nothing else, the bang-up finale is worth the wait. <em>--Paul Hughes</em></p><h3>From Library Journal</h3><p>The alien invasion that transformed the nature of the Second World War into a fight between humans and "Lizards" resulted in a state of uneasy d?tente. Twenty years later, Lizards lay claim to parts of the earth despite a growing state of resistance to their presence. Continuing the story begun in Colonization: Second Contact (LJ 1/99), Turtledove expands on his imaginary history of the 20th century. He demonstrates his talent for crafting drama on a global scale by concentrating on the individual stories that make up the big picture. A good choice for sf collections. <br />Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>

<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>Harry Turtledove pays tribute to pulp science fiction, combining a favorite plot--invasion by technologically superior aliens--with an alternate history of WWII and its aftermath. His </p><p><em>Colonization: Second Contact</em> continues the saga, but you need not read the previous series to enjoy it. When the colonists arrive in 1962, they're unprepared for a half-conquered world. After several of their ships are destroyed by a nuclear missile of mysterious origin, they accuse the conquest forces of incompetence. Muslims in the conquered Middle East are staging an Intifada, the Chinese Communists continue guerrilla warfare against the invaders, and everyone's smuggling ginger, which is powerfully addictive among the Race and has unanticipated effects on the female colonists.</p><p>Turtledove's cast of characters includes sharply drawn alien soldiers and civilians as well as a mix of convincing historical and fictional humans from all over the world. He covers all the sixties issues: generational conflict, the drug culture, racial inequality, the threat of atomic apocalypse, and the frustration of soldiers in an unwinnable war. If you enjoy alternate history and old B movies, this book's for you. <em>--Nona Vero</em></p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>In high fashion, the master of alternative SF launches a sequel series to his acclaimed Worldwar tetralogy (Striking the Balance, etc.). It is 1963, and Earth is divided among five independent powers (the U.S., the Soviet Union, the Third Reich, Britain, Japan) and the invading alien Lizards. Human adaptations of Lizard technology (including space flight) and the Lizard leaders' painful experience of fighting humans have led to an armed truce among all the parties. Now, however, the Lizard colony fleet, with 40 million sleep-frozen colonists, arrives to settle what they expect to be a completely subdued world. That the Tosevites (humans) are still holding out is only the first of several surprises to greet them. The nastiest is probably that ginger, merely addictive to Lizard males, brings Lizard females violently into heat?arousing an irresistible mating urge in the males. The Third Reich, meanwhile, under the leadership of Himmler, continues its odious ways; Jews maintain an uneasy peace with the Lizards, who saved them from the Holocaust; the Soviet Union (under Molotov) survives; and the U.S. is building a huge space station. Characters who have become old friends to readers of the earlier tetralogy abound, and new ones both human and Lizard appear by the double handful. Turtledove handles sexual themes with good taste and appropriate humor. With his fertile imagination running on overdrive, he develops an exciting, often surprising, story that will not only delight his fans but will probably send newcomers back to the Worldwar saga to fill in the backstory. <br />Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>

From the master of alternate history comes an epic of the second Civil War. It was an epoch of glory and success, of disaster and despair. . . .1881: A generation after the South won the Civil War, America writhed once more in the bloody throes of battle. Furious over the annexation of key Mexican territory, the United States declared total war against the Confederate States of America in 1881. But this was a new kind of war, fought on a lawless frontier where the blue and gray battled not only each other but the Apache, the outlaw, the French, and the English. As Confederate General Stonewall Jackson again demonstrated his military expertise, the North struggled to find a leader who could prove his equal. In the Second War Between the States, the times, the stakes, and the battle lines had changed--and so would history. . .

Suppose Roosevelt, Stalin, Churchill, Hitler, and Hirohito had united to conquer an even greater foe?No one could top their power—not the Germans, not the Japanese, not the Russians, not the United States. From Pearl Harbor to panzers rolling through Paris to the Siege of Leningrad and the Battle of Midway, war seethed across the planet as flames of destruction rose higher and hotter. And then, suddenly, the real enemy came. The invaders seemed unstoppable, their technology far beyond human reach. And never before had men been more divided. For Jew to unite with Nazi, American with Japanese, and Russian with German was unthinkable. But the alternative was even worse. As the fate of the world hung in the balance, slowly, painfully, humankind took up the shocking challenge. . . .

Harry Turtledove turns his hand to a story of epic dimensions: the story of a World War in a world where magic works. For modern magic is deadlier than magic in eras past. Trained flocks of dragons rain fire upon cities. Rival powers harness sea leviathans to sabotage one another's ships. The lights are going out all across Derlavai, and will not come back on again in this lifetime. Against this tapestry, Turtledove tells the story of soldiers and generals, washerwomen and scholars, and peasants and diplomats. For all the world high born and low, is being plunged by world war ... into the darkness.

From Master of Alternate History Harry TurtledoveAs Britain faces the full fury of the Nazi war machine, hope comes in the form of American volunteers called the Eagle Squadrons. As these units join their RAF cousins during the Battle of Britain, famous woman aviator Amelia Earhart (who survived her world-circling flight) emerges as a rallying point for those willing to stand against fascism.

“[A] tour de force of speculative historical fiction. Highly recommended.”—Library JournalIn the extraordinary Worldwar tetralogy, set against the backdrop of World War II, Harry Turtledove, the “Hugo-winning master of alternate SF” (Publishers Weekly), wove an explosive saga of world powers locked in conflict against an enemy from the stars. Now he expands his magnificent epic into the volatile 1960s, when the space race is in its infancy and humanity must face its greatest challenge: alien colonization of planet Earth. Yet even in the shadow of this inexorable foe, the United States, the Soviet Union, and Nazi Germany are unable to relinquish their hostilities and unite against a massive new wave of extraterrestrials. For all the countries of the world, this is the greatest threat of all. This time, the terrible price of defeat will be the conquest of our world, and perhaps the extinction of the human race itself. Praise for Second Contact“An exciting, often surprising, story that will not only delight his fans but will probably send newcomers back to the Worldwar saga.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)“Outstanding entertainment.”—Booklist

