Most people realize that an alternative history novel (just like a Science Fiction novel) requires some ability, on the part of the reader, to suspend one's disbelief. A good, well written, story assists the reader in doing this. For me this is the hallmark not only of a good story but also a good writer. In the case of Robert Conroy's 1901: A Novel, the premise behind the story certainly was engaging enough (a punitive German invasion of the United States in the aftermath of the Spanish American War) for me to pick this up from the $1 bin at my local used book seller. Not expecting great literature (it was in the $1 bin for crying out loud) I assumed that the subject matter would keep me reading... however, the execution by the author, Conroy, failed to deliver on the promise.

In other alternative history books that Conroy has written, he is praised for his historical research. However based on the conclusions that he drew from his "research" for this title I am highly suspicious of this praise for his other works. In the first two chapters Conroy sets the tone for 1901 by claiming that Germany had the second largest fleet (the largest belonging to Great Britain) in 1901. Regardless how you measure Germany's fleet, it wasn't just far behind Great Britain's at this point in history, but also the French Fleet and (prior to its destruction by the US Navy in the Spanish American War) possibly the Spanish Navy as well. Furthermore although the Imperial German Navy was a force to be reckoned with during the First World War (technically, organizationally and manpower-wise) in 1901 Kaiser Wilhelm II (and Admiral Tirpitz) was just embarking on their project to build a first class navy to rival his Grandmother Victoria's Royal Navy.

As I said in the opening of this review, alt-history requires some ability to suspend one's disbelief so if you can forgive Conroy's shoddy research on this point, his portrayal of Wilhelm as some kind of Hitler-esque villain and the Imperial German Army (and by extension the entire German nation) as mindless Nazis strains my disbelief faculties to the breaking point. In the post World War II world, it is easy to pick on the poor Germans. Hitler is the personification of evil and Conroy uses our own bias to create a cartoon like villain that will play upon our sympathies without having to work to hard to develop a real set of circumstances or characters to be the "bad guys" for the novel.

This is especially problematic when the French make a much better villain during this time period. The French still have a jealousy/dislike of Britain (still true in 1939 and probably so today as well) that dates back to when Angles, Franks, Saxons and Celts fought over the British Isles. France had a powerful navy which rivaled Britain's for most of the 19th century (and was certainly the second largest in 1901) not to mention that the French had overseas colonies in Africa, Asia and the Americas. However, there is some historical basis for German animosity towards the US in the wake of the Spanish American War (the German Navy and Dewey's Asiatic Fleet almost coming to blows after the Battle of Manila Bay as well as incidents in Samoa in the late 1880s).

Given these first two strikes I have to give props to Conroy for his use of former American Civil War generals as commanders for the US Army in 1901. This was certainly the case with two of the Spanish American War's more successful commanders Joe Wheeler and Fitzhugh Lee (who were both Confederate Generals during the American Civil War). Also, I believe that Conroy's "rehabilitation" of General James Longstreet (General Lee's right hand man after Stonewall Jackson died) in 1901 pre-dates most of the Longstreet apologetic histories that have come out in the last several years.

However, having these Generals use expletives like the sergeants who pushed me through my own basic training in the 1980s stretches credibility beyond the breaking point again. It is almost as if Conroy believes that all Southerners are rednecks, trailer trash or worse. I am certain that the modern "lost cause Confederate gentlemen" school of thought is just as flawed, but these generals were the aristocracy of the time and while they probably did swear they most certainly did not use modern expletives.

So if you consider that a 0-2 foul ball, the final strike against Conroy's work comes in his portrayal of the British Admiralty as scared of the "mighty" Imperial German Navy. To the point where they let the entire German fleet (auxiliaries and all) sail into the North Atlantic bound for an invasion of the United States, unchecked, unmolested and almost unconcerned (yes, the British provide some covert assistance to the US) is simply a "wave of the hand" to make the story work.

Couple this with uneven writing (which should have been fixed by the editor) and the melodramatic love story that seems like a tack on (to what purpose I am uncertain, because those scenes feel "Harlequin Romance Novel" to me) and this book is probably a 1 1/2 star book on my shelf. Conroy's authorship suffers when compared to Turtledove (the later is very good at writing character descriptions) and even though I liked (and related to) the main character, Patrick Mahan, Conroy's characterizations are quite one-dimensional and cardboard.

So what is the bonus star for (note: I'd rate the book 2.5 stars if GoodReads allowed)? Well, I think the premise of 1901 is interesting, if you strip away most of the "junk" noted above, there are some pretty decent short stories here -- which may have been how this book came about (a series of short stories or ideas by the author). With a little imagination and some better research this could have easily been a good read. As it is, the story wasn't much more than a cheap and partially entertaining way to spend a late evening plane flight.