Re: Currently reading

The Mad Afro wrote:
Christopher Adams wrote:

. . . this series doesn't actually examine the Civil War per se at all.

Even so, it sounds fascinating, and I appreciate the trouble and
detail. I've only dabbled with speculative historical fiction; "The
Difference Engine," etc., but this sounds good. Even with the time
travel, which I'm learning to accept. :)

Well, "The Guns of the South" does have time travel, but for my money it's
intelligently limited - the Afrikaner racists have two "waystations" placed one
hundred and fifty years apart, which they stole (so the question of whether or
not they could be retuned for different distances is averted: they just don't
know how, or if it's even possible). This goes to explaining why they make their
proposition to General Lee in 1864 rather than earlier in the war - they only
got their hands on the machine in 2014.

"How Few Remain" and its sequel series - The Great War, American Empire, and
Settling Accounts - are straight-up alternate history, though. If you're a Civil
War fan I'd pick up "How Few Remain", if for no other reason than figures like
Lincoln and Jeb Stuart are still alive. Wikipedia tells me that these are the
viewpoint characters (reflecting Turtledove's fondness for a multiplicity of
viewpoints):

Stonewall Jackson
Jeb Stuart
George Custer
Teddy Roosevelt
Frederick Douglass
Alfred von Schlieffen
Samuel Clemens
Abraham Lincoln

Sounds fun. I watched "The Daily Show" last night - thank the gods the
Comedy Channel is showing it now - and there was an interview with
someone who'd written a book about the whole underground crazy weapons
*** at the Pentagon.

Wonder who it was? I love the Daily Show; just don't get to catch it
very often.

Sharon Weinberger (thank you, Wikipedia!). Her book is "Imaginary Weapons: A
Journey Through The Pentagon's Scientific Underworld".

More serious, but equally fascinating, is "Under the Banner of Heaven"
by Jon Krakauer, which on the surface is about a murder committed in
the 1980s by a pair of Mormon brothers. The meat of the book, though,
is the detail provided about the history and current dynamics of the
Mormon religion. It does much to draw distinctions between the
mainstream LDS Church and the chilling descriptions of fundamentalists
that still practice polygamy in their isolated communities. It's much
more fascinating reading than I'm making it sound, but then I like
books about subculture and belief. True crime hooks don't hurt either.

Sounds fantastic. I'm going to find it and wishlist it on Amazon so I don't
forget.

--
Christopher Adams - Sydney, Australia
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