Rating: 
Summary: I should have known...
Review: I should have known what to expect when I saw a favorable review by James McPherson on the back cover. (Has anyone ever seen Harry Turtledove and James McPherson in a room together at the same time?) Whether it's "Alternate" history or the other kind, I would rather not have to view the past as a reflection in the fun-house mirror of 60's liberalism. I thought this book would be an interesting intellectual exercise but it is just politically correct silliness.
Rating:
Summary: Morally Bankrupt
Review: Turtledove would have us believe that after destroying the United States by using AK-47's delivered to them by men from a future South Africa, that Robert E. Lee would become president of an independent Confederacy and along with the support of his vice president Nathan Bedford Forrest would call for an end to slavery. This would be more of a fantasy than time traveling South Africans. Lee has the time portal blown up and marches on to the future. The rationale for ending slavery is that U.S. C.T. units stood up like men when they were tommygunned by CSA infantry, therefore Lee has an epiphany about the humanity of his slaves. I guess ole Marse Bob always was a closet abolitionist. This book sold so well that Turtledove created an entire alternative historical series from it. Turtledove dodges the reason for the Confederacy in the first place, cuts out his wooden characters, and writes his simplistic prose. I wish I had my money back or an author who would face the difficulties of history face to face rather than turning what could have been a valuable concept into a cartoon.
Rating: 
Summary: Intriguing
Review: The interesting part of this novel is Turtledove's explanation of how the victorious South deals with their freedom and, more importantly, the question of slavery. Passages on the time-traveling South Africans are kept to a minimum, so hard sci-fi'ers may be disappointed here. This book is more for history buffs.Questions: Would Lee and the South have been as willing to change their slavery views had they not stumbled upon the trove of books that they did? Why weren't the South Africans more subtle -- thus, more influential -- in their attempts to control Southern politics? With the power at their disposal, what they resorted to seemed outright silly.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the best books ever!
Review: For those who are really into Civil War history--and I've caught the bug recently myself--you will appreciate this rare departure from the inevitable outcome of the War. Haven't you read many differing accounts of the same battles, lamented the tragic mistakes and felt a bid sad knowing how it all must end? That is what makes this book so special. It's a novel, yes, but heavily researched and steeped in fact, particularly about the character and personality of Lee and other notable figures from the era. Robert E. Lee is the main character of the book. Toward the end of the war, after Gettysburg, things are looking very bleak for the Confederacy. Lee knows his chances of victory are diminishing but he refuses to give in to despair. Suddenly, a mysterious stranger is brought to him, who wants to demonstrate a new weapon that he claims will change the outcome of the war. Lee is intrigued by the boastful claims and naturally interested in a "repeater" rifle perhaps even better than that of the North. Imagine his reaction to seeing the demonstation of an AK-47!!! It is too good to be true. The man tells Lee he can supply his army with ample AK-47's and ammunition to turn the tide of the war and ensure victory. I must point out here that this book is so well written by Turtledove, the master of alternate history, that every bit of the story seems perfectly believable. The excellence of the plot is exceeded only by the superb characterization. It is classified as science fiction because the mysterious man and his entourage have come from the year 2014 to change the course of history. Unfortunately, as the story unfolds, there is increasing evidence that these men may not be the benefactors they portray themselves, but rather have a frightening agenda of their own. There is nothing "way out" in this story, in my opinion. It is so masterfully written that there's never any thought of "Oh, c'mon...this is ridiculous!" This is one of the best novels I've ever read. I don't want to give away ALL the plot, but one more thing I must bring up is that the book extends beyond the war to the formation of the new Confederate States, and guess who ends up running for president to succeed Jefferson Davis? Add to all this a fully satisfying ending, and you have a book you'll close with a smile, and a wish that it could have been...
Rating:
Summary: Harry - you and history are strange -- I Love It !!
Review: I'm sorry to y'all, but with all the hype and after reading it at leat 10 times in the last 8 years, I think of this one as of the best...and I'm a New Yorker who loved the Dodgers and the "old" yankees... While this became the first of his "American Civil Wars+" series, it is the best. Simple, direct, believable, and clear...even if the central idea - AK-47s from South Africa due to time travel, itself is implausible. I loved this one. And, put it up there with Van Vogt, and Heinlein's best/Asimov. And I can't say that for some of Turtledoves's other series novels!
