Rating: 
Summary: Poorly written and poorly conceived.
Review: I have been a fan of Turtledove's work for quite sometime, but this line is getting old fast. Northern generals are blockheads, Northern economic power counts for little, Northern society is racist, and the British are just looking for payback (though surprisingly incompetently). In fact, the British were looking for avenues of re-engagement with the US, in part because they saw the emerging power of the United States and in part because they saw themselves as having much in common with the American people, particularly as the franchise opened up in the UK. I thought this was a remarkably poor book, and frankly that surprised me. I think Turtledove should stick to more ancient history-derived themes, where he is much more deft and sure-handed.
Rating: 
Summary: Chapter One
Review: I was a little disappointed with the ending, but I was left with the impression that it wasn't supposed to have an ending, and that Dr. Turtledove was just setting us up for his next series. When one views the book as the first chapter in the GREAT WAR series, one gains an appreciation for what the author is trying to accomplish. The way Dr. Turtledove brings historical figures to life, and the depth he adds to actual historical events, are all here. My one complaint is that the novel tries to accomplish too much, and that it covers too long a period of time. The story would have read better as a two volume set.
Rating: 
Summary: A book for all those who wonder what might have been...
Review: This book is a great example of how things might possably have been had the south won the Amercian civil War. Turtledove takes a realistic approach to history and includes all the historical figures of our history in his. It is a wonderful book for all those who wonder what might have been...
Rating:
Summary: A fair book, but good preview
Review: By itelf this book is only fair. Characters aren't as well developed as other Turtledove books, and there are fewer that are followed. By itself I wouldn't recommend it at all. However, as A prequel to the Great War series, I think it is almost essential. Lays the ground work for the series.
Rating: 
Summary: A fair book that could have been much better.
Review: I enjoyed Turtledove's World War series, but this book is more disappointing than entertaining. For one thing, it has no climax. It unravels several subplots, but they are seldom woven into a whole or brought to a satisfactory conclusion. I would also argue with his historical assumptions. For instance, if the Confederacy had won the Civil War by an invasion of Pennsylvania, why wouldn't the border be at the Mason-Dixon Line instead of the Potomac (making Washington, DC the capital of the Confederacy?). And why, other than the author's desire to bring the young Teddy Roosevelt into the plot, would the British/Canadians want to invade 19th century Montana (even if they could somehow manage the logistics). And why is this second "War Between the States" such a very small-scale affair compared to the first? Aside from medium-sized armies fighting over Louisville, KY (for no apparent reason), all the battles are fought with nothing larger than a few regiments. I would also argue that Rosecrans was a far better strategist, and Custer a far better tactician, than Turtledove portrays them. Perhaps most important of all, he overlooks the likelyhood that secession, once successful, would have been employed again, and again, reducing North America to to the same fate as Yugoslavia. All in all, I was left with the impression that the primary purpose of this book (other than the profit motive) was to set the scene for the sequel in which the USA and the CSA duke it out during World War I. Will I read that one? Probably. If I can find a good cheap used copy.
Rating:
Summary: One trip to the well too many
Review: I've read and throroughly enjoyed Mr Turtledove's previous works: Agent In Byzantium, The Videssos Cycle, The Tale of Krispos, The WorldWar tetralogy, The Two Georges.The above titles had historical elements and figures given a sharp twist but each story has a plot, some action, the plight of the main characters was tops in the reader's concern. In the course of the books, a lot of things happen and come to change the main characters. In this offering, Mr Turtledove gives this formula one more try but several elements are stretched too thin. I found none of the characters interesting or endearing. In the end, I couldn't really care less about what happened to whom. The author correctly surmises that to win the first Civil War, the south must push for an early armistice: 1862. The author does this. Mr Turtledove lays a solid foundation on which to build his speculation. The slave owning south is pictured favorably throughout the text, but being a reader from the XXth century, I can't warm up to individuals or to a society that openly espouses slavery. The bumbling racist North doesn't earn anything as underdogs either. Teddy Roosevelt and the Custer brothers come across not so much as historical figures but as Bad B Movie Cowboys from Hollywood. Only Mark Twain brought some light to an otherwise dim and dark environment. The sin of below average character development is not the worst. Nothing really happens. The "war" is a series of small go nowhere commando raids lead by incompetent boobs.(Stonewall being the exception) But overall, not much happens. And shortly after the war begins, the ending is telegraphed to the reader (and represents the book in a nutshell) when the South offers the North another quick Armistice (with some arm twisting by the European Powers) with the borders reverting to pre-war conditions and the USA accepting the sale of Mexican Territory to the CSA. In short, the situation described at the beginning of the book becomes the conclusion. Whatever happens (or happened) in between does not change anything. Nor has it. The only real change is that Tom Custer and Jeb Stuart and many many infantry grunts died. The rest go back doing what they were doing in Chapter 1.
Rating: 
Summary: Like a long, scenic tour, but the destination is K-Mart.
Review: Its' a problem with some of Turtledove's work: The ending is unsatisfying and the route there was a bit overlong. Still, the ride is basically a pleasant one, the characters well fleshed out for the most part, and the seeds of the next novel (American Front) are clearly sown. This is an intelligent work, well-written, and obviously a lot of thought was put into it. I just wish it didn't so clearly have the feel of a prologue. I'd give it a 3 and a half star rating if I could; it's above average, but not overwhelmingly so.
Rating:
Summary: The War That Never Was And Shouln't Have Been
Review: Compared to such masterpieces as The Guns of The South and Worldwar series, How Few Remain is a poor cousin. If viewed by itself, the book makes too many assumptions, the biggest one being that the United States were so much less prepared for the war than the Confederacy. I don't quite understand the criticism of some of other reviewers who call the idea of Lincoln propagating Socialist ideology ludicrous. By then, Socialist doctrine was well-spread in Europe, and for Lincoln, who adhered to some of these principles in his writings, it should not have been a huge leap to switch to them altogether once ousted from the White House. Overall, though, the book doesn't have much to offer aside from Turtledove's familiar widely entertaining narrative style. It looks better if considered a prequel to the Great War series, but not by much.
Rating:
Summary: Why does this book exist?
Review: I see no purpose for this book. It rambles and rambles, with no impetus to get to a conclusion. The brilliant South kicks the incompetent buffoons of the North's rear ends yet again. Getting there is a real snooze, folks, and any attempt to flesh out characters is nonexistant. They are all one-dimensional, and it is a pity because so many of the characters are fascinating historical figures. Teddy Roosevelt becomes a cartoonish glory hound, Custer a vicious racist and anti-Mormon (why is never really clear---what did the Mormons ever do to him?). Ol' Stonewall Jackson is a pure genius here, but the only thing I can see that keeps him on the winners side is that his opposition is truly moronic. Frederick Douglass' role in this book is unclear, except to continually expound on the evils of slavery, and somehow to put a dim spark in ol" Stonewall's thick skull that he may be as human as the General himself. But there it ends. Lincoln as a Marxist rabble-rouser? He also comes off one-dimensional in this portrayal. There is no big climax here, it just peters out to the status quo of before, except the South gets a piece of Mexico and Pacific ports, and they have to eventually give up slavery. I take it there will be a sequel to elevate Teddy and Custer beyond their feuding and fussing ways of this book. I'm not going to read it.
Rating:
Summary: Too Biased
Review: It was a nice book, but Mr. Turtledove seems to have a vendeta against the USA. For two straight Civil War novels, he's invented a way to make the Northern Generals seem like morons. I assume they'd be smarter than how Mr. Turtledove described them in this book.
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