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Summary: From the sublime to the ridiculous
Review: How can this Harry Harrison be the same one who wrote the masterful King's Way series? Mr. Harrison is apparently more comfortable and familiar with the distant past than with the relatively recent. I have seldom seen a worse example of "alternate history." As we've often been told, the key to alternate history is that it must be plausible. S&S is certainly not plausible in plot, characters, or sentence structure. Perhaps the safest thing for Mr. Harrison's fans to do is to view this as fantasy, not alternate history, and thereby give him (and themselves) a break from the link to reality that "alternate history" implies. Or perhaps they should do as I have done: choose to believe that an evil force from a parallel timeline has substituted a poor imitation of a good writer for the genuine article.
Rating:
Summary: Harrison's Wish fulfilment fantasy of smashing the English
Review: I'd prefer to just comment on this book rather than judging how good or bad the British were to the Irish in history or how kind the Americans are or are not. This is a fantasy book not an historical evaluation of Anglo-American history. Whether the English mistreated the Irish or the Americans the Africans is surely not that relevant to the actual style and enjoyment of the book. The book is a great disappointment. There is very little tension or excitement with predictable victories following predictable triumph. The outcome is never in doubt. The British are portrayed as being unbelievably inept and stupid. They are pathetic adversaries with blatantly no chance of victory. This is a fairy tale with a predictable American victory over vilified evil enemies. The re-uniting of America is comical. The Americans are always lucky with the right forces turning up at just the right time, again and again. I could forgive this good and evil potrayal of the differnt sides if the book had been good but sadly it is not. Overall it is just dull. Unless you enjoy watching seal clubbing then you must find this book tedious. The characters are wooden and the dialogue from a pantomime. Harry Turtledove's "Guns of the South" and "How few remain" are much more believable and exciting with neither side having to be vilified. This book is simply Anglo-phobic wish fulfilment. I really wanted to enjoy this book but ended up finishing it as a chore. Undoubtedly the American history has been well researched but Harry Harrison's strong claims that this is how it really would have happened failed to convince me. If you are looking for an exciting read I would not recommend this book at all.
Rating: 
Summary: This book requires far too great a leap of faith.
Review: Harry Harrison starts out with a promising premise but it quickly falls apart in an ever growing string of preposterous events. For any student of history or fan of alternate history that is intrigued by the possibilities that may have been brought about to history by the altering of one or two events this is not the book for you. The author makes great leaps of faith in most of his assumptions (leaping over any type of logic most of the time) about what would have happened if Britain would have entered the Civil War. The image of Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart riding into New York to save the Union army of U.S. Grant from the evil invading British ravaging hordes brandishing Spencer repeating rifles just boggles the mind. Overall a book better left to those who enjoy pure fantasy.
Rating: 
Summary: Optimistic AH
Review: Engrossing, optimistic and fun. Who says that alt history has to always be about things being worse, rather than better? Harrison's prose is crisp, his plotting sure-handed and if the dialog seems stilted, well, people didn't speak and write as informally in 1862 as they do now. Much of the criticism I've read seems to come from Anglophiles who seem angry that that sun has long set on the British Empire. Harrison's suggestion that America could whip the world makes sense to me. With Sherman, Grant, Lee and Jackson in command, how could a united America not knock off the Brits? I'm waiting amxiously for the next two books.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book !
Review: I really enjoy Alternate-History novels and Stars and Stripes Forever was great, though I must admit , some parts were a little implausible ex. erorous tactics on the part of the British in the Blockade breaking attack ! However, the novel set the stage for more great books and was by far the most enjoyable novel I have read from Harry Harrison, it moved along at a furious pace and really captivates the reader till the end while leaving more events to take place in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your money
Review: I wish this rating system had a lower ranking then one star because even this suggests a book is partially acceptable when this book would not even make a good doorstop.This is probably the worst book, let alone novel, that I have ever read. It is stilted formula writing geared for jingoistic morons who know or care nothing about history. Given the fact that it is supposed to be "alternate history" the only similarity to actual historical events are the names. All the Americans are demigods the British fools and you wonder how these same Brits could have won and maintained the largest empire ever seen. Harrison would have us believe that Queen Victoria was a frumpy old drunk and that the English people lived in downright slavery under their aristocratic lords. That John Mills was a traitor and after one bloody battle both the North and South are willing to settle their differences where in reality they were to suffer ten times as many casualties and fight for three more years until the South finally quit. The Royal navy attacks the Union without the foresight of having attached Confederate officers that can distinguish between the Stars and Stripes and Stars and Bars. Then Mr Harrison has the audacity to say : this "could be a true story" and yes pigs might fly. The only thing that I can consider worse than this book is that there might be two more. Come on you environment lovers stop these books and save some trees. Mr Harrison stick to space where you can delve into fantasy to your heart's content. Readers,if you want real alternate history read Harry Turtledove skip this turkey.
Rating:
Summary: This book was hugely disappointing.
Review: As a Civil War buff and alternate history addict, I found this book to be a huge disappointment. The premise of U.K. intervention as a result of the Trent affair is a good one, but that is the only positive thing I can say about this work. The dialogue was dreadful, the characters unconvincing, the research slip-shod, and the editing worse. The story-line, with its preposterous British invasion of the South, transcendantly goofy North-South reconciliation, and bizarro Victoria just made me wince. It simply was an insult to the genre.
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Summary: I know Turtledove, and this is no Turtledove
Review: I won't go into a lot of detail, just say...yechhh. The characters are wooden, the dialogue stilted, and his research is sloppy. I might buy the next two volumes (but not in hardcover!); the novel was interesting in a traffic-accident sort of way.
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Summary: excellent page-turner
Review: I tend to disagree with some others who have said that the events "could not have happened" or are simply fantasy. The point of ALTERNATE history is to give ideas of a future that "may have been",not as actually happened. In fact, the feelings Harrison evokes in his novel actually did happen during that time. This well-written novel is obviously the product of years of research and a great deal of thought has gone into this excellent book. I'll be the first to the bookstore for the other two volumes.
Rating: 
Summary: I liked it !
Review: Okay. Harrison have some facts wrong and the American are truely hero's. So far I agree with some of the other reviews. BUT I liked the book very much. It's interesting and it have a cartain drive. I dont regret buying it and I will buy the next one as well.
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