A family that lives near us is clearing out their house, in preparation to move, and they sent over a bin of books for me to register and release. When I saw this book, which has been on my wish list for a *long* time, I quickly grabbed it for my "To be read" pile.

This is the sixth installment in Turtledove’s sweeping epic retelling of American history based on the Confederate States of America winning the Civil War and establishing their independence. Having posited a redux of that war a generation later, and re-imagined World War I with the USA and the CSA on opposite sides, he has now moved on to the decades between the two World Wars.

The USA, as one of the victors in the Great War, has become an empire, having annexed significant portions of the CSA and occupying Canada (except for Quebec, which has been established as an allied Republic). Meanwhile, the CSA continues to struggle under the punitive terms of the treaty that ended the war.

But when the economic boom of the 1920s gives way to economic collapse and the depression of the 1930s, the politics of both nations are thrown into turmoil. In the CSA, the Freedom Party, a fascist party that longs for revenge against both the USA and the blacks who rebelled during the Great War, finds increasing support among the people struggling to find work and feed their families. In the north, the failure of the Socialists to prevent the devastation of the depression undermines their support.

Turtledove continues to extrapolate his history from his original premise, but as he gets further away from it, the more “what ifs” he needs to contend with. This makes his alternative history feel increasingly fanciful. However, his large cast of characters help him explore the impact of events across a wide cross section of both countries, which makes his retelling compelling. It is also interesting to see how he incorporates actual historical figures into his alternate history alongside his fictional characters. His suggestion that some historical events (such as the market boom and crash, with the subsequent worldwide depression) would likely occur in spite of the changes he has envisioned also provides some meaty food for thought.

This series continues to fascinate me, and I look forward to continuing to explore his extrapolations.

Left on one of the tables outside the Einstein Bros. Bagels/Quiznos on the ground floor.

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