Rating: 
Summary: Well, other readers beat me to it...
Review:
... but I still have to say that the plot is riveting, the language sublime. So is his entertaining prose in this month's Washingtonian magazine. A splendid, imaginative novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Poor History, Poor Premise, Worse Execution
Review: A descendant of the SS-GB genre, this book is flawed by the lack of historical versimilitude coupled with pedestrian writing.To have the CSA win the war in 1865 because it was "renewed" by Jefferson Davis' heroic sacrifice was a stretch. To then add a black House and a white Senate only stretches credibility beyond comprehension. In effect, the author's approval of Plessy vs. Ferguson {1896, "separate but equal") is taken to ridiculous heights/depths. European history still has a Nazi Germany, but Britain is a virtual sinecure of the CSA. History between 1865 and 2000 is slapdash and more than unlikely. The "detective" novel has a plot which is somewhat reminiscent of GUNS OF THE SOUTH in terms of race relations and GORKY PARK in terms of plot line, but it is handled so poorly that no one really cares. To top it off, the protagonist police detective Clark Haddon's mere name is insulting (the author, located in the DC metro area, has to be aware that Haddon Clark is a local serial killer). But then again, this novel is bad in so many different aspects that this is only one of the lesser faults. Poor historical development, poor plotline, poor writing -- and these are its strengths. I have probably read worse books, but it is difficult to say when.
Rating: 
Summary: Find Something Else to Read
Review: An interesting idea -- poorly execute
Rating:
Summary: I have a review, but I didn't finish the book.
Review: As an avid, amateur, Civil War historian, I was anxious to read this book. Now mind you, I consider myself a flexible person and I can be entertained by a suppostion or opinion that contradicts my own. But in the opening pages of this book I'm asked to believe that Robert Edward Lee, upon winning the Civil War, would sack and burn New York! In addition, I'm asked to believe that military governer Lee would threaten Mary Todd Lincoln's *children and grandchildren* with death if the under-house-arrest Abe Lincoln ever left Springfield. Even a cursory study of Lee's life indicates that these suppositions are so impossible as to be ludicrous. Now sure, someone else in the CSA could have done the above--Nathan Bedford Forrest springs to mind--but not Lee, and not most of the Confederate Army Commanders. I think the author, Howard Means, has Lee doing this because it's convienant for the plot that such events happen. Unfortunately, he's disregarding everything known about Lee the man. I put the book down after reading ten pages. I recommend you don't even bother to pick it up.
Rating: 
Summary: Better than some reviews indicate!
Review: As another reviewer stated, the reviews seem to be drawn on geographic lines. Unfortunate. Means is a serious author. His characters are dazzling; his plot riveting; and his language sublime. He has a je ne sais quoi; maybe, it is a nonchalant air. Definitely, Washingtonian. Seriously, the premise of the book is valid and the writer is an accomplished wordsmith. Worth serious consideration.
Rating:
Summary: I judged this one by its cover,,and lost!!
Review: Ater reading the dust cover on this book ,I snapped it up.
the first chapter was ok with a little info on how the south won the war of northern aggression,,,then it was all down hill after that.
To much detail put into areas that had nothing to do about nothing.
A liberal mis-mash about the joys of race mixing,homosexuality,and such,with nothing what so ever to do with alternative history...very hard to get through.
Rating: 
Summary: Intriguing Alternative Future, Promising Fiction Debut
Review: Here is a provocative first novel about future that might have been. The South won the war. The North was a desolate industrial wasteland relying on cheap immigrant labor. But it is also a world of equity. The immigrants, while exploited, can earn full citizenship. Black America, while rigidly separated from White America, is fully equal. The United States was isolationist not interventionist. Against this backdrop, Howard Means spins an interesting tale of young but forbidden love, of rebellion and radical change. I found this fresh, different and readable, and a welcome change from overworked plots with serial killers pursued by not-very-interesting private investigators.
Rating:
Summary: Lack of dramatic content
Review: Howard Means knows how to write because he keeps you fairly interested in the story. However, there is a certain lack of dramatic content throughout which does not appear until the end of the book. We find out little about what the Senate, House, newspapers or the Southern general public thinks about the current state of events. And, for a book on alternate history, his desciptions of the current world beyond his characters is sketchy. Such as: Is Nathan Winston the first Black VP? What is the rest of the CSA like beyond Richmond? What is the rest of the North like beyond North Adams? The book is populated by too few main characters and some of the main characters (Haddon and Cara) disappear for 75 pages or more before returning again. Means is too focused on Spencer Lee & Nathan Winston and not enough on the world of the CSA. By adding a little politcal intrigue, more in depth (and alternate) descriptions of the world and a stronger police investigation, this could have been a blockbuster. Instead, it is just a curiosity piece to go along with the other ho-hum What If books.
Rating:
Summary: Ridiculous storyline, implausible premise.
Review: I am a fan of alternate history, and I was attracted to this book because of the theme. The notion of the South winning the Civil War has always been intriguing. The acknowledged master of alternate history, Harry Turtledove, is in the middle of a fine series on this subject, titled "How Few Remain", and its first sequel, "The Great War: The American Front". I must say, I was disapppointed. I like a story when it's well thought out, and this book is not. It is a murder mystery set in a present day Confederacy in which blacks and whites live completely seperate, but truly equal. Never mind equality has never been the case when societies are legally separate. But the biggest sticking point is having Robert E. Lee's army. in the closing days of the war, somehow beat General Grant's forces and march all the way to New York and torch the city, and everything else in its path. And what caused this miracle? Confederate President Jefferson Davis suicide by fire! I ask, "with what?" Even if Davis' self-immolation was more inspiring than Lee's or Stonewall Jackson's leadership, the rebel army was at that time thoroughly outnumbered, outgunned, outmaneuvered, outfed, and outshod. There was simply no way Lee's band of starving, barefoot scarecrows could have laid waste to the Northern States at that point in time, no matter how inspired. The premise was so implausibile I couldn't follow the story.
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly enjoyable
Review: I am in total agreement with twim2, 6/8/99, it's a fictional novel people! It's intention is to entertain - which it did. I commend Mr. Means for his imagination and insight. Unlike most of the other reviews, I didn't have a hard time suspending belief, anything is possible when it comes to power and control. After all, we're human beings with flaws, not gods. In my opinion, if the nay sayers would see these historical figures as the human beings they were, their belief system wouldn't have been so affected. What I find fascinating is that the same individuals that found this book unbelievable and offensive, don't have a problem admiring actual history and the individuals involved. There was nothing and nobody to admire during that period of time. As a matter of fact, we're still seeing the dreadful affects of it. I highly recommend this book, and have done so many times - the people that read it agreed.
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