Synopses & Reviews
A stunning epic of humanity at war with itself, Harry Turtledove's Great War saga plunges us deeper into the war that began in Europe, then exploded with a vengeance onto American soil.
The world is convulsing. Germany has smashed its enemies: Austria, Denmark, and France, while the United States and the Confederate States of America charge headlong into the global conflict--as bitter enemies once again.
The year is 1915, and the time of darkness has come. Though the Confederacy has defeated its northern enemy twice in fifty years, this time the United States has allied with Prussia. In the South, the freed slaves, fueled by Marxist rhetoric and the bitterness of a racist nation, take up the weapons of the Bolshevik rebellion. Despite these advantages, the United States remains pinned between Canada and the C.S.A., so the bloody conflict continues and grows. Both presidents--Theodore Roosevelt of the Union and staunch Confederate Woodrow Wilson--are stubbornly determined to lead their nations to victory, at any cost.
While land and sea battles are fought around the globe, new killing tools--poison gas, submarines, attack planes, and tanks--are pressed into service. Heroism and fear run hand in hand as ordinary men and women--families, friends, and lovers--choose desperate measures just to survive.
From the trenches that line the Canadian border to occupied Salt Lake City, The Great War: Walk in Hell takes us to the American front, then into prisoner-of-war camps, strategy meetings, and cities roiling with unrest. Once again, Harry Turtledove--"the leading author of alternate history" (USA Today)--has created a gripping, visionary portrait of how, if history had but taken another path, our world would have launched into a much bloodier War to End All Wars.
About the Author
Harry Turtledove was born in Los Angeles in 1949. After flunking out of Caltech, he earned a Ph.D. in Byzantine history from UCLA. He has taught ancient and medieval history at UCLA, Cal State Fullerton, and Cal State L.A., and he has published a translation of a ninth-century Byzantine chronicle, as well as several scholarly articles. He is also a Hugo Award-winning and critically acclaimed full-time writer of science fiction and fantasy. His alternate history works have included several short stories and the novels A World of Difference, The Guns of the South, How Few Remain--winner of the Sidewise Award for Best Novel--and the Worldwar tetralogy that began in 1994 with Worldwar: In the Balance and continues with Colonization: Second Contact. Following on the heels of The Great War: American Front, Walk in Hell is the second volume of Turtledove's epic alternate history tetralogy of World War I.
He is married to fellow novelist Laura Frankos. They have three daughters: Alison, Rachel, and Rebecca.