1945

Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly Good SF Alternate History from a Politician
Review: Of course Forstchen was also invoved. The only way I could have imagined that Germany might have won WWII in Europe was as described in the text. Hitler was injured and in a coma prior to Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. His lieutenants preserved German troops during the Russian Winter (no genius needed) and didn't declare war on the U.S. Thus Roosevelt wasn't able to convince Congress to open a two-front war, and Germany was alone in Europe. England had to sue for peace, and Germany took everything else. And it's a rattling good story in 1945 with Germany looking to beat out the U.S. to the Atomic bomb. Only kvetch is that hero is too perfect, but it's still interesting. Where is next installment??

Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable altenate history
Review: This is an enjoyable alternate history, with well known characters if you know the WW2 era. I am looking forward to the sequel

Rating:
Summary: A book by Newt that other conservatives might want to ban!
Review: The scariest words in the entire book are at the end - "To Be Continued." It rates a 3 only because it's an amusing story; not because it's good. The authors, both of whom should know better, have produced a book that's laughable rather than frightening. From the plugs for George Bush to the praise of Prussian Character, it seems to fawn over just about everyone. The bad guys are too busy screwing up to be bad, and the sexual habits of one of the Nazis are just twisted enough that hard-core conservatives will probably want to see the book banned

Rating:
Summary: Competent alternate history on an overworked what-if.
Review: As a long-time fan of alternate histories, I got ahold of this book as soon as I could. The premise---that Hitler was out of action due to injuries when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, and that without a declaration of war by Germany, Roosevelt could not bring the US into the European Theatre, is plausible and has been examined in other alternate histories. On the whole, I thought it was a competent, Clancyesque job. Although not up to the level of the true classics of the genre, it appeared to be reasonably well-done, with historical characters behaving as they might actually have in these altered circumstances. In my own opinion, a lot of the savaging this book got was due to antagonism against the author-of-record's political stances, instead of being based on an honest reaction to the book itself. It deserves a chance on its own merits.

Rating:
Summary: Historical Fiction is Storytelling - "What if..."
Review: This reminds me of John Jakes' storytelling style - get a character that is in the thick of things and then have them meet the principals involved in the historical events. This works well if the plot is not too fantastic but at times this book borders on the fantastic. Some of the prose is too melodramatic. The major characters are fairly well developed. Much of the treatment in the last few chapters refers to team concepts and organizational structures that are now being advocated for business. I may have even seen the word paradigm. The "To Be Continued..." ending left me wanting. A good story - fairly well told

Rating:
Summary: Gripping - a page turner, where is the follow-up?!
Review: As an avid reader of spy and techno thrillers this book immediately hooked me. The character development is as complete as necessary. While not in the class of Tom C. this first novel was interesting and I am looking forward to the sequel. The thesis is plausible and suggests some ideas that may be good policy

Rating:
Summary: I enjoyed this book a lot. Occasional melodramatic prose.
Review: 1945 presents us with a plausable alternate WW2 history. What if Hitler has been badly injured in a plane crash on June 6, 1941. With a trio of Generals in charge, Germany did not declare war on the USA after Pearl Harbor, and concentrated on war with Russia. Roosevelt responding to a Congress demanding revenge in the Pacific commits everything to a Pacific war which leads to Japan's defeat without Nukes in 1944. Before Hitler recovers, Germany sets up a quasi independant Ukraine which joins the war against the communists, eventually forcing Russia to sue for peace. The Churchill government collapses and Germany with a recovered Hitler is the undisputed master of most of Europe. The world now has two superpowers. Germany and The United States. It is 1945.

Rating:
Summary: Newt's Notion, William's War: '70's tech in 1946
Review: I don't remember when or where I first heard about *1945*, the counterfactual (alternate history) World War II novel. I heard former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich teamed up with historian William Forstchen to produce a trilogy of life-or-death battle between souped-up Nazis and under strength Americans. And that's it: until my brother borrowed a copy and inspired me to buy my own at a used bookshop the other night.

That morning I read it. I found *1945* to be a silly but perfectly passable piece of entertainment. Though the trilogy seems to have stalled after the first book, readers could do worse than pass time at a dentist's office reading this effort.

*History, Shmistory*

Now no-one should exert the wrong effort with this tome. Anybody looking for a serious, scholarly account of alternate history won't find it here. If anything, *1945* is a guide to counterfactual cheating. The authors plow through without a glance back at the plot potholes and twisted logic burning in their wake. Without giving up too much suspense, I can safely point out the debris.

