5th out of 12 books
—
7 voters
The Guns of the South
"It is absolutely unique--without question the most fascinating Civil War novel I have ever read."
Professor James M. McPherson
Pultizer Prize-winning BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM
January 1864--General Robert E. Lee faces defeat. The Army of Northern Virginia is ragged and ill-equpped. Gettysburg has broken the back of the Confederacy and decimated its manpower.
Then, Andries Rhoodie...more
Professor James M. McPherson
Pultizer Prize-winning BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM
January 1864--General Robert E. Lee faces defeat. The Army of Northern Virginia is ragged and ill-equpped. Gettysburg has broken the back of the Confederacy and decimated its manpower.
Then, Andries Rhoodie...more
ebook, 576 pages
Published
April 20th 2011
by Del Rey
(first published 1992)
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Feb 11, 2008
Robert Beveridge
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
finished,
owned-and-gave-away
Harry Turtledove, Guns of the South (Del Rey, 1992)
Time to make shish kebab out of another sacred cow. Guns of the South is considered THE alternate history novel by many, the one alternate history novel that should be required reading in history classes and on just about every historian's list of must-read Civil War books. And to be fair, it's almost that good. Really.
As with most fiction of the speculative type, especially alternate-history speculative fiction, the plot can be summed up by ask...more
Time to make shish kebab out of another sacred cow. Guns of the South is considered THE alternate history novel by many, the one alternate history novel that should be required reading in history classes and on just about every historian's list of must-read Civil War books. And to be fair, it's almost that good. Really.
As with most fiction of the speculative type, especially alternate-history speculative fiction, the plot can be summed up by ask...more
Jul 29, 2007
Thomas
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone and everyone
This is a great book. The cover has Robert E. Lee with an Ak-47 so you know it isn't your standard book. Even though a Confederate victory via time travel is far fetched, it isn't the main part of the book. It has much more to do with the Confederate States as a nation and how it comes to terms with it's own internal problems as well as facing a racism borne out of hatred (by the time travelers), as opposed to their racism based out of ignorance.
The time travelers from a decade ahead of our own...more
The time travelers from a decade ahead of our own...more
Jun 04, 2007
Joel
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Civil War buffs
Turtledove has a unique way of blending science fiction with history. The way he conveys accounts identify him as a master of history and research. In fact, if he were to publish text books in this manner (without the Sci-Fi obviously), the nation's history I.Q. would rise rather sharply.
It's truly one of those "can't put it down" novels. The way he recreates past events and images with his "twists", shows a mind that thinks outside the box.
"Enfield, Springfield, throw them in the cornfield"....more
It's truly one of those "can't put it down" novels. The way he recreates past events and images with his "twists", shows a mind that thinks outside the box.
"Enfield, Springfield, throw them in the cornfield"....more
I’m a sucker for well-executed counterfactual history. Throw in time travel, and well, Bob’s your uncle. Especially if Bob is Robert E. Lee, the non-slave-owning, first to be offered Union military leadership Lee.
The premise of White Supremacists getting access to time travel—please, if they’re stupid enough to be racists, they’re unlikely to be able to think far enough ahead to plan something involving time travel—may be a bridge too far, but the historical interweaving is certainly intriguing....more
The premise of White Supremacists getting access to time travel—please, if they’re stupid enough to be racists, they’re unlikely to be able to think far enough ahead to plan something involving time travel—may be a bridge too far, but the historical interweaving is certainly intriguing....more
Feb 16, 2013
Georgia James
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Those with an interest in alternate history
Recommended to Georgia by:
My Uncle
Shelves:
historical-fiction-read
A fascinating insight into what might have happened had the US Civil War (or, War Between the States) might have gone if the South had won.
The first eighth or so is sometimes a little hard going- a lot of talking without much action. It's a little strange to read too, not least because AK-47 and General Lee are not often seen together in the same sentence. If you're unused to American grammar/spelling/dialect words you're probably going to struggle a little too. Not much, but enough to have irr...more
The first eighth or so is sometimes a little hard going- a lot of talking without much action. It's a little strange to read too, not least because AK-47 and General Lee are not often seen together in the same sentence. If you're unused to American grammar/spelling/dialect words you're probably going to struggle a little too. Not much, but enough to have irr...more
The Premise: White nationalist Afrikaaners travel back in time and equip Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia with fully automatic AK-47 rifles on the eve of the Battle for the Wilderness in 1864. Hijinks ensue.