<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>In this well-thought-out alternate history, the first in a new trilogy, Turtledove (_American Empire_) combines elements of the Civil War and WWII with disturbing results. Confederate President Jake Featherstone has launched an undeclared war of revenge on the U.S.A., with Rebel "barrels" (tanks) cutting the nation in half. U.S. President Al Smith doesn't sue for peace as expected, causing unreconstructed Canadians to sabotage the now-vital Northern rail system holding the nation together. Mormon separatists have once more revolted against the federal government, and Louis Armstrong, who has defected to the North, brings with him chilling evidence of the Confederate "population reductions" (genocide) of African-Americans. Turtledove's depiction of how easily the C.S.A. could carry out genocide—and do so with less cost to the conscience than the Germans experienced in the real Holocaust—coupled with the "so what?" reaction of Northerners when this is publicized makes a disturbing commentary on the state of race relations in both parts of our country. While some of the character descriptions are repetitious, the author handles his huge cast with admirable skill. The insights into racial politics elevate this novel to a status above mere entertainment, although it provides that aplenty. <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>The latest volume of Turtledove's epic variation on American history, which opens the trilogy Settling Accounts, takes us to the opening battles of World War II. The Confederacy is better prepared for war than the U.S., and the conflict's initial stages develop in favor of the Confederacy; in tandem, Tom Colleton loses his sister but meets a formidable armored commander named Patton. The Quebecois occupy the rest of Canada; in reaction, Mary Pomeroy grimly determines to keep the resistance going, even though the risks of doing so steadily increase. Although Clarence Potter loves Jake Featherston no more than he ever did, he remains just as loyal a head of Confederate intelligence. Meanwhile, this alternate history's variation on the Holocaust marches forward, with Jefferson Pinkard simultaneously inventing new ways of executing African Americans and courting the widow of one of his guards. Scipio is trying to stay alive despite resistance fighters setting off car bombs too close for comfort, and Cincinnatus Driver is, willy-nilly, joining a resistance movement that promises to give this Holocaust a number of twists away from its model. Turtledove produces yet another absorbing installment of his character-centered alternate-history saga. <em>Roland Green</em><br /><em>Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved</em></p>

<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>In Turtledove's engrossing second book in the alternate history master's Settling Accounts trilogy (after 2004's <em>Return Engagement</em>), Confederate forces, in an undeclared war of revenge that coincides with WWII, have split the United States from the Ohio River to Lake Erie, but this only stiffens Yankee resolve. Insurrection breaks out in occupied Canada and in Mormon Utah, resulting in harsh reprisals by U.S. troops against civilians, while Confederate President Jake Featherstone pushes for more "population reductions" of freed slaves. As in the previous volume, Turtledove comes up with convincing analogues to events during WWII, such as the Confederate army's Stalingrad-like defeat around Pittsburgh. On the other hand, his portrait of the führer-like Featherstone is less persuasive. The Southern leader shows more courage and flexibility than his model, making intimations of future behavior a procrustean attempt to force him back into a Hitlerian mold. There's enough back story for the benefit of new readers, while established fans, despite the repetition, will find this latest installment thoroughly satisfying. <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p><em>Starred Review</em> The second volume of Turtledove's third alternate World War II trilogy, Settling Accounts, is in many ways the strongest one in any of them. The Confederacy has given its best shot at cutting the U.S. in two between the Ohio River and the Great Lakes, but U.S. production and tenacity are beginning not only to hold the line but also to regain lost ground. Meanwhile, at sea the primary opponents are the U.S and Britain, and "deep in the heart of Texas," nobody is singing as Jake Featherston's final solution to the Negro problem picks up speed. There is plenty of action, and, of course, characterization remains one of Turtledove's long suits. But the real strength of the book, and of the whole alternate-history saga of which it is neither least nor last, lies in the juxtaposition of events not usually associated with people who could be readers' parents or grandparents. Firing squad executions in Canada? Suicide bombers in Utah and the Deep South? A U.S. destroyer escort sinking a British Q-ship? The pacing practically compels one to keep reading, but after a certain point, Turtledove's not-just-refutation but massacre of "American exceptionalism" may bring some readers to the point of putting the book away and seeking a soothing, cozy novel by Stephen King. <em>Roland Green</em><br /><em>Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved</em></p>

<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Alternate history master Turtledove brings his 10-book saga of a Confederate Civil War victory to a satisfying if predictable conclusion. Outfought by the United States and their German allies (as anticipated in 2006's <em>Settling Accounts: The Grapple</em>), the Confederates finally surrender, ending WWII. Now the Southern states must be brought back into the Union after four wars and 80 years of independence. The victorious Northern forces wage a brutal occupation, ruthlessly retaliating against the local population for ambushes and car bombs. While the Union joyously punishes the persecutors of those Negro residents of the Confederacy who survived the Freedom Party's genocide campaign, it fails to remedy its treatment of its own black citizens. With Canada and the secessionist Mormon territories remaining under martial law, some readers may wish that Turtledove follows this time line into uncharted territory in yet another sequel. <em>(July)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>Here ends (probably) alternate history's closest rival—10 volumes and a prequel—to Robert Jordan's plethoric fantasy, the 11-volume Wheel of Time. The Confederacy crumbles in ruins, as Jake Featherstone meets the end he richly deserves. Generals Dowling and Morrell end with the high rank and position their efforts deserve, while Michael Pound recovers from burns received in a well-drawn tank battle, and Chester Martin ends his second war successfully, having kept his platoon commander from killing the whole platoon. On the other hand, the saga's four-contestant nuclear race leaves four nuclear powers still standing at war's end, and both soldiers and civilians contemplating the spectacle with crossed fingers. Moreover, race relations in the defunct Confederacy are horrible, entailing the murder of at least six million "colored," a genocide that dwarfs this-world Bosnia and Rwanda combined. Meanwhile, Clarence Potter, Cincinnatus Driver, and Flora Blackford will be working to heal the malignant scars in Turtledove's parallel continuum, so who can say how the U.S. might emerge? Perhaps into a three-cornered cold war (U.S., Germany, Japan)—if and when Turtledove obliges reader curiosity A conclusion worthy of a nonpareil saga. Green, Roland </p>