For readers learn immediately that 1946 Germany has inexplicably acquired 1970's era weapons. Our authors breezily mention that avoiding war with the United States somehow lead Germany into developing intercontinental ballistic missiles, SAMs, stealth fighters, optically guided missiles, high-altitude spy planes, and satellite delivery rockets--all in the four years following Pearl Harbor. Meanwhile, the United States has fully demobilized.

None of this meshes with reality. Considering that the German high command, including Air Marshal Goering, simply did not appreciate the importance of jet airpower until 1944 (when it was too late), it is unlikely that Germany would be motivated to develop an armada of Me262 when they were soundly whipping the Soviets, much less motivated to stockpile air weapons fit for the Vietnam War. While Nazis did build a number of futuristic craft and missiles, many of these were engineering abortions too slow in development and too taxing to mass-produce.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, our poor German paratroopers still use Erma MP40s-incorrectly called "Schmeissers"-instead of the StG44 "storm rifle" that was coveted by paratroopers and revolutionized military small arms design here in the real world.

The real world doesn't stop these fellows for a second. Not even from taking liberties with strategy as well as technology. Germany just sort of conquers Western Russia and establishes an armistice with Britain and the Soviets without a consideration as to how out of character this would be. Nor does the book adequately explain why the US demobilizes in the face of a Nazi Superpower when we didn't do so in the face of Soviets. It doesn't account for the Soviet's "scorched earth" and factory relocation policies, the likelihood that a Nazi tactical withdrawal followed by a counterstrike in the Spring of 1942 would help the Soviets as much as the Germans, and the implausibility this would encourage Himmler to hold back his Einsatzgruppen and spare the Ukrainians from holocaust.

Speaking of masses and murder, Nazism is considered by many to have been a cult of personality built around Adolf Hitler. Incapacitating him as the authors do would have more likely lead to a power upheaval and possibly an assassination and coup, not to mention breaking the spell Hitler had over Germany. Gobbels and Himmler might have done most of the actual propaganda and dissent suppression, but Hitler was the fulcrum `round which Nazism and its accoutrements balanced.

*Hope You Enjoyed the Ride*

However, none of this technical babble detracts from the fun. For the book ultimately gives emphasis not to technology but to character. Not character development, mind you. These are cardboard cutouts-but the stock is good. And our authors concern themselves specifically with the role personalities play in war. Much of the historical and logical holes in this alternative universe are covered up by two men. One, famed commando Otto Skorzeny, is almost single-handledly responsible for Germany's success with his daring surgical strikes. The other, naval aviator Jim Martel, almost single-handedly saves the United States from being knocked right of the strategic arms race and doomed to obliteration. Meanwhile, leaders in both the White House and Pentagon are portrayed as so weak and deluded that they actually help the Germans. German leaders are conversely portrayed as audacious and decisive strategists who waste no time implementing a plan to conquer the entire world. It is upon these characterizations and their consequences that the entire story hangs.

And hang, and twist, and turn does the plot, by George. Even as I nitpicked *1945* to death, I enjoyed chasing our characters across no less than five interconnected threads. As the threads wind down into the climactic string tying everything up, I confess I just kept turning the pages. That's the book's strength: in formulaic but oh-so effective suspense. Will the Germans do this? Will America do that? Or will our heroes find themselves thus? Find out tomorrow, same Gingrich-time, same Gingrich-channel!

To put it another way, I cracked open the book at 0030 in the morning. I finished the last page at 0630 the same morning. It's literary popcorn. The sort of thing you read on planes, trains, and buses. I hated the prose-it explained too much and showed too little, editorialized, and wasn't particularly inspiring-but the sheer dearth of earnest dialogue, hair-pulling coincidences, and larger-than-life characters carried it for me.

*Heil to the Hubris*

While this novel should never be mistaken for a plausible alternative history, it should be taken as it is-a novel. Its fun enough, reads well enough, and deserves a chance by anybody who wants to pass time with World War II or psuedo-techno thriller fiction.


Rating:
Summary: Surprising story..........
Review: Well, what do we have to say about this one ?
Anybody who have studied Otto.Scorzeny knows that he had a much better reputation than reflected in this book.
The story in itself is interesting, but unimaginitative.
It is the sort of what-if we poses ourselves sometimes in the discussion of what might have been.
Most, if not all, historians will agree that IF Hitler had crushed the Soviet-machine, he would not have the manpower enough to invade the Uk, or the US.
The US were at that time building up enough war-material to have countered ANY attack, what-so-ever.
The Germans could have stationed 2-3 million men in Mexico, and they would have been unable to conquer the US.
Please study some history, guys - this stunk !!!