book data
256 ratings, 3.80 average rating, 17 reviews
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published
April 29th 1998
(first published 1997)
by Del Rey
binding
Paperback, 608 pages
setting
Unknown
isbn
0345406141
(isbn13: 9780345406149)
description
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: ...more
1881: ...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 340)
Read in April, 2008
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Read in November, 2007
I'm afraid I read this one out of order. Back last year, I happened to stumble across The Great War: American Front, which tells a tale of World War I in a world where the Confederate States of America is an actuality. The characters in the book referred, from time to time, about a second War between the States that had occurred in the 1880s and had served to create deeper divisions between the North and the South. I found myself wishing that I could also read that tale, foolishly unaware that i...more
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Read in October, 2007
As an historian, I always enjoyed thinking what things could have happened based on minor events. So when I saw this book I was very excited to read it. Until I became slightly disillusioned with the genre.
Abraham Lincoln becoming a communist after being kicked out of the oval office for starting a losing war didn't bother me so much. But the idea that Utah Mormons would use the Second War Between the States to attempt secession from the Union is ridiculous. For one thing, tensions b...more
Abraham Lincoln becoming a communist after being kicked out of the oval office for starting a losing war didn't bother me so much. But the idea that Utah Mormons would use the Second War Between the States to attempt secession from the Union is ridiculous. For one thing, tensions b...more
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Read in July, 2000
Alternate History! What if the "lost order" was never lost and General Lee's invasion of the North was not halted at Antietam? Harry Turtledove answers this question with an amazing alternate history: The South wins the war in 1862 and the Confederacy becomes a separate nation.
Now, twenty years later, U.S. President--James G. Blaine--plans to invade the South to stop its expansionist activities. Confederate President--James Longstreet--has just penned a deal to buy the ...more
Now, twenty years later, U.S. President--James G. Blaine--plans to invade the South to stop its expansionist activities. Confederate President--James Longstreet--has just penned a deal to buy the ...more
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It reads much like a Shaara book in that you see the story through the eyes of several participants - here it is J.E.B. Stewert, Thomas Jackson, a german military atache', Teddy Roosevelt, Abe Lincoln, George Custer, and Frederick Douglass (there may have been one or two others). Unfortunately, this sometimes gets a little tedius as it looks through too many eyes, sometimes.
What keeps this book from being a five star is the fact that I never seem to get emotionally involved with the...more
What keeps this book from being a five star is the fact that I never seem to get emotionally involved with the...more
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Read in January, 2006
recommends it for:
Anyone
Harry Turtledove is one of the all-time greats of alternate history. This book is set in a world where the South won the Civil War (because of a turn of events that actually seems more plausible than what really happened), and takes place a generation later, when the United States and Confederate States are going to war again, this time over territory stretching west to the Pacific.
He follows a large cast of characters - some real historical figures like Mark Twain and Stonewall Jackson, ...more
He follows a large cast of characters - some real historical figures like Mark Twain and Stonewall Jackson, ...more
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Read in April, 2008
recommended to Wayne by:
Chris
Excellent fun historical fiction. This novel is set during the second war between the states. The year is 1881 and it has been 20 years since the Confederacy won their independence during the War of Secession. The USA and CSA are at war again. Turtledove incorporates historical characters including Samuel Clemens, Teddy Roosevelt, Stonewall Jackson, Frederick Douglass, George Custer, and Abraham Lincoln.
I enjoyed it immensly and plan to continue reading his other books.
I enjoyed it immensly and plan to continue reading his other books.
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Read in June, 1998
recommends it for:
nearly anyone
I'll spare you the reviews on all of them, but read this entire series, starting with this book, through the Great War series, all the way to the last set of book (In At The Death).
Turtledoves research is meticulous, his assumptions about alternative history are more than plausible, and his characters can prove amazingly sympathetic (Before this I never thought I could like the commandant of a concentration camp).
Turtledoves research is meticulous, his assumptions about alternative history are more than plausible, and his characters can prove amazingly sympathetic (Before this I never thought I could like the commandant of a concentration camp).
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Read in July, 2008
Interesting premise and very well written. The book is a little on the long side, but the characters are so well drawn and believeable that it keeps you involved.
The alternate-history is handled as if there was no other way for it to have happened, which really strenghtens the believiblity of the plot.
The alternate-history is handled as if there was no other way for it to have happened, which really strenghtens the believiblity of the plot.
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Read in August, 2000
I love alternative history and historical fiction. I really tried to enjoy this novel, I really wanted to. I forced myself through over 100 pages before throwing in the towel. Turtledove's level of alternative historical detail is so intense that it's at the expense of the plot and the characters.
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This novel started my down hill spiral into the abyss of alternate history, from which I have yet to pull myself. Think about the ramifications of Lee's invasion of the North actually succeeding? Harry Turtledove did and it lead to ten more novels, each averaging over 600 pages.
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Read in June, 1997
This is probably my favorite alternate history Turtledove book. I've always liked the his good use of historical characters, and the time period in whick it is set (1880's mostly in the Eastern US) is overlooked.
Camels, Jeb Stuart, Fredrick Douglass and more!
Camels, Jeb Stuart, Fredrick Douglass and more!
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Read in October, 2008
Very rich in historical detail and characterization, and features a Socialist Lincoln. It is difficult to divine a particular direction to the narrative, however.
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An excellent disertation of a post-Civil War America that never was.
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