<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>The compelling third volume (after <em>Drive to the East</em>) in Turtledove's third alternate history of WWII series opens with the Confederacy reeling after the loss of their forces in the cauldron around Pittsburgh. The United States is trying to suppress the Mormon rebellion in Utah, while Canadian patriots fight the occupying Yanks to a stalemate. Negro guerrillas who escaped being swept up into death camps authorized by C.S.A. President Jake Featherstone disrupt the rural economy. Meanwhile, both sides work feverishly to win the race to build an atomic bomb. One may question the appropriateness of using the Holocaust as a springboard for an entertainment, but Turtledove convincingly depicts how an American holocaust could well have happened. Some Confederates begin to feel pangs of conscience, just as the U.S. troops who execute hostages among the Mormon, Canadian and Confederate civilians feel nothing but repulsion. While somewhat repetitious and a bit preachy in spots, Turtledove's latest proves that third time is the charm. <em>(July)</em> <br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p><h3>From</h3><p>The latest volume of Settling Accounts, Turtledove's magisterial saga of an alternate America--and world----ratchets up the levels of violence and tension. Through Franklin Roosevelt, Flora Blackford is keeping apprised of everybody's nuclear weapons programs as well as Confederate efforts to develop a ballistic missile. In the West, people of all races, colors, and genders die in gruesome numbers as the U.S. Army advances on the Confederate extermination camp, Camp Determination. Jonathan Moss roams Georgia with a band of African American guerrillas, trying to get back into the war. And George Enos now serves aboard Sam Carsten's <em>Josephus Daniels</em> and confronts a British Swordfish torpedo bomber that seems one entire war out-of-date. Responding with this-world prejudices, purists will complain that the alternative-world British would have built something better, or that the Confederates never could have built a V-2. Readers of broader vision will realize that Turtledove is hanging the notion of American exceptionalism out to dry and underlining how much luck the U.S. has needed to accomplish even as much as it has in preserving democracy, making peace among races, and not having its soldiers slaughtered by the millions and its cities wrecked by the score. A profoundly thoughtful masterpiece of alternate history. <em>Roland Green</em><br /><em>Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved</em></p>

<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p><em>What if</em>? Harry Turtledove, renowned alt-historian and the editor of this anthology, calls that question "those two mournful little words." But little though they might be, they inspired some of the previous century's most brilliant speculative fiction, including the 14 short stories collected here.</p><p>And with contributors like Poul Anderson, Greg Bear, Gregory Benford, Larry Niven, Kim Stanley Robinson, Bruce Sterling, and Turtledove himself, there's truly not a clunker in the bunch. All of these stories revolve around Turtledove's central beard-tugging question, but they vary wildly in style, mood, and approach. Many toy with how the future might be altered had some particular event turned out differently (what if the Confederates had won at Gettysburg, or the <em>Enola Gay</em> had crashed before making its fateful flight?), while others follow dimension-hoppers traveling through tangled branches of our timeline (as in Sterling's "Mozart in Mirrorshades," Anderson's "Eutopia," and Jack L. Chalker's surreal ferry ride through "Dance Band on the <em>Titanic</em>").</p><p>All but four of these stories were written in the last two decades of the century--before then, Turtledove suggests in part, we weren't scientifically certain about whether Martians and "oceans on Venus full of reptilian monsters" might exist, so we were satisfied by more conventional, planet-faring SF. But the ideas that the contributors wrestle with here, and that irresistible human urge to speculate about the implications of our actions (and whether our decisions matter at all), prove timeless. <em>--Paul Hughes</em></p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>A ghostly ferry makes passages between coexisting "different Earths"; a 20th-century man describes his impact on the Civil War, brought about by time-machine tricks; and Mozart, Thomas Jefferson and Marie Antoinette end up as employees at an oil refinery in The Best Alternate History Stories of the 20th Century, edited by Harry Turtledove with Martin H. Greenberg. Contributors include Poul Anderson, Kim Stanley Robinson, Ward Moore and Susan Shwartz.</p><p>Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.</p>

<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>It's not merely a task that's thankless--it's impossible. How can you hope to pick out the best of anything, let alone from such a contentious category as SF (and military SF, at that)? But this 13-story collection really <em>does</em> pull together at least <em>some</em> of the best short stories penned for the genre in the last century. Thanks to editors Harry Turtledove and Martin H. Greenberg, you'll find some of science fiction's biggest names--and most influential shorts--in this expertly chosen anthology.</p><p>Chronologically, the entries range from '50s pieces like Philip K. Dick's "Second Variety" and Arthur C. Clarke's "Superiority" to more modern ruminations on war like "The Scapegoat" by C.J. Cherryh and "To the Storming Gulf" by Gregory Benford. But rather than quality (all these stories are of inarguable pedigree) or even breadth, what might recommend these most to readers new to them are the ideas and other works they later inspired: Anne McCaffrey's "Dragonrider" and Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game" both gave rise to phenomenally successful series, Joe W. Haldeman's "Hero" preceded __, and Philip K. Dick's "Second Variety" became the SF thriller <em>Screamers</em>. The collection also gives you a glimpse of what dark thoughts were rattling around the heads of prolific writers like David Drake and George R.R. Martin in the '70s. <em>--Paul Hughes</em></p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>The Best Military Science Fiction of the 20th Century, edited by Harry Turtledove with Martin H. Greenberg, musters 13 tales by such top brass of this popular subgenre as Orson Scott Card, David Drake, George R.R. Martin, Arthur C. Clarke and editor Turtledove, who provides an introduction. SF military addicts won't need a direct order to seize a copy of this one. </p><p>Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.</p>

