How Few Remain (Southern Victory) Mass Market Paperback – April 29, 1998

Everyone knows that the North won the Civil War, which truly made our nation indissoluble and Abraham Lincoln a revered national hero (by most, anyway).But what if it hadn't turned out that way? What if Robert E. Lee pulled off a stunning victory in 1862 -- as could have happened if Lee's plans hadn't gotten lost and wound up in the hands of the Union army?That's the thesis of How Few Remain, Harry Turtledove's novel of alternate history.[Spoiler Alerts Ahead]The premise: it's 1881, 19 years after the South won the War of Secession (no longer called the Civil War), and things turned out VERY differently. Instead of being a national hero, Abraham Lincoln is a disgraced former one-term president; Samuel Clemens is not Mark Twain, writing about Tom Sawyer and Huckelberry Finn on the Mississippi River, but is instead an editor for a San Francisco newspaper; while James Longstreet was scapegoated for losing the Civil War in real history, he is president of the CSA in Turtledove's novel. Meanwhile, "Custer's Last Stand" never happened, so George Custer is alive and well -- first taking on rebellious Mormons in Utah, then defending the Montana territory from the invading British alongside a young and brash Theodore Roosevelt.The list goes on of known historical figures and how they fare in this alternate universe.The plot: Since losing the War of Secession, the United States have been stewing, and aiming for a chance to avenge their humiliating defeat. They get their chance when the Confederacy purchases two territories from Mexico, thus extending their empire to the Pacific Ocean and threatening US interests. The United States, under President James Blaine (who unsuccessfully ran for the high office in real life), declares war on the Confederacy, and the reader is treated to a series of epic battle scenes, confrontations between heroes of American history, and very believable dialogue.Strengths: Turtledove very masterfully works with known historical figures. His character descriptions, and especially the dialogue he creates, are very believable. This is especially true of his depiction of Samuel Clemens, whose rambunctious sense of humor is on full display, as is Lincoln's humble stoicism.Just as believable are Roosevelt on the Montana prairie, Confederate commander Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, and abolitionist Frederick Douglass. One of the most powerful scenes is a confrontation between the latter two characters who, while being bitterly opposed to each other, walk away with a newfound mutual respect.I also like how Turtledove's President Longstreet handles the question of slavery in a rapidly changing world.Weaknesses: Perhaps the most controversial part of How Few Remain has to do with where Turtledove takes Lincoln: upon returning home after losing re-election in 1864 (to an unnamed Democrat), Lincoln gets bored with practicing law, reads and embraces Karl Marx's Das Kapital, then travels the country preaching his newfound gospel to the chagrin of his fellow Republicans.It's hard to see how Lincoln would take up Communism, which was so contrary to 18th century America. It just seems a bridge too far. Then again, anything is possible in alternate history, and so Turtledove said "why not" to this course, and took the plunge. And in fairness, I should note that Turtledove defends his decision by incorporating some of Lincoln's own dialogue from earlier (real life) anti-slavery speeches into his (fictional) pro-Communist rhetoric.Also, could the US Army be as incompetent as Turtledove makes it out to be? I don't share that struggle myself, but others who have read How Few Remain do. I don't think it's too far-fetched -- don't forget that in real life, the tide didn't turn against the South until after Ulysses Grant took command of the Union forces in 1863. In a scenario where the South won in 1862, a bungling Northern army in 1881 (with some of the best military minds now in the CSA) is very plausible.All told, it's a very satisfying read. Turtledove takes some risks, but they are very worthwhile. This is a very solid and entertaining novel, and it demonstrates why Harry Turtledove is the master of Alternate History.I recommend it.

Good ol' Turtledove. Love him or hate him, in many ways he's responsible for the recent surge in alternate history stories. At his best he puts out books like Guns of the South, Ruled Britannia and In the Presence of Mine Enemies. At his worst... well, even at his worst he's still pretty darn readable.Thankfully this book, which starts the mammoth so-called "Timeline 191" series, is one of the better books. Taking place in a world where the CSA survived the Civil War, and is now about to go to war against the USA again in 1881, the book is an excellent vision of what might have been.Most fascinating in the novel are the uses of historical characters. Fredrick Douglass, frustrated at the continuation of slavery in the South. Abraham Lincoln, voted out of office in 1864 and now hated by the nation. Sammuel Clemmens, newspaper editor and all around smart-ass. Stonewall Jackson, the great Terror. And my personal favorite, Teddy Roosevelt, assembling Roosevelts Unauthorized Regiment to fight those dirty Canuks!This book sets up many events that will come into play later. The Mormon uprising starts here. The Socialist Party begins to come into its own. Roosevelt and Custer make their first appearances. And we start to see the slow transformation of the United States into the sort of country that would, a few decades down the line, consider it entirely acceptable to, when a soldier is attacked, round up civilians and murder them as punishment.This book holds up well as a stand-alone novel, but much better if you then go from this to the Great War books. It's probably the best of the series, which isn't saying THAT much because the other ones are pretty good, too. While the reader might not always agree with the tracks Turtledove takes the world onto in this book it is at least always an entertaining voyage, and there's far worse things to be.

Harry Turtledove es uno de los mejores autores del género de historia alternativa, y How Few Remain quizá sea la mejor historia de este género.Los detalles en cuanto a la historia y como el autor los modifico para dar una trama creíble y emocionante es increíble.Recomendado 100%

This is the story that HBO should be using for an alternate history of "What if the Confederacy had won the U.S. Civil War?" It provides a much more realistic portrayal of how the slave industry would have evolved than what HBO is proposing. The novel takes place 20 years after the Civil War, and we see the viewpoint of various historical figures including Stonewall Jackson, Frederick Douglass and Theodore Roosevelt, and I like how characters on both sides of the war were portrayed fairly, warts and all. I look forward to reading the next books in the series.

First volume in a very long distopy on a warped Civil war. This one is interesting, but others in the series are not, unfortunately.

A very good read. This is not a follow on from The Guns Of The South, Mr Turtledove states this, but at the back of the book. Would helpful if this was at front of book. The reasons for the South winning the first civil war in this novel, are far more believable,than in the Guns Of The South.The reasons for the USA going to war with the CSA again,is very believable. The interaction of different historical figures is very good, IE the all but brief meeting of Custer and Teddy Roosevelt,and their versions of how the battle went, and which one of them actually won the battle for the USA. Two big egos. Interesting to read/watch how Abe Lincoln's life could have gone had he, lost the civil war,and the way his political views could have changed. This is an even paced novel,having said that ,some parts where the political situation of the time line in this novel are discussed do seem to slow the pace. Stick with it as this is important to the story. All in all a very good alternate history novel. Set s the scene for the next trilogy of novels, The Great war series, I have them down load to my kindle,and will start to read them very soon looking forward to doing so.

Okay to fill in time.