Alternate Generals III

March 28, 2005
With its dual portrait of generals Grant and Lee on opposing sides of the Roman
Civil War, the jacket of editor Turtledove's solid third alternative military history anthology neatly evokes this popular subgenre. While there's no such story, Robert E. Lee must decide, as the ambassador to Britain of a victorious but ostracized Confederacy, where his true loyalties lie in Lee Allred's provocative "East of Appomattox." Similarly, Roland J. Green's " 'It Isn't Every Day of the Week' " shows how altering the outcome of a few minor incidents can turn history on its head, making General "Old Hickory" Jackson and the Cherokee Nation allies when the U.S. is drawn into the Napoleonic wars. Chris Bunch's "Murdering Uncle Ho" vividly demonstrates the wisdom of "be careful what you wish for" in the book's most intensely drawn battle sequences; this tale of an alternative Vietnam War draws some disturbing parallels with Iraq, as does Turtledove's own "Shock and Awe." Esther M. Friesner's "First, Catch Your Elephant" may not tell us much about Hannibal, but it succeeds marvelously as comedy.

April 15, 2005
With many novels and edited anthologies on the topic to his credit, Harry Turtledove has cornered the market in alternate history--or, at least, dominates it. In the third book in his Alternate Generals anthology series, he collects short stories of alternate military history whose speculative scenarios range from Joan of Arc escaping martyrdom and leading France to victory in medieval Europe to the Vietnam War ending in 1987 with the U.S. eking out victory. In John Mina's "I Shall Return," General Douglas MacArthur is sequestered as a POW in the Philippines during World War II and changes the war against the Japanese in an unexpected direction. In "East of Appomattox," Lee Allred imagines the caustic reactions of other countries when the South wins the Civil War and President Jefferson Davis continues to protect slavery. Turtledove's own contribution daringly essays alternate Christian history when Jesus first leads his followers into battle against the Romans before succumbing to Pilate. Thirteen tales to please buffs and fans of military sf and history alike.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)