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Summary: How the War of Northern Aggression might have ended.
Review: Although I was disappointed in Turtledove's Guns of the South (time travel is fun to consider, but not for something as central to modern American -- and World -- history as the American Civil War), I decided to give him another shot after The Two Georges. This one is a winner, because it could actually have happened. Sharpsburg (Antietam) has always intrigued me, because of the fluke of war that delivered Lee's General Order 191 into Little Mac's hands. That the outcome was still a draw is evidence that that Turtledove's one small change in history could have actually brought the result set out in this book. Unlike some few reviewers, I enjoyed the sweeping story. It is clear that no matter the outcome of the War, manifest destiny was bound to continue, and finding Lincoln in Montana or Jeb Stuart in Mexico was inherently reasonable. Clearly, a renewed war would have entailed striking events across the continent. Even Lincoln's turn to socialism hit the mark.
For those of us who are fans of Longstreet, it was gratifying to see Turtledove's history adopt the tactical changes in modern war which Old Pete had predictedas early as 1859.
I can't wait for the sequel.
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Summary: Turtledove is among the very best.
Review: Harry Turtledove is in a perilous position -- with books such as GUNS OF THE SOUTH and WORLDWAR: IN THE BALANCE he has high expectations to meet. With HOW FEW REMAIN, he meets them -- and betters them. Every year hundreds of books appear using the Civil War and its aftermath as their launch point. Turtledove takes us on a journey both startlingly original and yet chillingly plausible. The British and French had decided to intervene on the Confederate side in 1862, and only McClellan's unlikely victory at Antietam stopped them. Those three cigars and Lee's Order 191...
Yet my greatest pleasure in HOW FEW REMAIN was not the masterly historical extrapolation, but the characters themselves. Nothing in fiction is more difficult than catching the authentic voice of a great speaker or writer, yet Turtledove succeeds triumphantly with two; Sam Clemens, in this timeline a newspaper editor who never left San Francisco, and Abraham Lincoln -- aged, weary, burdened by the sorrow of a lost war, yet still fighting for freedom with all his wisdom, iron will, shrewdness, and cool political calculation.
Bravo! I look forward with impatience to the sequels, which deal with that other great turning point of Western civilization, the Great War of 1914-1918. As Woodrow Wilson of the CSA and Teddy Rooseveldt of the USA declare war in 1914, the world will hold its breath!
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Summary: The next one should be great.
Review: I liked the book although not as much as Guns of the South. The problem with alternate history in general, and Turtledove's books in particular, is that the reader always wants to know what happened next. I have heard that he is working on an alternate WWI novel. If so, I hope that it is a sequel to this book with trench warfare in North America between the British/French ally CSA and the German ally USA.
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Summary: Written by a child for children; hopefully the
Review: title, 'Who Few Remain' is indicative of the books he has remaining
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Summary: Another What If winner from Turtledove
Review: Starting from a very mundane and likely occurance (What were the odds of the Union getting ahold of those battle plans the way they actually did?) Harry Turtledove takes us to another world where the South asserts its independence. And he makes it not only believable, but also highly enjoyable. Capturing both the personalities and the voices of his cast of characters, Turtledove paints a very bleak picture for the USA in this world. But in some ways it is even worse for the CSA. While the USA is alone facing multiple enemies, they at least have the resources and abilities to rise above their present circumstances. The CSA on the other hand is very limited on their options and are in fact so constrained they are dependent on the British and French to the point of compromising their beliefs and principles. It is easy to see that in a few short years that the USA and CSA will once again go head to head. And the foreshadowing evident in HOW FEW REMAIN would seem to show that the next conflict will be even bloodier and more intense than the last two. I can hardly wait for Harry to write it.
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Summary: Harry Does it again
Review: Tho cheap, I decided not to wait till Harry Turtledove's latest made it to the papapback racks. I'm glad I didn't. Any history buff will enjoy this speculative work. Turtledove does "might have beens" better than anyone in the market. This is obviously the first of a series
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Summary: Not the sequel to Guns of the South. . .and that's good
Review: I liked Guns of the South, I thought the research, the language the characters and the direction the plot took were all well crafted. I was not a big fan of the sci-fi influence (although I am a sci-fi fan).
Harry makes up for some sci-fi mistakes in Guns by basing How Few on events which could easily have taken place.
This is definately worth reading if you're a fan of the genre (however limited it is) and the Civil War in general
Rating: 
Summary: How Few Remain, Not worth the money
Review: I have read many of Harry Turtledove's other books, Guns of the South and the alternate World War Two Series, all of those books I have read and could not put down.
However, How Few Remain, has left me wishing I didn't spend the time reading the book.
The book, howver, started out pretty good, where some Southern soldiers found Lee's plans for the invasion of the north, where in real life they were lost. This aspect got me really excited for the book. However, from there, the book went down hill. The plot, if there was one, was dry, unimaginative, and put me to sleep many a sunday afternoons as I tried to plod through the book. I was disappointed in the character development, the character's interactions, etc., the long drawn out political speeches made by Abe Lincoln, boring hard to read editorials by Sam Clemens, etc. The book kept jumping from five or six main segments and many times I would forget what was happening in one as I went through the others. Overall, How Few Remain is not one of Harry Turtledoves better works. If you are looking for a great Civil War alternate history, check out his Guns of the South.
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Summary: Typical Turtledove: Interesting and Enjoyable
Review: Another enjoyable alternate-history work from Harry Turtledove. Worth reading even at the hardcover price (and I'm a cheapskate). Those who enjoyed The Guns of the South will enjoy this one. One minor criticism: his later works seem to have taken on almost Herman Wouk-like "sweeping epic" characteristics. I have nothing against that, but sometimes I wonder if he needs so many characters, or if he just gets carried away in his historical research. Still, a very interesting and enjoyable book.
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Summary: TRAILED OFF AT THE END
Review: For the first 400 or so pages, "How Few Remain" flowed well -- a little difficult to follow all the different story lines, but still an entertaining and informative look at how different historical characters might have lived 20 years after the South won the the Civil War. But the last 100 pages left me feeling like I'd wasted my time, because Turtledove added them for reasons other than telling a good story. Turtledove's greatest strength lies in the accurate historical details he presents, and this novel is no exception. It rests on the points-of-view of several famous historical people, and each is obviously well-researched, realistic and interesting. Samuel Clemens' biting sarcasm comes out in his editorials and numerous banterings with fellow newsmen; Abraham Lincoln's Socialist rhetoric is extrapolated from his real speeches and writings; George Armstrong shows the same brashness that got he and his regiment killed in our history at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. However, as the book plows on, the story loses much of its freshness and begins repeating many small details. For example, Frederick Douglass' bristling over white men's disrespect in addressing him depicted something of his character and the attitudes of the time the first few times it happened. When I was reminded for the third time that "Uncle" is less than disrespectful but well below "sir", I became annoyed. I also question some of Turtledove's conclusions. I'll buy his means for giving the South the Civil War, but I'm uncertain how the North deteriorated so rapidly in 20 years. The North could not even manage a single victory in this second war, despite having greater manpower and more manufacturing capabilities. Does bad leadership really equate to such a lopsided victory? The U.S. had inferior leadership in the real Civil War, and it still slugged out a victory after four years. Had I reviewed this book shortly after I began it, it would have gotten five stars, and superlatives such as "Outstanding!" and "Terrific!". But because I slugged through the whole thing, it left a bad taste in my mouth at the end.
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