- Paperback: 672 pages
- Publisher: New English Library; New Ed edition (21 Oct 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0340715464
- ISBN-13: 978-0340715468
- Product Dimensions: 17.6 x 11 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 369,915 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
'Turtledove demonstrates the extreme fragility of our modern world, and how much of it has depended on the United States of America.This is state-of-the-art alternate history, nothing less.' (Publishers Weekly (Starred review) )
Product Description
Harry has picked a monster topic for his new alternate history epic. The world of HOW FEW REMAIN - where the American South won the civil war - has moved on to 1914. Maybe Europe is overshadowed by the thunder-clouds of war, but it is not only Europe that suffers the reign of blood. The US decides to support Germany, whilst the Confederacy falls in with her old allies, France and Britain, and it is America that becomes the new battlefield for their old antagonisms. Once again brother fights brother, friend against friend and the New World is ravaged by all the horrors of modern warfare.
This is the first of a four book series on the first global conflict by the modern day master of alternate history. This is THE GREAT WAR...
This is the first of a four book series on the first global conflict by the modern day master of alternate history. This is THE GREAT WAR...
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
USA vs Confederacy: Round 3, part 1,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Great War: American Front: The American Front (Paperback)
1914. The USA and Confederate States of America (see "How Few Remain" for the CSA's genesis) pick opposite sides and enter WW1 with gusto: the Confederates convinced they'll beat the USA for the third time running, the US forces nursing 50 years of resentment against their smaller neighbour. Here Harry Turtledove takes the events established in "How Few Remain" and expands on them as he details a very different world and world war. It's got a more soapy feel than the earlier book, focussing as it does more on ordinary folks than the historical figures of "How Few Remain" (Having said that, the image of a septuagenerian General Custer is an image I'll always treasure...), but it has the Turtledove hallmarks of historical sweep and thorough detail. It's the first in a tetralogy, so it's difficult to review alone, but his fully realised Confederacy and Europeanized - complete with Socialist Party! - USA commands the attention. Good, but the diffuse narrative and "first in a series" feel mean that it's not as good it could be. If you're going to buy this, get the full "Great War" set and read them back-to-back.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating schadenfreude,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Great War: American Front: The American Front (Paperback)
The Great War: The American Front is the first in a series of four books examining an alternative history wherein the Confederacy won the Civil War and ends up allied to Britain and France whereas the USA allies itself to Germany. This means they're on opposite sides during World War One and that's basically the subject of this book. This book is also a sequel to How Few Remain which deals with events in 1881, the Confederate acquisition of provinces in Mexico which gives it a Pacific coastline. It's probably best to read that one first, though it's not necessary. One major difference between the two is that where How Few Remain had the story told entirely from the point of view of historical characters such as Jeb Stuart, Fredrick Douglass, Colonel Custer, Abe Lincoln, etc, this one does not. This is perhaps appropiate as the Great War was such a "people's war" and beyond the influence of individuals so it is best seen from its effects. As for the story, I found it fascinating. The USA is hurled into a two front war against both the CSA and Canada but outnumbers them both put together. It faces all the hardships of World War One which it escaped historically and there's a certain schadenfreude you get from seeing this. Lets face it, the USA got off lightly in both World Wars historically. Not here though, there's gas, blockade, endless lists of casualties and the beginning of the social turmoil that wracked all european countries after WW1. It's going to be fun to see where this goes. Maybe Fascism will be an American idea here. Or Communism. One criticism is that it would be nice to know what's going on in Europe. The Battle of the Marne seems to have gone as history did, but what next? If the Allies have no Canadian troops and Britain has to send men and planes to Canada, how will that affect the Western Front? This question is not answered. That aside, I reccomend this book.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good story of an America at war with itself,
By
This review is from: The Great War: American Front: The American Front (Paperback)
For fans of alternative history, the stories of Harry Turtledove have always promised enjoyable presentations of intriguing possibilities. This book is the second in his 'tetralogy' examining a world in which the South won the Civil War. American Front picks up the story in 1914 with the start of a world war between the U.S. and its ally Germany on the one hand, and the Confederate states, Britain, and France on the other. Turtledove knows his history and it shows, as the novel's events ring true enough to their real-life counterparts while developing in new and intriguing ways.
Yet this is a different novel from its predecessor. Though a sequel to How Few Remain, Turtledove examines the war from a different perspective here, following events through original characters rather than historical ones. This gives him greater flexibility in his depiction of them, yet it is the characters that are the weakest part of the book. While the plotting in most of the story arcs is quite good at sustaining interest, the characters have a sameness about them, using many of the same phrases and slang when expressing themselves. This stands in stark contrast to his previous novel, in which each of the main characters he uses is vividly and distinctly realized, and makes for a weaker work than the excellent inaugural work. Nonetheless, readers interested in an engrossing work of alternative history will find much to enjoy in this story about a divided America plunging into the hell of a 'Great War.'
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