Harry Turtledove is a wonderful author who has written an entire series detailing how American history might have gone if the South had won the civil war. Guns of the South is the first in this series; later books cover later periods of time.

In history as we know it, the South was outnumbered. They had less men, less guns, less supplies, and less of just about everything. We start off in 1864, when the South's armies have just about had it. Robert E. Lee and his officers are met up with a man dressed in odd clothing (what we know to be modern military BDU's), who has a rifle he wants to show them. The name of the rifle is the AK-47.

Basically, what happens is this: a small group of Afrikaner terrorists have traveled back in time with a huge consignment of AK-47's. Their idea is to arm the South with these, thus creating a history in which the Confederacy will be there as a bastion for white pride in years to come. They call themselves the AWB, which they claim stands for America Will Break. They set up shop in a small town which they pretty much rule, and start assisting the Confederates.

So what happens next? We follow the action through Lee, Nathaniel Bedford Forrest, and some rank-and-file soldiers from the 47th North Carolina. The Army of Northern Virginia learns to use the AK-47, and with that kind of firepower against the U.S.'s Springfields and Enfields, the tide of the war turns to the Confederates. With Washington, D.C. captured, the war ends and the U.S. grudgingly acknowledges the independence of the Confederacy.

Even during the war, there are some cracks showing between the men of the AWB and the Confederate government and military high command. Lee, in particular, does not care for them and finds them to be a concern. They tell him of their extemporaneous origin. Eventually, things come to a crux.

This book is obviously the result of incredible research and work. The U.S. presidential election of 1864 is re-calculated, and this time Lincoln loses (as one might expect, since he lost the war.) The Confederate presidential election of 1867 is also carefully calculated, with Lee winning over Forrest by a small margin.

The characters in this book are endlessly fascinating and complicated. While Turtledove could have elected, for example, to make Nathaniel Bedford Forrest a sneering villain, he doesn't. Forrest is a deadly commander to fight against, and definitely prejudiced against blacks, but when he loses the election, he concedes with grace. Later, when his country needs him, he abandons his personal arguments with Lee to do what is necesary. No character is made into a sneering Snidely-Whiplash style villain, although the men of the AWB, with one exception, are rather interchangeable -- their only distinguishing characteristic is that they wear camouflage clothing, tote AK-47's around, are rich as anything, and hate blacks with a passion. Only a few are named, and in many cases they could have been called 'Generic Afrikaner Bad Guy'.

The book treats racism carefully. In 2002, we know well that racism is a bad thing. A few characters do point out the injustice of slavery, but we also do have to remember that these characters don't live in 2002, they live in the mid-1860's. Still, it's hopeful to see the dialogue starting in this alternate history that the Emancipation Proclamation started in ours.

Guns of the South is an excellent, well-written book. If you enjoy alternate timelines that are realistically written, you'll probably enjoy it.

Recommended: Yes