That's it, really. Guns of the South is simply that premise followed to one possible conclusion. Though the premise is fantastical, it is slyly subversive: in following the most popular general "what if" of alternate history (South Wins the Civil War), Turtledove is able to prey on t...more
That's it, really. Guns of the South is simply that premise followed to one possible conclusion. Though the premise is fantastical, it is slyly subversive: in following the most popular general "what if" of alternate history (South Wins the Civil War), Turtledove is able to prey on t...more
Entertaining and Thought Provoking
Turtledove's Guns of the South, provides a rollicking good read as well as a great deal of insight into some of the common causes cited for the Civil War and why so many factors contributed to the Confederacy's defeat.
A fair criticism can be made that this book is not alternative history in the purest sense of the word. A more common scenario in such tales might more practically be derived from something like having the South win at Gettysburg. However, the addi...more
Turtledove's Guns of the South, provides a rollicking good read as well as a great deal of insight into some of the common causes cited for the Civil War and why so many factors contributed to the Confederacy's defeat.
A fair criticism can be made that this book is not alternative history in the purest sense of the word. A more common scenario in such tales might more practically be derived from something like having the South win at Gettysburg. However, the addi...more
Half masturbatory Robert E. Lee fanfic, half apologia for the South...
Honestly, the concept is brilliant--white supremacists go back in time, help the South win the Civil War with AKs, and it just goes on from there. But man, I lost count of the number of times someone said the war was about keeping slaves, only to be shouted down by people saying that no, really it was about freedom and states' rights. For crying out loud.
Aside from that (which isn't all that bad, it just stands out once you no...more
Honestly, the concept is brilliant--white supremacists go back in time, help the South win the Civil War with AKs, and it just goes on from there. But man, I lost count of the number of times someone said the war was about keeping slaves, only to be shouted down by people saying that no, really it was about freedom and states' rights. For crying out loud.
Aside from that (which isn't all that bad, it just stands out once you no...more
I found this book very interesting. Disclaimer: I think the Civil War is probably the most boring era of US history, and I think military histories are the most boring form of history. So, as I'm giving this five stars, if you have even a passing interest in the Civil War or military history, you will love this.
An alternative history novel in which the South wins the Civil War. But with a twist. Afrikaners upset at equality in post-apartheid South Africa have build a time machine and traveled ba...more
An alternative history novel in which the South wins the Civil War. But with a twist. Afrikaners upset at equality in post-apartheid South Africa have build a time machine and traveled ba...more
Wow, a great book. A new genre for me, and definitely a good choice to start me off. I learned a lot about life during the civil war. I had forgotten how primitive weaponry, battlefield medicine, industrial mechanization, and much other science was at this time.
This book also really puts the slavery question into focus. Certainly it was best to end slavery in the south, but was the historical path the best one? This book rethings the road out of slavery for the CSA, which I found really interes...more
This book also really puts the slavery question into focus. Certainly it was best to end slavery in the south, but was the historical path the best one? This book rethings the road out of slavery for the CSA, which I found really interes...more
Strange as the premise may seem, this novel works quite well. It is a plausible look at what might have happened had the Confederacy somehow managed to get its hands on advanced weaponry and the expertise required to use it. Time traveling is as good a reason as any for Robert E Lee to be holding an Uzi, as the author says, and the inherent ridiculousness of the image is tempered by the seriousness of the novel as a whole.
This book doesn't shy away from addressing the issue of slavery, and in f...more
This book doesn't shy away from addressing the issue of slavery, and in f...more
Jul 04, 2010
David McClelland
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
alternate-history,
science-fiction
Perhaps the only one of Turtledoves novels that I would call truly excellent. Unlike many of his sagas, there's no bloated and exposition heavy storytelling here, just a tightly constructed alternate history with a neat science-fiction twist.
Again, unlike many of his other books, characters are a strength here, bolstered, I think, by the fact that he choses just a few people to focus on, rather than the dozens of on-going characters he usually fills his works with. Robert E. Lee is an interesti...more
Again, unlike many of his other books, characters are a strength here, bolstered, I think, by the fact that he choses just a few people to focus on, rather than the dozens of on-going characters he usually fills his works with. Robert E. Lee is an interesti...more
In a world where the South won the American Civil War...
Harry Turtledove is a particularly interesting writer. He plays in lands that are similar to our own, but is capable of fully extrapolating along the lines of "what if." His butterfly effect here, of course, is the introduction of the AK-47 to 1864 Confederacy just before the Wilderness, and the world explodes from there.
Mild-to-moderate spoilers follow.