Rating: 
Summary: God and AK 47s
Review: I first read 'The Guns of the South' about two years ago, following recommendations that it was Harry Turtledove's best book. The idea (and the cover featuring Lee with the AK 47) - was intriguing enough. Someone from the future supplies the Confederated with advanced weapons - but who and why, and what will the South do with these weapons? The beginning was promising. The opening chapter, I am the first to admit, is nothing short of magnificent. With effective, although not always pretty, prose, Turtledove describes Lee's wonder at the arrival of the new weapons, and the feeling of great changes to come. Unfortunately, from that moment on, the book starts to disappoint. First, it introduces Nate Caudell, a 'simple' soldier, who is supposed to give us the view from the Trenches. His chapters, interwoven with those focusing on Lee, are always inferior in interest than the Lee chapters. Lee, the real and the imaginary, is much more interesting than the sergeant. Furthermore, the prose is not particularly appealing. In an attempt to catch the feeling of the time, Turtledove has Lee saying things like (in a single, completely typical paragraph) "I do indeed, Colonel" and "May I please have a pen and a scrap of paper". If you read some of Lee's letters, you get a man who was not such a parody of the Southern Gentleman. Those are minor faults. There are two real problems with the book, which make it, ultimately, a failure, although one that can have an appeal for fans of military fiction. The first is the overall type of the book. As a time travel story, 'The Guns of the South' should be a science fiction tale. It could have been a high concept story, in which forces from the future play like Gods in Victorian America, and the locals try to adapt. At the very least, some considerations of the logic behind the time traveller's actions should be considered. Why do South African white supremacist want to control the CSA? And if they have detailed plans to its future (as they do), why give the locals the weapons that will allow them independent action? Predictably, Lee's soldiers use the South African's weapons against them. As none of these issues get even the least bit of consideration, the AWB people remain as the Deus Ex Machina source for no less than one hundred thousand AK-47s, and as the over top racist villains. (As another reviewer wonders, does Turtledove really suggest that the Apartheid was worse than African Slavery? or that American slaveholders were more moral than AWB aristocrats?) But in truth, Turtledove is not interested in all these things. The AK-47 serve merely as a gimmick (and, may I be cynical enough to suggest, a promotion) in his alternative civil war. Unlike the 'World War' series, which at least acknowledged the great changes that a superior force would bring to the world of the 1940s, here Turtledove merely wishes to speculate about what would have been the outcome of the US Civil War, had the 'War of Northern Aggression' ended differently. Unfortunately, for all Turtledove's familiarity of the minuet details of regiments in the Army of Northern Virginia, he seems strangely incomprehensive as to the broader picture of the South in antebellum America. Even when I read the book for the first time, knowing nothing about the US Civil War, I found the premise Turtledove promoted extremely far-fetched. Now, when I am somewhat of a Civil War buff, the glaring improbability of the scenario shouts out from the pages. In short, Turtledove fancies (there really is no better word), a liberal Confederacy, led by the abolitionist Robert E. Lee, which starts an extremely rapid movement of gradual emancipation. This is highly unlikely. For start, the Southern way of life and economy were intimately linked with Slavery, the degree that abolition would have completely changed the fabric of society. Throughout the Civil War, the price of slaves actually rose and over the rapid inflation. Not only were plantation life intimately linked with the 'peculiar institution', but one of the upper South most important exports was slaves for the South. Furthermore, as late as April 1865, when the South finally organized black battalions, Jefferson Davis could not get congress to emancipate even the black soldiers, let alone their families or the entire black population of the South. This was despite the obvious military necessity, and the endorsement of both Davis and Lee. Had the confederacy won the war, they would have most certainly seen their way of life vindicated by God. The miraculous arrival of the weapons certainly would have encouraged them to stick to their ways. Nor does Turtledove pay any attention to the State Rights philosophy. Before the war, not even the abolitionists believed that they has a constitutional right to abolish slavery in the states, and indeed some considered the constitution to be an agent of slavery. In the South, the wildly held Calhoun doctrine claimed that Congress did not even have the right to abolish slavery in the territories. If anything, the Confederate constitution was even more pro-State rights and slavery than the US constitution. The idea that central government in the South would do what even the black republican could not is pure fantasy. The sheer quantity of positive reviews is an indication that this book has great appeal to some people. Why the preeminent US Civil War historian, James McPherson 'could not put THE GUNS OF THE SOUTH down' is a complete mystery to me. If you are looking for a good Science Fiction book, or for a good alternative history of the Civil War, look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Ten years and many books later, he still hasn't topped this