<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>Harry Turtledove's second multivolume saga of 20th-century "alternative history," __, takes place in a world in which the Confederate States win the Civil War and in 1914, allied with England and France, go to war against the United States once more. All the horrors of World War I, such as trench warfare and mustard gas, are present, only this time they're situated in a North American theater of operations where the U.S. fights enemies on both its northern and southern borders while Confederate blacks, studying up on left-wing radicals Karl Marx and Abe Lincoln, prepare for the revolution. As in Turtledove's earlier Worldwar series, the majority of attention is paid to an assortment of people at the battlefields and home fronts, their stories unfolding in gradual increments that, at least so far, only intermittently connect with each other. And there's not as much in the way of "real" historical figures popping up in this first volume of The Great War series, save for cameo appearances by U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt, Confederate president Woodrow Wilson, an aging General Custer, and a handful of others. It remains to be seen whether future entries in the series will feature such obvious candidates for inclusion as the young Ernest Hemingway, and <em>how</em> they'll appear in this strange new world. <em>--Ron Hogan</em></p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>This masterpiece of alternate history takes place in the same world as Turtledove's How Few Remain and begins a projected tetralogy of a First World War fought with Germany and the U.S. allied against Britain, France and the Confederacy. The reader is drawn in at once as a German cruiser approaches Boston and Jeb Stuart III trains his artillery on the Capitol Dome, and Turtledove sustains high interest throughout the lengthy narrative. As in How Few Remain, the author gives full recognition to social and economic factors (e.g., how conscription impacts politics; how labor shortages affect the position of barely emancipated blacks in the Confederacy). He also plausibly depicts the opening stages of race war. In addition, he unleashes the horrors of trench warfare on American soil and shows how an American army of occupation might look from the point of view of the occupied Canadians. With shocking vividness, Turtledove demonstrates the extreme fragility of our modern world, and how much of it has depended on a United States of America. This is state-of-the-art alternate history, nothing less. Author tour. <br />Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>

<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>The historian and the creative writer unite in Turtledove to craft another impressive novel, this one the third in his series about an alternate WWI (American Front, Walk in Hell), which has seen a weakened Confederate States of America not only combating the U.S.A. but facing a communist revolt from within staged by its black slaves. In this imaginative sequel, Turtledove displays his usual mastery at maintaining suspense across a broad canvas, with characters that fans will be glad to encounter again: feisty Southern aristocrat Anne Colleton leads a group of militiamen to try to wrest control of her shattered plantation, Marshlands, from the Reds; short-order cook Nellie Semphroch and her amorous daughter escape trial as collaborators thanks to a visit from Teddy Roosevelt; General Custer and his unprecedented command of the army's "barrels"AtanksAdivision leads to the U.S. scoring some lightning-fast victories. Peace is won, but at a high cost: working mother Sylvia Enos must face the future without a job and as a widow, while Confederate sub commander Roger Kimball may face a war crimes tribunal. Echoing the Treaty of Versailles, the victors make the grave mistake of punishing their enemies so that they dream of revenge. Although a complete and skillfully executed tale in itself, this epic story leaves enough plot threads dangling to demand a fourth novel to tie them up. (Aug.) <br />Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p><h3>From Library Journal</h3><p>As World War I rages across a divided American continent, the beleaguered United States seeks the opportune moment to gain revenge against its Confederate enemies regardless of the cost. Building on the momentum of the previous two series novels, The Great War: American Front and The Great War: Walk in Hell, Turtledove follows his large cast of historical and fictional characters through the turning point of the war to end all wars. Alternate history's grand master displays his acute knowledge of American history as well as his keen imagination as he paints a vivid portrait of a past that could have been. A good choice for most libraries. <br />Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>

<h3>Amazon.com Review</h3><p>Harry Turtledove marches on through history with <em>The Great War: Walk in Hell</em>. In his alternate timeline, the Confederate States of America won the Civil War, aided by Britain and France. In the 1880s (<strong>), Americans fought again after the CSA acquired parts of Mexico--and the CSA won again. When WWI begins with Archduke Ferdinand's assassination in 1914 (</strong>), the 34-state USA under Teddy Roosevelt allies with Imperial Germany and Austria against Britain, France, Russia, Japan, Canada, and Woodrow Wilson's CSA. Trenches divide Canada, fierce fighting rages from Tennessee and Kentucky into Pennsylvania, a Mormon uprising against the USA consumes Utah, and a black socialist rebellion distracts the CSA, where slavery has ended but blacks still await full citizenship.</p><p><em>Walk in Hell</em> takes us from fall, 1915, through 1916. Soldiers, sailors, and airmen continue the fight, but much happens behind the lines too. Turtledove's characters include Jewish immigrants who are socialist and antiwar, a widow running a coffee house in CSA-occupied Washington, D.C., who passes information to the USA, and two Canadian farmers living under U.S. occupation in Quebec and Manitoba. He vividly conveys the human side of war. When Joe Hammerschmitt gets a shoulder wound in the Virginia trenches: </p><blockquote><p>... pain warred with exultation on his long, thin face. Exultation won. 'Got me a hometowner, looks like,' he said happily. Half the men up there with him made sympathetic noises; the other half looked frankly jealous. Hammerschmitt was going to be out of the firing line for weeks, maybe months, to come, and they still risked not just death but horrible mutilation every day.</p></blockquote><p>Some find Turtledove's cast too large, the story's action too slow. Others complain that <em>Walk in Hell</em> is too similar to his Worldwar series. Alternate history buffs, however, will marvel at his mastery of detail, enjoy following his logic as he pursues military and social developments onward in time, and find it hard to wait for the next in the series. <em>--Nona Vero</em></p><h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>The Hugo Award-winning master of alternate world histories presents the second volume in the WWI series he began last year with The Great War: American Front. In Turtledove's version of the War to End All Wars, conflict rages on the American continent between the USA (with 34 states) and the Confederate States of America, which won secession during the Civil War. Allied with Germany and France, the USA in 1915 hopes to take advantage of a weakened CSA, which is plagued by a socialist revolution engineered by its former slaves. Setting his tale on a suitably large canvas, Turtledove introduces a variety of characters who exemplify the diverse political and economic circumstances of the period: Anne Colleton, a former Confederate landowner, must learn to cooperate with her activist fieldhands; Flora Hamburger, a New York intellectual, fights against class injustice and runs for a seat as a socialist congresswoman; Confederate sub commander Roger Kimball plans a risky attack on New York Harbor. Turtledove judiciously blends famous historical characters into the plot, so readers learn of General Custer's frustration at being unable to conquer Tennessee and see Woodrow Wilson as a Confederate president. Although there are numerous battle scenes, the gore is restrained. Instead, the author emphasizes character, and his thorough knowledge of the period's history will, as usual, captivate his readers, Foreign rights sold in the U.K. (Aug.) <br />Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>

BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Harry Turtledove's The War That Came Early: The Big Switch. What if British prime minister Neville Chamberlain had defied Hitler? What if the Munich Accord had gone unsigned, and Nazi Germany had launched its bid for conquest sooner? How would World War II have unfolded—and with what consequences? Dean of alternate history Harry Turtledove has the stunning answers in his breathtaking sequel to Hitler’s War. In the wake of Hitler’s bold invasion of Czechoslovakia, nations turn against nations, old enemies form new alliances, and ordinary men and women confront extraordinary life-and-death situations. An American marine falls in love with a Russian dancer in Japanese-held Singapore, as Chinese guerilla resistance erupts. A sniper on the frontlines of France finds a powerful new way to ply his deadly art—while a German assassin hunts him. In the icy North Atlantic, as a U-boat with a secret weapon wreaks havoc on British ships, occupying Nazi forces target Denmark. And in Germany, a stranded American woman encounters Hitler himself, as a Jewish family faces the rising tide of hatred. From Siberia to Spain, armies clash, sides are chosen, new weapons raise the deadly ante, and new strategies seek to break a growing stalemate. But one question hangs over the conflict from West to East: What will it take to bring America into this war? ### From Publishers Weekly Having laid out the course of "the war that came early" in 2009's Hitler's War, Turtledove focuses on turning his characters from stock military figures into specialists. In this version of WWII, the Nazis fail to take Paris. The German war machine, apparently fed by infinite soldiers, turns not only to the western and eastern fronts but also north to Denmark. The novel most fully shines when the characters are allowed to strive for their full potential: Czech sniper Vaclav Jezek adopts an antitank rifle as his favorite weapon; German pilot Hans-Ulrich Rudel ingeniously modifies his aircraft; Soviet soldier Chaim Weinberg becomes a Party propagandist; and the Goldman family tries to achieve a semblance of normal life in Nazi-ruled Münster. The war is always present, though, and there's plenty to satisfy fans of military strategy, tactics, and armaments. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. ### From *Starred Review* Continuing on from Hitler’s War (2009), it is now 1939, and both Germany and Russia are faced with wars on two fronts. Sergeant Fujita fights to cut off Vladivostok, while Russian pilot Sergei Yaroslavsky fights the Germans and their Polish (!) allies outside Warsaw. British Sergeant Alistair Walsh acquires a pet cat and an unreasonable familiarity with Norwegian weather as the German invasion of Scandinavia leaves the peripatetic Peggy Druce marooned in Sweden. Meanwhile, one of the few real-historical characters, Stuka pilot Hans-Ulrich Rudel, earns the Knight’s Cross for discovering how to turn the lumbering dive bomber into a lethal tank-buster. In Spain, Chaim Weinberg learns that the dialectic he knows so well can be as effective a weapon as a rifle, and in Shanghai, marine corporal Pete McGill learns that it may be a long, hard road to marrying his beloved, White Russian refugee Vera. And so it whirls on, the suspense building inexorably, thanks to two of Turtledove’s gifts, in particular. One is for portraying so much of the action from the viewpoint of the grunts, or even civilians, who know little of what the Great Ones are up to until the consequences are all over them. The other proceeds from the first and is for envisioning WWII unraveling like an endless ball of yarn in the paws of an intelligent kitten. Keep reading or miss something exceedingly fine. --Roland Green

*AMERICAN EMPIRE: BOOK TWO * * *In this spectacular, thought-provoking epic of alternate history, Harry Turtledove has created an unparalleled vision of social upheaval, war, and cutthroat politics in a world very much like our own—but with dramatic differences. ** * *It is 1924—a time of rebuilding, from the slow reconstruction of Washington’s most honored monuments to the reclamation of devastated cities in Europe and Canada. In the United States, the Socialist Party, led by Hosea Blackford, battles Calvin Coolidge to hold on to the Powell House in Philadelphia. And it seems as if the Socialists can do no wrong, for the stock market soars and America enjoys prosperity unknown in a half century. But as old names like Custer and Roosevelt fade into history, a new generation faces new uncertainties. ** * *The Confederate States, victorious in the War of Secession and in the Second Mexican War but at last tasting defeat in the Great War, suffer poverty and natural calamity. The Freedom Party promises new strength and pride. But if its chief seizes the reins of power, he may prove a dangerous enemy for the hated U.S.A. Yet the United States take little note. Sharing world domination with Germany, they consider events in the Confederacy of little consequence. ** * *As the 1920s end, calamity casts a pall across the continent. With civil war raging in Mexico, terrorist uprisings threatening U.S. control in Canada, and an explosion of violence in Utah, the United States are rocked by uncertainty. ** * *In a world of occupiers and the occupied, of simmering hatreds, shattered lives, and pent-up violence, the center can no longer hold. And for a powerful nation, the ultimate shock will come when a fleet of foreign aircraft rain death and destruction upon one of the great cities of the United States. . . . ** * * *From the Hardcover edition.*** ### * *From Publishers Weekly** * *At its best, alternate history holds a mirror to our society, allowing us to understand our own past by examining hypothetical responses to similar but altered conditions in real or imagined worlds. In the latest installment of his retelling of the world wars, American Empire: The Center Cannot Hold, Harry Turtledove demonstrates convincingly how a native fascist ideology could spring up in a defeated Confederacy, as well as how economic conditions can develop independent of government policies. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. ** ### **From Library Journal** * *As Jake Featherston campaigns his way across the Confederate States of America (CSA) in the name of his militant Freedom Party, other forces in the world are preparing to move against the CSA's northern neighbor, the hated United States. Set in a North American continent divided into two American nations and an occupied Canada, the sequel to American Empire: Blood & Iron continues an American history that might have happened. Turtledove never tires of exploring the paths not taken, bringing to his storytelling a prodigious knowledge of his subject and a profound understanding of human sensibilities and motivations. For most libraries. [For more alternative history, see Worlds That Weren't, a collection of novellas by Turtledove and others, reviewed on p. 127. - Ed.] Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. **