(view spoiler)...more
Harry Turtledove is a particularly interesting writer. He plays in lands that are similar to our own, but is capable of fully extrapolating along the lines of "what if." His butterfly effect here, of course, is the introduction of the AK-47 to 1864 Confederacy just before the Wilderness, and the world explodes from there.
Mild-to-moderate spoilers follow.
(view spoiler)...more
At first glance, this seems like one of the sillier ideas out there. "Oo, what would happen if somebody traveled back in time and supplied the Confederacy with AK-47's?" Sounds like an excuse to make a "300"-style movie, with lots of improbable action scenes and Confederate soldiers toting around modern weapons while gritting out one-liners as they mow down the Union troops.
Surprisingly, this is a LOT more than that. Turtledove looks, really LOOKS, at what would happen if the Confederacy gained...more
Surprisingly, this is a LOT more than that. Turtledove looks, really LOOKS, at what would happen if the Confederacy gained...more
Am I a bad history grad student for reading this? Probably...
I shouldn't have bothered with this. It was really poorly written in parts, especially any time dialogue had to provide some kind of exposition, and plus it made me feel a little dirty to have to root for the Confederates, as they are the heroes of the book. I knew the basic plot: a group of 21st Century racist South Africans travel back in time and give AK-47s to the Confederates so they will win the Civil War. What I didn't realize w...more
I shouldn't have bothered with this. It was really poorly written in parts, especially any time dialogue had to provide some kind of exposition, and plus it made me feel a little dirty to have to root for the Confederates, as they are the heroes of the book. I knew the basic plot: a group of 21st Century racist South Africans travel back in time and give AK-47s to the Confederates so they will win the Civil War. What I didn't realize w...more
This book belongs in my top ten collection. Although this book was sometimes very dry, and very difficult to get through, I fount it to be a very honest portrayal of an alternative history. I was very pleased to see that the Union Army and its leaders were not portrayed as a bunch of saviors to the African American people, and was equally glad to see that the Confederates were not portrayed as a bunch of racist Neanderthals, although, the issues regarding racism and its effects on the war and Am...more
I started this book with a few preconceptions, most of which were shattered well before the book ended. This was the first of Turtledove's novels I've read, and I'm absolutely going to be reading more.
This book meanders through half a decade of political turmoil, and how it affects the lives of both the prominent historical figures of the time and the every day citizen. Just as much of the book is dedicated to what happens after the war as during it, and the impact a group of time travelers with...more
This book meanders through half a decade of political turmoil, and how it affects the lives of both the prominent historical figures of the time and the every day citizen. Just as much of the book is dedicated to what happens after the war as during it, and the impact a group of time travelers with...more
The confederates are at the brink of losing the civil war. Then comes a man named Andries Rhoodie and he offers Robert E. Lee a weapon that would turn the war around. He offers Lee the AK-47, a remarkable gun. The AK-47 remarkabley wins the war for Lee.
It was interesting looking into the "past that never was." I learned from this book that the confederates were simply fighting for their homeland. Most confederates didn't own slaves and were simply fighting for their land. Robert E. Lee was fig...more
It was interesting looking into the "past that never was." I learned from this book that the confederates were simply fighting for their homeland. Most confederates didn't own slaves and were simply fighting for their land. Robert E. Lee was fig...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Phew! This was one of those lost weekend books. I haven't had a reading experience like that in about a decade or so.
I guess, fortunately, I've been sick, so I've had the ability to read more or less to my heart's content.
You will learn from this book, but not in the "learning is fun" kind of way--in the way that you'll know the history like you know a good friend. You don't remember just how you learned it, you just did.
And yet you'll also be transported by a skillful piece of science fiction...more
I guess, fortunately, I've been sick, so I've had the ability to read more or less to my heart's content.
You will learn from this book, but not in the "learning is fun" kind of way--in the way that you'll know the history like you know a good friend. You don't remember just how you learned it, you just did.
And yet you'll also be transported by a skillful piece of science fiction...more
Jan 20, 2013
John Betts
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
alternate-history
Turtledove uses a low-grade sci-fi movie technique of white racists from South Africa travelling back in time to change the course of history by helping the South attain victory against the United States and achieving its independence by use of sophisticated weapons of the future, chiefly the AK-47. It is hoped by this band that victory for the slave-holding Confederacy would make the "white man's" cause of racial supremacy succeed and avoid such things as black-majority rule in South Africa. Ye...more
A group of apartheid-era Afrikaners time-travels to the American South during our Civil War to arm the Confederate army with AK-47s. The South wins. Lincoln loses the 1864 election and returns to Illinois to practice law. Robert E. Lee wins the Confederate presidency.
