- Hardcover: 474 pages
- Publisher: Tor Books (Oct 1997)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0345416619
- ISBN-13: 978-0345416612
- Product Dimensions: 27.2 x 20.1 x 0.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 975,767 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
| ||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Product 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. Twenty years 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. And so, in 1883, the fragile peace was shattered.
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, and even the redcoat. Along with France, England entered the fray on the side of the South, with blockades and invasions from Canada.
Out of this tragic struggle emerged figures great and small. The disgraced Abraham Lincoln crisscrossed the nation championing socialist ideals. Confederate cavalry leader Jeb Stuart sought to prevent wholesale slaughter in the desert Southwest, while cocky young Theodore Roosevelt and stodgy George Custer bickered over modern weapons--even as they drove the British back into western Canada.
Thanks to the efforts of journalists like Samuel Clemens, the nation witnessed the clash of human dreams and passions. Confederate genius Stonewall Jackson again soared to the heights of military expertise, while the North's McClellan proved sadly undeserving of his once shining reputation as the "young Napoleon." For in the Second War Between the States, the times, the stakes, and the battle lines had changed . . . and so would history.
Once again, Harry Turtledove has created a thoroughly engrossing alternate history novel, a profoundly original epic of blood and honor, courage and sacrifice, set amidst the raw beauty of young America's frontier wilderness.
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, and even the redcoat. Along with France, England entered the fray on the side of the South, with blockades and invasions from Canada.
Out of this tragic struggle emerged figures great and small. The disgraced Abraham Lincoln crisscrossed the nation championing socialist ideals. Confederate cavalry leader Jeb Stuart sought to prevent wholesale slaughter in the desert Southwest, while cocky young Theodore Roosevelt and stodgy George Custer bickered over modern weapons--even as they drove the British back into western Canada.
Thanks to the efforts of journalists like Samuel Clemens, the nation witnessed the clash of human dreams and passions. Confederate genius Stonewall Jackson again soared to the heights of military expertise, while the North's McClellan proved sadly undeserving of his once shining reputation as the "young Napoleon." For in the Second War Between the States, the times, the stakes, and the battle lines had changed . . . and so would history.
Once again, Harry Turtledove has created a thoroughly engrossing alternate history novel, a profoundly original epic of blood and honor, courage and sacrifice, set amidst the raw beauty of young America's frontier wilderness.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
Buffalo bones littered the prairie south of Fort Dodge, Kansas. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
Buffalo bones littered the prairie south of Fort Dodge, Kansas. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
How Few Remain is an Alternative History novel, about what would have happened if the South had won the Civil War. The American Civil War is the second most popular alternative History SF setting (the first is WWII) and a particular interest of Harry Turtledove cf the Guns of the South. This one has a far more credible reason for the South winning, the failure of McLellan to intercept Lee's battle plans during the Antietam campaign and Lee's victory there followed by foriegn recognition of the CSA. All of this is dealt with in the first few pages and is credible enough. But it's 1881, 20 years later, that is the focus of the book. At this point the CSA looks likely to acquire two Mexican provinces and thus gain a Pacific coastline. In order to stop this the USA goes to war.
Like most of Turtledove's books, the story unfolds from the viewpoint of a number of characters, in this case they're all historical characters. What's more we have George Armstrong Custer, JEB Stuart, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson and Abraham Lincoln as viewpoint characters, all of whom died during the war or, in Custer and Lincoln's case, as a result of it. It's sort of fun to see them in 1881 meeting such people as Theodore Roosevelt and Albert Schlieffen (two more of the viewpoint characters.) It's also fun to see how Turtledove deals with how they would have coped in the world of 1881.
This is the major difference between this book and other alternative Southern Victory books. 1881 is the cusp of the modern world, a world with weapons of mass slaughter, industrial unrest, etc. The war the CSA fights in 1881 is very different to the war of 1861, which was bloody enough, because now every soldier on both sides has a repeating rifle. As such it resembles WWI more than the ACW. This is a foretelling of what is to come and indeed Harry Turtledove has written a series of sequels covering WWI wherein both the CSA and USA get involved.