In 1942 Hitler led the world's most savage military machine. Stalin ruled Russia, while America was just beginning to show its strength in World War II. Then, in Harry Turtledove's brilliantly imagined Worldwar saga, an alien invasion changed everything: alliances, technology, commerce, and--most of all--the nature of life and death. Nuclear destruction engulfed some of Earth's great cities, and the invaders claimed half the planet before an uneasy peace could be achieved. Colonization takes us into the tumultuous 1960s, as the reptilian Race ponders its uneasy future on the planet it calls Tosev 3. The United States has prospered since the war, and has sent a manned spaceship deep into space. On the other side of the globe, the German Reich remains bloodied but unbowed, brandishing a frightening new weapon and always poised for war. China strains under alien occupation, and from Poland to Jerusalem, Jews must choose between aiding the Race or the Reich. Now, the invaders have been joined by their colonization fleet--millions of newcomers who seek to incorporate our world into their far-flung empire. A violent black market erupts around ginger--the one substance that deprives the alien colonists of their ability to reason--and a new war threatens, one even deadlier than the last. The clamoring, bellicose tribes of Earth form new alliances and play dangerous games of diplomacy, but the ultimate power broker will be the Race itself. For the colonists have one option no human can ignore. With a vast, ancient empire already in place, the Race has the power to annihilate every living being on Tosev 3 . . . In Colonization: Down to Earth, Harry Turtledove continues the breathtaking tale that has established him as one of alternate history's leading practitioners. Populated by a cast that includes the famous, from Khomeni to Himmler, and the unknown--drug smugglers, soldiers, and lovers--this novel continues the excitement of Colonization: Second Contact, and weaves a spectacular tale of tyranny and freedom, destruction and hope. *From the Hardcover edition.* **

The grand conflict for control of the continent of Derlavai rages on, in a battle with all the drama and terror of the Second World War - but for artillery and bombers, read magical fire and dragons. Yet hope may be dawning at last. The terrible onslaught of the conquering forces of Algarve - who power their battle magics with the life energy of their murdered victims - begins to founder as it runs into Habakkuk: a sorcerous ship of ice used by the embattled nations of Lagoas and Kuusamo to ferry their deadly dragons across the seas to war. But though the tide has begun to turn, the conflict is far from over. The widely disdained Kaunians still struggle desperately to escape as the Algarvians kill them by the thousands - for life energy, but also simply for the crime of being Kaunian. And as the death of innocent civilians on both sides continues to feed the flames of war, those who have struggled to survive and preserve their freedom have only their will to see them through... ### From Publishers Weekly The absorbing, character-centered fifth volume (after 2002's Rulers of the Darkness) in Turtledove's fantasy saga paralleling WWII ranks as the strongest yet in the series. WWII buffs will of course enjoy watching the equivalents of the Manhattan Project, D-Day, the great Russian offensives of 1944, the appearance of German secret weapons and the withdrawal of Romania from the Axis. And the author continues to handle the action, both magical and martial, as deftly as ever. But the heart of the volume is the characters who face predicaments and ethical challenges that are personal yet universal. Ealstan and his Kaunian wife, Vanai, are any young couple trying to love, give their child a safe, sane and reasonably sanitary life and get a good night's sleep-but in the midst of war and genocide. When the Kuusaman mage Pekka confronts her passion for the Lagoan sorcerer Fernao, she ends up hip-deep in problems that would roil a suburban pharmaceutical warehouse, let alone a sorcerous research center at war. Countess Krasta bears an illegitimate child after her brother, Skarnu, returns to a liberated Valmiera, and only the possibility that its father is a member of the local resistance keeps her from suffering the usual fate of female collaborators. Long but ultimately compelling, this book augurs well for the last volume and underscores Turtledove's astonishingly fertile imagination. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. ### From Booklist The massive fifth volume of Turtledove's Darkness saga will once again absorb the series' faithful following and be hard for newcomers to deal with. Fans will be moved that Ealstan and Vanai are finally parents, though at just about the time that a Forthwegian uprising makes their adopted hometown, Eoforwic, a battle zone. The Kuusaman mage Pekka and the Lagoan sorcerer Fernao finally become lovers in the midst of their progress toward making their superpotent, energy-releasing magic available to all. Meanwhile, Pekka's husband has found his own comforts aboard the ensorcelled, dragon-carrying iceberg *Habbakuk* (that name is a test for readers who fancy themselves World War II cognoscenti) and participates in the joint Kuusaman-Lagoan invasion of mainland Derlavai. Under Marshal Rather and a seasoned cadre of now-expert officers, the Unkerlanters advance in overwhelming strength, so that one suspects Ealstan's collaborationist cousin, Sidroc, isn't going to last much longer. Nor is the Algarvian major, Spinello, what with Vanai and Ealstan deciding that vengeance on him will be theirs--and soon. Turtledove is turning World War II upside down, much as he did the Civil War in two other series. But Darkness is more ambitious and dramatic, features more historic detail and well-developed characters, and has a darker tone. *Roland Green* *Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved*

