What Turtledove book should I get?

[CathKhan]

Right now I'm at the library and got only twenty minutes. There are a couple here including:
- the 2nd war between the USA and CSA
-What if Chamberlain stood up to Hitler
-the one with Woodrow Wilson as President of the CSA while TR heads the US
-THe one with assistant secretary of defense FDR andn a Dewey/Truman ticket (I think it's here)
-The one with that one dude who's name I can't remember as President of the CSA under the Freedom Party
-the one that has Coolidge and Smith as candidates for the Presidency.

Hopefully some of you can help me out here.

[bullmoose88]

Guns of the South.  But I assume you already read that.

[Yelnoc]

Guns of the South is the best TL-191 book by far.  The rest feel like they were ripped off a template.  In the Presence of Mine Enemies is, by far, my favorite Turtledove book.  Most of his early stuff, such as Ruled Britannia, is also fairly good.

[CathKhan]

I ended up with "The Great War: American Front". No, I have not read Guns of the South, but I have a little bit of familiarity with the series. I chose this book out of the selection due to how awesome I thought it'd be having Woodrow Wilson as CSA President facing the USA's Teddy Roosevelt.

[Frink]

The Guns of the South is a quite enjoyable book if your into the genre. The others I've read were filled with randomly placed sex scenes (poorly written ones at that) and some truly rubbish parallels to OTL.

[True Federalist]

Guns of the South is the best TL-191 book by far.  The rest feel like they were ripped off a template.  In the Presence of Mine Enemies is, by far, my favorite Turtledove book.  Most of his early stuff, such as Ruled Britannia, is also fairly good.

Guns of the South in not a TL-191 book.  It has a different POD entirely.  I like the premise, but it buys into the Marble Man mythology of Robert E. Lee way too much for my taste.

However, both Guns of the South and the TL-191 series are more believable that Harry Harrison's Stars and Stripes trilogy.

[Yelnoc]

Guns of the South is the best TL-191 book by far.  The rest feel like they were ripped off a template.  In the Presence of Mine Enemies is, by far, my favorite Turtledove book.  Most of his early stuff, such as Ruled Britannia, is also fairly good.

Guns of the South in not a TL-191 book.  It has a different POD entirely.  I like the premise, but it buys into the Marble Man mythology of Robert E. Lee way too much for my taste.

However, both Guns of the South and the TL-191 series are more believable that Harry Harrison's Stars and Stripes trilogy.

Really?  I could never really get into TL-191 (they all feel like he was payed per word) but Guns of the South seemed like a natural predecessor.  I've never heard of Harry Harrison, but I guess he's not worth searching.

As to Lee, yeah, his reputation is completely inflated.  He made a bungle of an offensive campaign, even at engagements when the victory should have been handed to him on a silver platter, and then utterly failed in the defensive war.  Though maybe that's just happens when you compare a first class general like Grant to him.  Honestly, the only reason it took five years to beat the south was the initial Northern incompetence. 

[True Federalist]

Guns of the South in not a TL-191 book.  It has a different POD entirely.  I like the premise, but it buys into the Marble Man mythology of Robert E. Lee way too much for my taste.

However, both Guns of the South and the TL-191 series are more believable that Harry Harrison's Stars and Stripes trilogy.

Really?  I could never really get into TL-191 (they all feel like he was payed per word) but Guns of the South seemed like a natural predecessor.  I've never heard of Harry Harrison, but I guess he's not worth searching.

Harry Harrison has written some stuff worth reading, but Stars and Stripes ain't it.   The Guns of the South opens with a man in mottled clothing and with a strange accent coming into Lee's camp early in 1864 to show him a new rifle he says he can offer in quantity to the Confederacy.  He calls it the AK-47.

[bullmoose88]

How Few Remain is the more traditional alt-hist civil war book which provides the "historical" foundation to the other series. Guns of the South is a standalone book.

[Elyski]

I suggest you get How Few Remain. Or else you'll be running into the rest of the TL-191 sereis blind.

[Mr. Taft Republican]

Right now I'm at the library and got only twenty minutes. There are a couple here including:
- the 2nd war between the USA and CSA
-What if Chamberlain stood up to Hitler
-the one with Woodrow Wilson as President of the CSA while TR heads the US
-THe one with assistant secretary of defense FDR andn a Dewey/Truman ticket (I think it's here)
-The one with that one dude who's name I can't remember as President of the CSA under the Freedom Party
-the one that has Coolidge and Smith as candidates for the Presidency.

Hopefully some of you can help me out here.

At least 3 of those are in the same series, start it with Wilson and TR as Presidents, it's when the series gets good.

[True Federalist]

He's started another book series, Supervolcano.  This one isn't alt-hist, but is set in modern times, but with the Yellowstone supervolcano going kablooey, leading to the United States needing one less star in its flag as no one lives in Wyoming anymore.  It's a typical Turtledove mish-mash and not one of his better efforts in my opinion.

[Yelnoc]

Ah yes, I was thinking of How Few Remain.  I haven't actually read Guns of the South, but seeing as I have no interest in a Confederacy-wank, I have no intention of doing so any time soon.

He's started another book series, Supervolcano.  This one isn't alt-hist, but is set in modern times, but with the Yellowstone supervolcano going kablooey, leading to the United States needing one less star in its flag as no one lives in Wyoming anymore.  It's a typical Turtledove mish-mash and not one of his better efforts in my opinion.

Yeah, Turtledove seems to have permanently declined as a writer.  Honestly, the best alternate history can be found online.  Alternatehistory.com has some wonderful gems, though you have to sift through a lot of trash to find them.

[ViaActiva]

How Few Remain is good, the quality of books seems to decline as the series goes on.