- Hardcover: 516 pages
- Publisher: Del Rey (Oct 1992)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0345376757
- ISBN-13: 978-0345376756
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16.5 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,349,738 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Guns of the South
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Product Description
Product Description
"It is absolutely unique--without question the most fascinating Civil War novel I have ever read."
Professor James M. McPherson
Pultizer Prize-winning BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM
January 1864--General Robert E. Lee faces defeat. The Army of Northern Virginia is ragged and ill-equpped. Gettysburg has broken the back of the Confederacy and decimated its manpower.
Then, Andries Rhoodie, a strange man with an unplaceable accent, approaches Lee with an extraordinary offer. Rhoodie demonstrates an amazing rifle: Its rate of fire is incredible, its lethal efficiency breathtaking--and Rhoodie guarantees unlimited quantitites to the Confederates.
The name of the weapon is the AK-47....
Selected by the Science Fiction Book Club
A Main Selection of the Military Book Club
From the Paperback edition.
Professor James M. McPherson
Pultizer Prize-winning BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM
January 1864--General Robert E. Lee faces defeat. The Army of Northern Virginia is ragged and ill-equpped. Gettysburg has broken the back of the Confederacy and decimated its manpower.
Then, Andries Rhoodie, a strange man with an unplaceable accent, approaches Lee with an extraordinary offer. Rhoodie demonstrates an amazing rifle: Its rate of fire is incredible, its lethal efficiency breathtaking--and Rhoodie guarantees unlimited quantitites to the Confederates.
The name of the weapon is the AK-47....
Selected by the Science Fiction Book Club
A Main Selection of the Military Book Club
From the Paperback edition.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Robert E. Lee paused to dip his pen once more in the inkwell. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
Robert E. Lee paused to dip his pen once more in the inkwell. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
On one level Harry Turtledove's "The Guns of the South" reminds me of the Saturday Night Live skit which asked the question, "What if Napoleon had a B-52 at the Battle of Waterloo?" This alternative history novel about the Civil War asks "What if the South had AK-47s during the Civil War?" The answer is, of course, that Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia would have destroyed the Army of the Potomac and anything else Abraham Lincoln threw at the them and the Southern Confederacy would have won their independence. However, "The Guns of the South" disposes of both the Union army and the Civil War rather quickly, because this alternative history is ultimately about what type of nation the Confederacy would have become. Specifically, what would have happened to the institution of slavery in the wake of a Confederate victory in which conquering hero Robert E. Lee succeeds Jefferson Davis to the presidency?
Turtledove certainly makes an interesting case for the angels of the better nature of the Southern Confederacy, however, for me the most ironic aspect of this novel is that this fictional work provides what I have come to consider the most realistic portrayal of Robert E. Lee; yes, more than "The Killer Angels," which is the obvious choice. As a historical figure, Lee has always been distanced by the reverence with which he is held and his own reticence, which made him rather unique as just about the only Civil War general who survived and did not write his memoirs. Turtledove's Lee has clearly come down off the pedestal and there is something so compelling about the way Lee anguishes over political decisions. Of course, this is all imaginative speculation, but I happen to like imaginative speculation. I do not need anyone to work out the theoretical rationale for the time machine that allows the South African patriots to ship back weapons to the Confederacy. The strength of this novel does not rest on physics but on characterization and even though the idea that Lee's personal charisma would have been sufficient to get the Confederacy to abandon slavery, it is simply one of those idealized beliefs I would like to hold on to. "Guns of the South" is a good read, and whether you come to it as a Civil War buff or a fan of alternative histories, I think either way you will enjoy the novel.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Harry Turtledove has the ability to write a novel of such stunning fiction that it takes your breath away. Unfortunately, he also has the ability to write a novel of such numbing inanity that it, again, takes your breath away. This, however, is one of the former types. The book starts innocently enough, but quickly twists and turns, in characteristic Turtledove style, into a maelstrom of different stories, all weaving together into a cohesive whole.
Very few authors have the capacity to pull so many threads together, but Turtledove is one of them, and he produces his magic with a flourish, as suddenly everything you thought you understood about the plot is turned on it's head and yet another new development is unleashed.
