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Confederates States of America Brigadier General Potter knows the war they began is over with their defeat although his superior George Patton thinks they can still turn it around; Patton’s last thrust fails to stem the invading tide. Atlanta, which survived the War of Succession, the Second Mexican War, and the Great War, is not much more than rubble as their “neighbors” to the north continually bombs the key southern cities while their armies advance with brutal efficiency. Potter sadly realizes he will soon see the death of the CSA.

The United States of America with the help of their German allies has won WWII. Eight decades ago the CSA forefathers set forth to create a new great nation after winning their independence from the Union; now the CSA is no more unless President Featherstone, who egoistically started the war, uses his last weapon of mass destruction, the uranium bomb. As Featherstone ponders his legacy to bomb or not to bomb, the winners claim the spoils with the beginnings of an abusive brutal occupation while local insurgents turn to suicidal car bombings to kill the outsiders; that in turn lead to even more atrocities. The Northern Army of occupation punishes anyone southern as the victors claim that God is on their side. There is a rationalized retaliation for the mistreatment of Negroes (even as blacks up north are treated as secondary citizens).

The tenth and apparently final book in the Settling Accounts alternate history saga is a fabulous conclusion to a great series. The story line is fast-paced throughout even with the various perspectives (a trademark of Harry Turtledove), but which ending will occur as Featherstone debates using the bomb. Fans of the series will marvel at the creative exciting conclusion, but also plead with Mr. Turtledove not to stop in the 1940s; as Occupied Canada, CSA, and Utah remain fervent hotbeds for another round into the Cold War era.

Harriet Klausner

Rating: 5 / 5

The wrap up novel of this incredible series, or is it???

(Warning: Some Spoilers Here;)

It was enevitable the the “Superbomb” race would conclude, and along with many readers, probibly predicted Germany would use it first. And they did, but not on any of the cities we thought. Petrograd being the first victim was geneious. However the best race was the CSA v USA and you feel the excitment as the finish line approached and suddenly was there!

It had to be the highlight chapter of the entire novel and with Clarence Potter delivering his best performance yet. But it was all in vain as one superbomb isn’t enough against the might of the (still bumbling) USA.

As the CSA slides into extinction, Jake Featherston is running out of options. Fights off a slapdash coup attempt by Nathan Forrest which, thankfully for Clarence Potter, dosen’t implicate him.

Attempting to escape south with Potter, the Hebe Saul Goldman, and William Keonig, Jake runs out of luck when his “ju52″ Alligator is shot down by chasing AA fire.

He then runs out of time, thanks to a liberated, US serving Cassius’ skills with a high powered rifle. It was kind of a let down that he died too early, but at least it was an appropriate way for him to go, “Cassius Madison” now the wealthy hero of the USA!

Jefferson Pinkard faces his demise in the new Republic Of Texas, at the hands of the US authorities, charged with crimes against humanities.

As an example of what the future may hold…

Chester Martin is hooked in with a sadistical LT who enjoys massacring hapless CSA citizens, who deserve such treatment…Post war, Chester regrets the massacre and is having nightmares about it now.

The final edition pretty much sums up:

1) Featherston’s demise (as well as his co-horts)

2) CSA v USA race for the Superbomb (CSA 1 – USA 2)

4) How the USA is planning to control a hatefilled country which they hope to re-absorb, General Irving Morell has his work really cut out for him as one of the military overseers of the CSA. Shades of Veitnam and Iraq here.

3) Where to now for our surviving long serving cast members. many are now middle aged, trying to pick up life again and some younger members will want to settle down with the job of creating the Baby Boomer generation.

The last 270 pages drags along as a conclusion and pretty much starts to focus on a “What Now?” storyline.

With the future looking towards a MAJOR global superbomb conflict, the USA is becoming a shaky superpower controlling the North American continent, still very insecure and still not knowing what to do with Prof FitzBelmont who has suggested that even he knew the USA was really creating the more massive “Sunbomb”(Hydrogen)and the superbombs the USA had were used in quick retaliation.

There was still no evdidence that General Able allowed a tragic “accident” to happen to him (FiztBelmont).

Internationally Germany and USA look likley to be turning into opposing Cold War superpowers, while Japan v UK v USA is a likley scenario.

I believe that there will be a new series soon as Clarence Potter finishes writing his Memoirs…

The future looks grim…

Rating: 4 / 5

Two real interests of mine, could-have-been history and War against the States history are mercilessly blindfolded and executed by yet another work from the so called “master of alternative history.” More like alternative lies.

One of the sweetest things from spending a life visiting many War against the States sites, reading many personal accounts, and living history programs and events is to speculate what would have happened if one thing or another I had learned happened different.

Turtledove started out with a creative and promising scenario in Guns of the South. Men traveling in time to supply Lee’s army with AK-47s to win the war was rich. However, the notion that a group of racist terrorists would want to time travel to save the South is more fictional than the time travel itself. How would they be interested in a cause that include leaders of this character:

“I wish to see the shackles struck from every slave.” -Stonewall Jackson

“I came here as a friend…let us stand together. Although we differ in color, we should not differ in sentiment.”