It's too bad the novel had to include the time-travel element, because the sci-fi/action scenes were the least engaging element of the book for me. I was bored when most of a chapter was devoted to how to dissemble and clean an AK-4...more
It's too bad the novel had to include the time-travel element, because the sci-fi/action scenes were the least engaging element of the book for me. I was bored when most of a chapter was devoted to how to dissemble and clean an AK-4...more
Despite having a few elements of science fiction, this was a fully believable portrayal of the American Civil War from the Confederate point of view. It's obvious that Turtledove did some painstaking research to make the events and people as accurate as possible. The plot had a few unexpected twists, but even the more predictable events were written well enough to make me keep going. The characters were a likeable lot (even some of the villains), but I especially enjoyed Turtledove's portrayal o...more
Apr 11, 2013
Eddy Allen
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
arts-and-historical
Northern Virginia is ragged and ill-equipped. The battle of Gettysburg has broken the back of the Confederacy and decimated its manpower.
Then Andries Rhoodie, a strange man with an unplaceable accent, approaches Lee with an extraordinary offer. Rhoodie demonstrates an amazing rifle; its rate of fire is incredible, its lethal efficiency breathtaking--and Rhoodie guarantees unlimited quantities to the Confederates.
The name of the weapon is the AK-47.
"As a Civil War historian, I literally could not...more
Then Andries Rhoodie, a strange man with an unplaceable accent, approaches Lee with an extraordinary offer. Rhoodie demonstrates an amazing rifle; its rate of fire is incredible, its lethal efficiency breathtaking--and Rhoodie guarantees unlimited quantities to the Confederates.
The name of the weapon is the AK-47.
"As a Civil War historian, I literally could not...more
Intriguing "What If" of history. The American Civil War of the 1860s could have gone either way, sometimes balanced on a knife's edge of a few, seemingly random sets of circumstances. Harry Turtledove, nicknamed the "Master of Alternate History," has imagined a history of the South's victory and the years following.
The first in a series of books following this diverging historical crossroads, this is the only one in which an external stimulus is introduced as the cause of the divergence. Here,...more
The first in a series of books following this diverging historical crossroads, this is the only one in which an external stimulus is introduced as the cause of the divergence. Here,...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Turtledove is a genius at picking new ways to scrutinize historical circumstances. What if the North did not overwhelm the South with technology and industry? What if the South were given an edge in addition to the ones it obtained simply by breaking out of the quagmire of government bureaucracy and military nepotism that plagued the North in the early part of the Civil War? I had a problem with the means Harry chose to give them that edge, but there's no mistaking the genius of his premise. Put...more
This book answers the question of what would happen if a group of time travelers equipped the confederacy with modern weapons. It ends up being a pretty solid read if you have any interest in history or sci-fi.
The best part is what happened when I left it laying around and my sister started reading it. She was reading in bed and she kept complaining to her husband that the battles were wrong. She was telling him how the author got the dates, locations, and outcomes wrong. She was a few chapters...more
The best part is what happened when I left it laying around and my sister started reading it. She was reading in bed and she kept complaining to her husband that the battles were wrong. She was telling him how the author got the dates, locations, and outcomes wrong. She was a few chapters...more
This book was one of my first dives into the world of Harry Turtledove and AH/SF. He is to me, the grand master of this genre. His knowledge of the period is well grounded and comes across in the story with full detail and colour. Mr Turtledove brings well know historical figures to life and they leap off the page. I have found that his one off stories such as this one to be the best works that he produces. I have read and re-read this book numerous times. I plan to continue to do so for many ye...more
Although I gave this book three stars, it really is 2.5 stars on account of how uneven it is. I have read a few alternative history novels as well as sci-fi stories that transposed historical events into future realities. Accordingly, I have some experience reading works like "Guns of the South." What is so frustrating to me was how better this novel could have been. Allow me to explain without spoiling the plot.
Mr. Turtledove begins his novel with a fairly good idea - allow the South to win the...more
Mr. Turtledove begins his novel with a fairly good idea - allow the South to win the...more
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Dr Harry Norman Turtledove is an American novelist, who has produced a sizeable number of works in several genres including alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction.
Harry Turtledove attended UCLA, where he received a Ph.D. in Byzantine history in 1977.
Turtledove has been dubbed "The Master of Alternate History". Within this genre he is known both for creating original sce...more
More about Harry Turtledove...
Harry Turtledove attended UCLA, where he received a Ph.D. in Byzantine history in 1977.
Turtledove has been dubbed "The Master of Alternate History". Within this genre he is known both for creating original sce...more
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