Have you figured out I liked it yet? It was excellent - I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading science fiction. I won't use the cliche "impossible to put down", because if you read it without putting it down and thinking about what is happening, you will miss some of the finer nuances in the plot. Well, to be honest, you'll lose some of the major "nuances" in the plot as well :)
In short...
A Very good book. Recommended to all who like Sci-Fi, and Fantasy novels, for that matter. Enjoy.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Harry Turtledove writes long books in long series ..... they're lots of fun but demand a lot of staying power. This stand alone book is therefore a great place to start with this great author!
What starts as a simple premise (and to other reviews - of course it's not original, this sort of thing has been done LOTS of times) - going back in time with modern technology to change the course of history - opens up to an epic tale of the American Civil War. The sci-fi bits (time travel, etc.) are not gone into at all, which means the plot stays very much at the pace of the eigthteenth century soldiers - and I think it works all the better for it.
The majority of characters are real people of the period (including some of the minor bit-players according to Turtledove's notes at the end), but it must be said that a little knowledge of the Civil War will probably help - if you don't know what REALLY happened, can you really appreciate the changes?
The books sags for a bit during the battle scenes, but this is more than made up for in the latter half with the politicians of the days crossing swords with their benefactors of the future.
Excellent stuff - highly recommended!!
What starts as a simple premise (and to other reviews - of course it's not original, this sort of thing has been done LOTS of times) - going back in time with modern technology to change the course of history - opens up to an epic tale of the American Civil War. The sci-fi bits (time travel, etc.) are not gone into at all, which means the plot stays very much at the pace of the eigthteenth century soldiers - and I think it works all the better for it.
The majority of characters are real people of the period (including some of the minor bit-players according to Turtledove's notes at the end), but it must be said that a little knowledge of the Civil War will probably help - if you don't know what REALLY happened, can you really appreciate the changes?
The books sags for a bit during the battle scenes, but this is more than made up for in the latter half with the politicians of the days crossing swords with their benefactors of the future.
Excellent stuff - highly recommended!!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A 'what if' tour de force....
After being introduced to the works of Harry Turtledove through a chance remark to an overheard conversation in an Austrian hotel, I am now a convert. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Bob
Starts well
As ever with this author brilliant ideas awful execution this novel starts well but goes down hill half way through
a real shame but not uncommon with H Turtledove
a real shame but not uncommon with H Turtledove
Published 3 months ago by CVH
Sadly, NOT as original as you might think
This is a pretty good book, but sadly the idea has been done before. About 40 years ago Harry Harrison wrote a book called "rebel in time" in which a redneck US army colonel went... Read more
Published on 10 Jan 2007 by Peter Symonds
SIMPLY "UNPUTDOWNABLE" !!
An absolutely fascinating account of what might have happened if time travelers armed the Confederacy with AK-47s, thus changing the flow of history and determining the victory of... Read more
Published on 20 Jun 1999
High schoolers Like it too!
While only a sophomore at the time I read the book last year, and not really being much of a history buff, I couldn't put this book down at night. Read more
Published on 17 Sep 1998
excellent,once you start you can't stop
This book was very entertaining. I like the fact that it was not just a war,let's kill everyone book,but a novel that let you feel what the characters felt. Read more
Published on 19 Jun 1998
Fast moving, a real page burner.
I'm not usually a reader of sci-fi or alternative history but I happened to catch a reading of Turtledove's book on the radio and it kept my interest. I just had to have the book. Read more
Published on 17 Jun 1998
A long, long, long time ago, this didn't happen...
I must admit the premise of this book is facsinating, but the excess detail Turtledove goes into slows the pace down to a glacial crawl. Read more
Published on 8 Jun 1998
It's Not Just a war story!
Harry Turtledove was a professor of history at UCLA, and his deep knowledge of history shows in this book. Read more
Published on 12 Sep 1997
An excellent alternate history and much more...
This is much more than an alternative version of history with the South winning the civil war. It is an insightful vision of how such a victory might have changed the thinking of... Read more
Published on 4 July 1997
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