- LT Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, Confederate chief of cavalry, Army of Tennessee, Memphis, Tennessee – July, 1875

“The struggle made by the people of the South was not for the institution of slavery, but for the inestimable right of self government, against the domination of a fanatical faction at the North…”-Lt. General Jubal Early, CSA

“I have been willing to detach officers to recruit n—o troops, and sent in the names of many who are desirous of recruiting companies, battalions, or regiments, to the War Department.”-General Robert E Lee

“Let us say to every n—o who wants to go into the ranks, go and fight, and you are free…”-Judah Benjamin, Confederate States Secretary of State

“Mr. Davis, said, “We are not fighting for slavery; we are fighting for independence.”-President Jefferson Davis, CSA

How much historical evidence from those that made it, lived it, and stood by does it take to get through the hard shell of Mr. Turtledove? His second work on the War against the States alternative history was How Few Remain. In it the South wins because the Unionists didn’t get their hands on Lee’s special orders during the 1862 Maryland campaign. Yet there is no evidence to show that Union general George McCellon’s plans of moving on Lee’s right were changed by the discovery. Yet, Turtledove’s dozen works following where that book ended that became a series leading up to the end of the Confederate defeat in WWII was the true uneducated fantasy. It cannot be dubbed alternative history only alternative fabricated history.

New Gingrich, Robert Conroy, Harrty Turtledove have yet to enjoy one page of decent alternative history! That is why I will write my own.

In at the Death is as bad as the rest of the series. In it a Hitler character is president of the Confederacy during WWII (started by the Confederacy) He and his government make their own version of Hitler’s final solution against the blacks called instead, population reducing. Synder Texas, in real life a beautiful town is home of one of dozens of concentration camps. Not for Jews or communists but rather blacks.

It was obvious at least three books back that the Confederacy is defeated by the US not in the War against the States but rather WWII.

Here is what is wrong with this:

Using true history as a guide rather than modern day puritan theory we can make a more realistic alternative history. First of all the best chance the South had of winning the war would have been if Lt. General Stonewall Jackson had not been wounded and dead from pneumonia. Based on his reputation throughout his service to the Confederacy Gettysburg would have turned out different. Lee could not give the July 1 1863 yankee army the sort of vicious blow that Jackson owned.

The Confederacy and United States would have not stayed enemies beyond the 19th century. To assume that they would have been forever enemies is to ignore the 20th century partnership of England and the US despite the revolution. The same hatred and differences occurred between the colonies and the UK as was between the Confederacy and US. In fact, the revolution lasted years longer than the War against the States not to mention another war in 1812. Yet by WWI the two countries had each others back. If the colonies had lost their independence then perhaps Turtledove would have written an alternative history about England’s Canada and the United States fighting each other in the world wars! Would his US president be portrayed as a Hitler?

Considering the location the Confederacy would have been with the US, the common heritage and customs, or mutual interests the two countries would of had by the World Wars it doesn’t make sense that they would war against each other at any chance.

As for the idea of blacks being sent to concentration camps one must remember the true history of camps like Camp Douglas, Elmira, or Point Look Out. During the War against the States thousands of accounts suggest that they were nothing less than extermination camps. Death, disease, and starvation allowed against prisoners in a land that had more than enough to give some humanity.

Though prejudice in the north existed well before the deadly 1863 New York draft riots, race relations further South were born from the ruin and humilation of reconstruction. During that era the Northern congress passed laws that seperated the blacks from the whites in the South. Land and voting rights were supplied to black population while white Southerners that lost their land in the war lost it for good including General Lee’s Arlington. Millions of Southerns stayed without voting rights or representation in congress for several years. The majority of occupying troops were colored. These images invoked an age of resentment in many southern communities.

Since the start of the war slavery was whittled down in the Confederacy. Thousands of blacks were enlisted in the Confederate military, the majority of Southerners were looking beyond the institution, bent on the cause of independence. And while independent of the North the old system of the slavery minority in the South was trampled by the national emergency. With a Southern victory and without the grudges of reconstruction there would have been a far different portrait of race relations in a 1940s Confederacy than fairy tale writer Turtledove could imagine. Slavery and the racial imbalance could not have lasted beyond a war that changed so much one way or another. What race relations would have been like could be anybody’s story. Yet, none could be as bad or tasteless as this one.

Lastly I am personally offended that Turtledove would portray a Nazi vision in the event of a Confederate victory that hundreds of thousands of our American ancestors sacrificed so much to achieve! Racial killings have historically been just as likely in the North as in the South and the number of racial killings vs. black on black gang deaths is contrasted by the thousands.

For Turtledove there is no true history or true alternative. There is only a wildly outrageous story packed with sadistic personal resentments against the South and whatever its history actually might have been!

Rating: 1 / 5