The Guns of the South by Harry Turtledove

The Guns of the South: A Novel of the Civil War

by Harry Turtledove

With the power of a master storyteller and the scrupulous accuracy of a trained historian, Harry Turtledove has created an immense, meticulously detailed, and utterly plausible world where history takes a most unexpected turn. In The Guns of the South, Turtledove vividly imagines what might have happened had the rebels prevailed in the Civil War.

In the cold winter of 1864, General Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia are on the brink of collapse. But when Lee finds a way to arm his forces, the tide of the war turns. The rebels win a decisive victory at the Battle of Wilderness, allowing Lee to march on Washington. As the Confederacy wins its independence, new obstacles arise. The disputed states of Kentucky and Missouri, along with the contentious issue of slavery, threaten to tear the new nation apart.

Lee, in his moment of triumph, is faced with difficult choices that challenge his personal desires and his sense of duty. He must decide whether to continue serving his beloved land to ensure it does not squander the freedom his men fought for.

Mixing masterfully drawn historical and fictional characters, Turtledove brings to life the turmoil of a nation in crisis. The novel provides a rich and detailed look at what it would be like to fight in a transformed Confederate army, from the fiery battles to the march on Washington and the tense negotiations with Lincoln. It also offers fascinating exchanges between historical figures like General Lee and President Jefferson Davis, and even between Lee and Grant as they navigate their new roles as keepers of the peace.

A highly original and extraordinary vision of history as it both was and could have been, The Guns of the South is a stunning work of alternate history that will take its place among the most exciting historical fiction ever written about the War Between the States.