"Turtledove never tires of exploring the paths not taken, bringing to
his storytelling a prodigious knowledge of his subject and a profound
understanding of human sensibilities and motivations."--Library
Journal
It's 1942. For twenty-five years, the USA and the CSA have been
entrenched in an era of simmering hatred, locked in a tangle of
blood-soaked battle lines, modern weaponry, desperate strategies, and
the kind of violence that only the damned could conjure up for
themselves and their enemies. In Richmond, Confederate president and
dictator Jake Featherston is shocked by what his own aircraft have done
in Philadelphia--killing U.S. president Al Smith in a barrage of bombs.
Featherston presses ahead with a secret plan carried out on the dusty
plains of Texas, where a so-called detention camp hides a far more evil
purpose. As the untested U.S. vice president takes over for Smith, the
United States face a furious thrust by the Confederate army, pressing
inexorably into Pennsylvania. But with the industrial heartland under
siege, Canada in revolt, and U.S. naval ships fighting against the
Japanese in the Sandwich Islands, the most dangerous place in the world
may be overlooked.
"First-time readers can jump in and enjoy Turtledove's richly
rearranged cultural and political landscape."--The Kansas City Star
"Engrossing . . . thoroughly satisfying."--Publishers Weekly