To continue our monthly series of book lists, the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library would like to recommend the following books.
February, 2009 – Alternative History Novels
The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon. This mystery takes place in a world where many of the world's Jews live in an Alaskan homeland after the fledging state of Israel collapses following World War II. Divorced, alcoholic police detective Meyer Landsman uncovers links to a plot to reclaim the Jewish state while investigating the murder of a drug-addicted chess prodigy. Bestseller. Cassette book RC 64502.
The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick. This 1963 Hugo Award winner takes place after the Axis powers have won World War II and jointly occupy the United States. A German faction attempts to warn the Imperial Japanese about an impending nuclear attack. The I Ching is used not only in the plotting of this story, but also within the story, as the basis of a "subversive" alternate history written by a German author. Cassette book RC 38995. Braille book BR 9889.
Fatherland by Robert Harris. Berlin, 1964. As Germans celebrate victory in World War II, Hitler's seventy-fifth birthday, and the imminent arrival of President Joseph P. Kennedy, who plans detente with the Third Reich, Xavier March investigates the drowning of a high-ranking Nazi. The Gestapo orders March to halt his queries, but the deaths of others who were at a 1942 meeting convince him to continue. Cassette book 36175. Large Print book LP 22237.
Years Of Rice And Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson. The Black Death plague in the 14th century kills 99 percent of Europe's population. With Europe in shambles, Buddhism and Islam become the dominant religions and New World settlers sail from China. Cassette book RC 54060.
The Plot Against America by Philip Roth. Franklin D. Roosevelt is defeated in 1940 in his bid for a third term as President of the United States and aviation hero Charles Lindbergh is elected. A young man recounts his Jewish family's fears and humiliations as America, caught up in anti-Semitic fervor, descends into fascism. Bestsellter. Large Print book LP 21255. Cassette book RC 58935. Braille book BR 16161.
American Front by Harry Turtledove. First of the Great War series. In this alternative history of World War I, President Theodore Roosevelt and the United States join Germany, while President Woodrow Wilson and the Confederate States of America back France and England. The war is fought in trenches on American soil. Cassette book RC 53761.
Blood And Iron by Harry Turtledove. First of the American Empire trilogy. This post-WWI story posits that the Confederacy won the Civil War, that Europe fell to Germany, and that Upton Sinclair and the Socialist Party oppose Teddy Roosevelt in the 1920 election. Veterans must find their place in a postwar world plagued by racial and political strife. Cassette book RC 54046.
Link to previous Recommended Reads.