This is more than just a prequel to the Great War series though. The book is well written, grabs your attention from the beginning and unfolds a story that is all too credible. This book is worth reading on its own merits and I reccomend it to anyone interested in the ACW, WWI, Turtledove's writing or just a really good story.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was introduced to Turtledove by a friend who was a colleague of his when he was still teaching history at UCLA. That was with the "World War" series, which is a lot of fun, if a bit silly. "How Few Remain" has the downside of having started the interminable Great War/American Empire/Return Engagement series, with their dismal characterization and mindless parallels of the historical 20th century, but taken on its own, How Few Remain is the best thing of Turtledove's I've ever read. In particular, his treatment of Abraham Lincoln is superb - much of what he has Lincoln say in the 1880s was in fact lifted from speeches and letters from before he became president, so they ring perfectly true to character, and at the same time illuminate how far ahead of his time Lincoln was as a social thinker. If only Turtledove would use this sort of technique more often, instead of just churning out repetitive prose!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is an example of alternative history at its best. To me, there are two elements to great alternative history. The first and most obvious is that the writer gets the history "right" - not accurate, of course, but believable. "Pure" alternative history is about what might have been; as such it should be reasonably plausible, with people and developments that must ring true to their times. Here Turtledove excels, demonstrating both imagination and a familiarity with the period. His sequence of events in developing a "second War Between the States" is logical, and he captures famous personalities - such as Abraham Lincoln, "Stonewall" Jackson, and Samuel Clemens - with considerable accuracy, portraying figures that are recognizably the same people that we know from our past.
Yet the people he depicts are more than just caricatures of historical reputations. This gets to the other component of first-rate works from the genre - strong character development. Within the context of a second conflict between the two halves of the former United States (over the acquisition of Mexican territory by the Confederacy), the reader sees them as they react to the circumstances of the war and how the war, in turn changes them. It is this aspect which makes the book riveting from beginning to end and essential reading for anyone interested in exploring how things might have turned out differently.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Entertaining
This is the first book in an 11 volume tale of what might have happened had the South won the American Civil War. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mr Gordon Davidson
And only a penny!
I enjoyed the book, having read the whole series following. Alternative history is an acquired taste I suppose and a knowledge of McClellan's campaign on the Potomac is helpful in... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr. Geoffrey Calvert
Great Alternate History Novel
How Few Remain is about a fictional second American Civil War (the Confederates having one the first in 1863) set in 1881. Read more
Published on 4 July 2007 by J.Flood
First Class (but history lessons needed first!)
This is the first Harry Turtledove book I've read - and I'm sure it won't be the last!
It's a fascinating read, but would probably have been less confusing if I had... Read more
It's a fascinating read, but would probably have been less confusing if I had... Read more
Published on 4 Jan 2007 by Kevan James
Contains every element of great alt history
This book is an example of alternative history at its best. To me, there are two elements to great alternative history. Read more
Published on 25 July 2004 by Mark Klobas
Few will remain un-entertained by How Few Remain!
As a fan of historical fiction, I have also become a fan of alternate historical fiction. In How Few Remain, Harry Turtledove weaves a plausible and entertaining yarn in which the... Read more
Published on 28 Jan 2003 by Joseph F. Leoce Jr.
USA vs Confederacy: Round 2
"How Few Remain" is an alternate-history novel detailing an 1880's war between the USA and Confederate States of America (and their British and French allies), twenty... Read more
Published on 29 Jun 2001
A really good story
How Few Remain is an Alternative History novel, about what would have happened if the South had won the Civil War. Read more
Published on 30 Nov 2000
Terrific introduction to a new series
This is an imaginative look at a second war between the States, twenty years after the Confederacy wins the first one. Read more
Published on 20 Jun 1999
Gripping tale spoilt by weak depiction of British as villans
For the first time I became irritated when reading a book by Turtledove and eventually didn't even finish it. Read more
Published on 14 Jan 1999
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