SUMMARY: Harry Turtledove’s remarkable alternative history novels brilliantly remind us of how fragile the thread of time can be, and offer us a world of “what if.” Drawing on a magnificent cast of characters that includes soldiers, generals, lovers, spies, and demagogues, Turtledove returns to an epic tale that only he could tell–the story of a North American continent, separated into two bitterly opposed nations, that stands on the verge of exploding once again.In 1914 they called it The Great War, and few could imagine anything worse. For nearly three decades a peace forged in blood and fatigue has held sway in North America. Now, Japan dominates the Pacific, the Russian Tsar rules Alaska, and England, under Winston Churchill, chafes for a return to its former glory. But behind the façade of world order, America is a bomb waiting to go off. Jake Featherston, the megalomaniacal leader of the Confederate States of America, is just the man to light the fuse. In the White House in Philadelphia, Socialist President Al Smith is a living symbol of hope for a nation that has been through the fires of war and the flood tides of depression. In the South, Featherston and his ruling Freedom Party have put down a Negro rebellion with a bloody fist and have interned them in concentration camps. Now they are determined to crush their Northern neighbor at any cost. Featherston’s planes attack Philadelphia without warning. The U.S.A. lashes back blindly at Charleston. And a terrible second coming is at hand. When the CSA blitzkrieg is launched, the U.S.A. is caught flat-footed. Before long, the gray Army reaches Lake Erie. But in its wake the war machine is spinning a vortex of destruction, betrayal, and fury that no one, not even Jake Featherston himself, can control. Now, President Smith faces a Herculean task, while an obscure assistant secretary of war named Roosevelt rises in his ranks. For the U.S.A., the darkest days still lay ahead. Across the globe, a new era of war has just begun. And in the hands of the incomparable Harry Turtledove, readers are treated to a masterful vision of what might have been. An enduring portrait of history, nations, and human nature in its many manifestations, Return Engagement is a monumental journey into the second half of the twentieth century.From the Hardcover edition.

Franklin Roosevelt is the assistant secretary of defense. Thomas Dewey is running for president with a blunt-speaking Missourian named Harry Truman at his side. Britain holds onto its desperate alliance with the USA’s worst enemy, while a holocaust unfolds in Texas. In Harry Turtledove’s compelling, disturbing, and extraordinarily vivid reshaping of American history, a war of secession has triggered a generation of madness. The tipping point has come at last. The third war in sixty years, this one yet unnamed: a grinding, horrifying series of hostilities and atrocities between two nations sharing the same continent and both calling themselves Americans. At the dawn of 1944, the United States has beaten back a daredevil blitzkrieg from the Confederate States–and a terrible new genie is out of history’s bottle: a bomb that may destroy on a scale never imagined before. In Europe, the new weapon has shattered a stalemate between Germany, England, and Russia. When the trigger is pulled in America, nothing will be the same again. With visionary brilliance, Harry Turtledove brings to a climactic conclusion his monumental, acclaimed drama of a nation’s tragedy and the men and women who play their roles–with valor, fear, and folly–on history’s greatest stage. *From the Hardcover edition.* **

WORLDWAR: BOOK 4At the bloody height of World War II, the deadliest enemies in all of human history were forced to put aside their hatreds and unite against an even fiercer foe: a seemingly invincible power bent on world domination. With awesome technology, the aggressors swept across the planet, sowing destruction as Tokyo, Berlin, and Washington, D.C., were A-bombed into submission. Russia, Nazi Germany, Japan and the U.S. were not easily cowed, however. With cunning and incredible daring, they pressed every advantage against the invader's superior strength, and, led by Stalin, began to detonate their own atom bombs in retaliation.City after city explodes in radioactive firestorms, and fears grow as the worldwide resources disappear; will there be any world left for the invaders to conquer, or for the uneasy allies to defend?While Mao Tse-tung wages a desperate guerrilla war and Hitler drives his country toward self-destruction, United States forces frantically try to stop the enemy's push from coast to coast. Yet in this battle to stave off world domination, unless the once-great military powers take the risk of annihilating the human race, they'll risk losing the war. The fatal, final deadline arrives in Harry Turtledove's grand, smashing finale to the Worldwar series, as uneasy allies desperately seek a way out of a no-win, no-survival situation: a way to live free in a world that may soon be bombed into atomic oblivion.From the Hardcover edition.

Russia, Communist China, Japan, Nazi Germany, the United States: they began World War II as mortal enemies. But suddenly their only hope for survival--never mind victory--was to unite to stop a mighty foe--one whose frightening technology appeared invincible. Far worse beings than the Nazis were loose. From Warsaw to Moscow to China's enemy-occupied Forbidden City, the nations of the world had been forced into an uneasy alliance since humanity began its struggle against overwhelming odds. In Germany, where the banshee wail of hostile jets screamed across the land, caches of once-forbidden weapons were unearthed, and unthinkable tactics were employed against the enemy. Brilliantly innovative military strategists confronted challenges unprecedented in the history of warfare. Even as lack of fuel forced people back to horse and carriage, physicists worked feverishly to create the first nuclear bombs--with horrifying results. City after city joined the atomic pyre as the planet erupted in fiery ruins. Yet the crisis continued--on land, sea, and in the air--as humanity writhed in global combat. The tactics of daredevil guerrillas everywhere became increasingly ingenious against a superior foe whose desperate retaliation would grow ever more fearsome. No one had ever put the United States, or the world, in such deadly danger. But if the carnage and annihilation ever stopped, would there be any pieces to pick up? *From the Hardcover edition.* ### Amazon.com Review This is the third book in Turtledove's Worldwar series. The Axis and the Allies began World War II as mortal enemies. But suddenly their only hope for survival -- never mind victory -- is to *unite* to stop a mighty foe whose frightening technology seems invincible. Turtledove is a master of alternate history. ### From Publishers Weekly The Axis and Allied powers continue to stand as one to defeat alien invaders in this third volume of Turtledove's alternate-history saga of WW II (Tilting the Balance; In the Balance). There are some unexpected twists here-the Lizards bomb Pearl Harbor, the Americans sacrifice Chicago-but none more surprising than the fact that, unlike in previous volumes, the narrative is dominated not by weaponry and tactics of war but by births and friendship. Liu Han's baby arrives in a Lizard internment camp; and the birth of Barbara Yeager's baby with her current husband, Sam, comes even as Jens Larssen, her physicist former husband, goes walkabout. Meanwhile, the theme of camaraderie in trying times comes to the fore, as does an emphasis on noble action. Even those who have been rooting for the Lizards from the start will notice that this volume highlights the finest, both alien and human, while disparaging the corrupt. After enjoying this morally aware addition to the series, and its many cameos by real-life figures (including Einstein, Stalin and Ribbentrop), most readers will be looking forward eagerly to the next. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