Review: With all the major epics Turtledove has done, from the "Great War" and "American Empire" series about a Confederacy which wins its independance from the Union, each entering World War I on separate sides--to the "Worldwar" and "Colonization" series, which both borrow a page from Kenneth Johnson's "V"--what if lizard aliens invaded Earth during World War II?--nothing Harry Turtledove has done has topped this simple but complex one-book tale of Robert E Lee being approached by 21st Century South African neo nazis with the offer of AK 47s to help him win the Civil War. The cover art shows Lee holding a Kalashnikov--talk about every picture tells a story! What's in it for The Boys From Jo-burg? Obviously they reason that a smaller US won't be able to help topple apartheid. Especially if there is also a nation over here who sympathize with their white supremacist views. There's plenty in it for Lee. The obvious one--he doesn't have to lose the war. Plus they bring him nitro pills from the future to halt his occaisional heart attacks. There are a number of side stories here too. Like a buddy sex relationship between a Confederate sergeant and a camp follower--she actually leaves the bawdy house she works at, disguises herself as a teenage boy and enlists so as to covertly set up shop within the infantry company itself. At first there's the expected clientele relationship, then it warms into a friendship because he treats her respectfully, then after Johnny Reb Comes Marching Home, their bond deepens to much more. A quirky twist on the "wartime romance" cliche, for sure. But there's also a lesson here that transcends the historical setting. The Boys From Jo-burg--known here as the Men From Rivington--resent the fact that the Confederacy by and large doesn't treat "kaffirs" with the same level of hostility and degradation they do. The "n" word may be a staple noun south of the Mason-Dixon line--as William Bradford Huie put it, as naturally as you'd say "biskits"--but most white Southerners know people of color they respect deep down inside more than they do some white folks they know. So the outsiders set about trying to implement change--do as we say or you get no more arms. Only to run into the basic paradox of the Civil War--"We fought to protect our sovereignty from the Yankees and we ain't givin' it up to y'all!" Outsiders who try to imprint their ideology and agenda on some culture with influence in the guise of "help" tend to forget that human beings aren't horses, to be approached with a lump of sugar in one hand and a bit and bridle in the other.
Rating:
Summary: Little to recommend...
Review: I've been a Turtledove fan from way back which is the only reason I have continued to read his books after such a poor story. Alt-his has to be based on something real like the American Empire series (no high tech weapons or tactics, just the thrashing McClellan somehow avoided...)An alt CivWar where the South using 20th century weapons and knowledge of the Union forces moves beats them badly, soured me on the whole story. A good story turns on the idea of things that MIGHT have happened (AK47s etc?) Then of course you have the wonderfully nice world of the after war south and north NOT gearing up for another war? I tried to resell the book in N.Carolina when I was stationed there and got laughed at, there was no market for it!
Rating:
Summary: Turltedove's finest
Review: Over the years after its original release, Guns Of The South has established itself as a true classic. Fast-paced and entertaining, it is easily Turtledove's finest work, lacking the drawn-out, boring sequences that marred the Great War trilogy and the too quick jumps in time that has made the unfinished American Empire as yet a bit too shallow. For those not familiar with Turtledove's work, Guns Of The South is an independent novel not connected with any series. It tells the story of how, in the faltering days of the Confederacy, general Robert E.Lee is contacted by a mysterious deus ex machina who claims to have been sent from the future. He presents the general and the Southern army with a number of strange goods: Instant coffee, bullet-proof vests, handgrenades and, most important, loads of AK-47 automatic weapons. Equipped by this, the rejuvenated Southerners crush all Union resistance. The general is starting to worry, however, when the mysterious time-travellers show a racism far exceeding that of any Southerner and a desire to run the entire Confederacy according to their own wishes...
Rating:
Summary: Civil War fans only...
Review: This book is really for Civil War fans only. The fact that the rave review on the cover was given by a Civil War Historian, should have been enough warning... The story has an interesting premise, but is poorly executed. Like other readers, I found that once the war was won by the South the story bogged down in mindless tedium. Certainly this is nowhere near the standard of Turtledove's other work. For a better, more exciting read try the back of a cornflakes packet...
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