### From Publishers Weekly This intelligent speculative novel depicts an alternate history in which, at the height of World War II, Earth is attacked by alien beings with weapons far more destructive than any possessed by the Allied or Axis forces. Turtledove ( The Guns of the South ) gives a surprisingly convincing flavor to the time-worn story of warring nations uniting to repel extraterrestrials; his human characters, both actual and invented, ring true as they struggle to trust each other after years of enmity, and although the alien threat has a B-movie feel, he makes an effort to portray the invaders sympathetically as well. The first in a projected series, the book ends where it began: in and around a battle. The smooth writing is marred only by slightly overdone dialogue for real-life figures like General Patton. The historical details, especially those concerning the weapons and methods available in the 1940s to defend Earth, are accurate and well rendered. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. ### From Library Journal The year is 1942. In Russia, Hitler's panzers are fighting a losing battle; in China, Japanese invaders ravage the countryside; in England, the RAF watches the skies for enemy bombers; in Chicago, scientists frantically try to unlock the secrets of the atom--and in the skies overhead, an alien army launches its forces to conquer the Earth. Turtledove ( The Guns of the South , LJ 9/1/92) excels in alternate history, and this panoramic exploration of a world at war with itself and with invaders from beyond the galaxy showcases his fertile imagination. A feast for history buffs as well as sf fans, this title belongs in most libraries. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

### From Publishers Weekly This intelligent speculative novel depicts an alternate history in which, at the height of World War II, Earth is attacked by alien beings with weapons far more destructive than any possessed by the Allied or Axis forces. Turtledove ( The Guns of the South ) gives a surprisingly convincing flavor to the time-worn story of warring nations uniting to repel extraterrestrials; his human characters, both actual and invented, ring true as they struggle to trust each other after years of enmity, and although the alien threat has a B-movie feel, he makes an effort to portray the invaders sympathetically as well. The first in a projected series, the book ends where it began: in and around a battle. The smooth writing is marred only by slightly overdone dialogue for real-life figures like General Patton. The historical details, especially those concerning the weapons and methods available in the 1940s to defend Earth, are accurate and well rendered. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. ### From Library Journal The year is 1942. In Russia, Hitler's panzers are fighting a losing battle; in China, Japanese invaders ravage the countryside; in England, the RAF watches the skies for enemy bombers; in Chicago, scientists frantically try to unlock the secrets of the atom--and in the skies overhead, an alien army launches its forces to conquer the Earth. Turtledove ( The Guns of the South , LJ 9/1/92) excels in alternate history, and this panoramic exploration of a world at war with itself and with invaders from beyond the galaxy showcases his fertile imagination. A feast for history buffs as well as sf fans, this title belongs in most libraries. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

<h3>From Publishers Weekly</h3><p>Turtledove's grand tetralogy of an alternate WWII interrupted by an alien invasion draws to a satisfactory conclusion in this follow-up to Upsetting the Balance, and with a few surprises to boot. The Chinese woman Liu Han, for example, is seen climbing the hierarchy of the Chinese Communist Party as it comes under the control of Mao Zedong. Moishe Russie helps negotiate the final armed truce between the alien Lizards and the humans, with the Lizards withdrawing from most human territory in return for being allowed to settle many deserts in anticipation of the arrival of their colonists. (Neither side can survive an indefinitely prolonged nuclear exchange, and the Lizard edge in technology has been rapidly vanishing.) Readers will be happy to see Ludmila Gorbunova and Heinrich Jaeger reunited, and to note their roles in the final disposition of the heroic lunatic Otto Skorzeny. Turtledove's historical scholarship, narrative technique, dry wit and deft characterization distinguish this novel just as they did its predecessors, making it a rousing wrap-up to a monument of alternate history from a master of the genre. <br />Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p><h3>From Library Journal</h3><p>In this fourth book and conclusion to the alternate World War II history series (the prior installment was Worldwar: Upsetting the Balance, LJ 12/95), Turtledove mixes historical and fictional characters in a war of combined Axis and Allied forces against invading reptilian aliens. Recommended for collections with the earlier books.<br />Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. </p>

<h3>Product Description</h3><p>Communist China, Japan, Nazi Germany, the United States: they began World War II as mortal enemies. But suddenly their only hope for survival--never mind victory--was to unite to stop a mighty foe--one whose frightening technology appeared invincible. </p><p>Far worse beings than the Nazis were loose. From Warsaw to Moscow to China's enemy-occupied Forbidden City, the nations of the world had been forced into an uneasy alliance since humanity began its struggle against overwhelming odds. In Britain and Germany, where the banshee wail of hostile jets screamed across the land, caches of once-forbidden weapons were unearthed, and unthinkable tactics were employed against the enemy. Brilliantly innovative military strategists confronted challenges unprecedented in the history of warfare. </p><p>Even as lack of fuel forced people back to horse and carriage, physicists worked feverishly to create the first atomic bombs--with horrifying results. City after city joined the radioactive pyre as the planet erupted in fiery ruins. Yet the crisis continued--on land, sea, and in the air--as humanity writhed in global combat. The tactics of daredevil guerrillas everywhere became increasingly ingenious against a superior foe whose desperate retaliation would grow ever more fearsome. </p><p>No one had ever put the United States, or the world, in such deadly danger. But if the carnage and annihilation ever stopped, would there be any pieces to pick up? </p><h3>From the Publisher</h3><p>What got me about the Worldwar series wasn't the aliens. It wasn't the warfare (though Harry's really good at it--I especially love the tanks). It wasn't even the fact that he'd turned history on its ear in a big way. No, it was the people. </p><p>If they were historical figures, like Josef Stalin, or Adolf Hitler, or Omar Bradley, he really brought them back to life. But even they took a back seat to Harry's original characters--the soldiers, the civilians, the resistance members, the spies. Whether they were American or Russian or British or Chinese, he made me care about them, about their lives and their loves. And he made me care a lot about their deaths--the kind of deaths that happen in war. </p><p>He made the most out of cultural juxtaposition, when a Polish Jew had to fight alongside a Nazi, or a British officer found himself in a tumultuous affair with a female Russian pilot (and sharpshooter--whoosh). These were the real people, They took a science fiction alternate history and elevated it to a new level. The result is a terrific adventure.<br /> --Steve Saffel, Senior Editor </p>