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The Center Cannot Hold (American Empire, Book Two) [Mass Market Paperback]

Harry Turtledove
3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
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Book Description

July 1 2003 American Empire
AMERICAN EMPIRE: BOOK TWO

In this spectacular, thought-provoking epic of alternate history, Harry Turtledove has created an unparalleled vision of social upheaval, war, and cutthroat politics in a world very much like our own—but with dramatic differences.

It is 1924—a time of rebuilding, from the slow reconstruction of Washington’s most honored monuments to the reclamation of devastated cities in Europe and Canada. In the United States, the Socialist Party, led by Hosea Blackford, battles Calvin Coolidge to hold on to the Powell House in Philadelphia. And it seems as if the Socialists can do no wrong, for the stock market soars and America enjoys prosperity unknown in a half century. But as old names like Custer and Roosevelt fade into history, a new generation faces new uncertainties.

The Confederate States, victorious in the War of Secession and in the Second Mexican War but at last tasting defeat in the Great War, suffer poverty and natural calamity. The Freedom Party promises new strength and pride. But if its chief seizes the reins of power, he may prove a dangerous enemy for the hated U.S.A. Yet the United States take little note. Sharing world domination with Germany, they consider events in the Confederacy of little consequence.

As the 1920s end, calamity casts a pall across the continent. With civil war raging in Mexico, terrorist uprisings threatening U.S. control in Canada, and an explosion of violence in Utah, the United States are rocked by uncertainty.

In a world of occupiers and the occupied, of simmering hatreds, shattered lives, and pent-up violence, the center can no longer hold. And for a powerful nation, the ultimate shock will come when a fleet of foreign aircraft rain death and destruction upon one of the great cities of the United States. . . .


From the Hardcover edition.

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The Center Cannot Hold (American Empire, Book Two) + The Victorious Opposition (American Empire, Book Three) + Blood and Iron (American Empire, Book One)
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From Publishers Weekly

At its best, alternate history holds a mirror to our society, allowing us to understand our own past by examining hypothetical responses to similar but altered conditions in real or imagined worlds. In the latest installment of his retelling of the world wars, American Empire: The Center Cannot Hold, Harry Turtledove demonstrates convincingly how a native fascist ideology could spring up in a defeated Confederacy, as well as how economic conditions can develop independent of government policies.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

As Jake Featherston campaigns his way across the Confederate States of America (CSA) in the name of his militant Freedom Party, other forces in the world are preparing to move against the CSA's northern neighbor, the hated United States. Set in a North American continent divided into two American nations and an occupied Canada, the sequel to American Empire: Blood & Iron continues an American history that might have happened. Turtledove never tires of exploring the paths not taken, bringing to his storytelling a prodigious knowledge of his subject and a profound understanding of human sensibilities and motivations. For most libraries. [For more alternative history, see Worlds That Weren't, a collection of novellas by Turtledove and others, reviewed on p. 127. - Ed.]
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars A great read Jun 17 2011
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
A good book. One in a series of alternate history. This book follows the US after the great war in 1914 in which the US And Germany defeated the Confederate States and Great Britain. Canada is subjugated by the US and Quebec is a Republic. It follows personalites in the US, Confederate States, Canada and Quebec in the years from 1922 to the 1930's. It it very entaining and many points of view of what we think of as our history. This whole series is very good. I'm reading all of them.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Pretty soild Nov 28 2003
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I liked "The Center Cannot Hold", a bit better than "Blood and Iron", actually. The book was much faster paced, and the lack of war did not take away from it. I personally think that Turtledove could have went into more detail about the conflict with Japan and especally the bombing of LA when President Blackford was there. I enjoyed the characters, especally Chester Martin, and liked the path that Turtledove took Flora and Hosea down. I have begun "The Victorious Opposition", and can't wait for the World War 2 series to begin!
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By John Kwok TOP 100 REVIEWER
Format:Mass Market Paperback
With "American Empire: The Center Cannot Hold" Harry Turtledove provides yet another installment in his ongoing alternative history look at the 20th Century history of North America. Here he shows us an alternative version of the Great Depression, triggered by defaulting loans made by Austria-Hungary to Russia. Meanwhile the Confederate States of America's fascist Freedom Party quickly rises to power, under the charismatic leadership of Jake Featherston, Turtledove's American version of Adolf Hitler. This installment covers the period from 1924-1933, chronicling increasing tensions between the United States of America and its former ally, the German Empire, and the new threat posed by the Empire of Japan. I have found this series quite engrossing, even if it is plagued with one-dimensional characters and banal prose (For a more lyrical, thoughtful, and better written alternate history novel, I would recommend instead Kim Stanley Robinson's "The Years of Rice and Salt".). Still, inspite of its major flaws, I can recommend "American History: The Center Cannot Hold" to fans of Harry Turtledove and others interested in alternative history science fiction.
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Most recent customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful series, mediocre book.
Turtledove's grasp of historical force is marvelous, and it's a joy to see his world unfolding completely logically. This is one of the most addictive series I've ever read... Read more
Published on Aug 23 2003 by katie
3.0 out of 5 stars Baby Steps Towards War
American Empire: The Centre Cannot Hold is Part 2 of the "American Empire" trilogy, a group of three books whose sole purpose is to bridge the gap between the Great War and an... Read more
Published on Aug 11 2003 by Jeffrey Slemin
5.0 out of 5 stars great
i'm a big fan of Turtledove's Great war series and now I'm enjoying watching the rise of jake Featherson I can't wait to see what happens in this series
Published on Jun 19 2003 by M. A. Miller
5.0 out of 5 stars American Empire: The Center Cannot Hold
WOW! I love this whole series (Great War and American Empire) and I feel that the way that Turtledove matures the characters is great. Read more
Published on Jun 8 2003 by Alexander Berman
5.0 out of 5 stars American Empire: The Center Cannot Hold
Best in the series. Turtledove does a great job in showing a broken defeated nation, could not face reality and instead listend to the lies of a tyrant rather then face the... Read more
Published on April 27 2003 by Robert C. Verdi
4.0 out of 5 stars a good book
This is a very good book overall, however it just seems to mirror our true history.i.e Freedom party(Nazi). But still a very good book
Published on April 8 2003
4.0 out of 5 stars "Center holding all right"
The second part of Turtledove's yet unfinished American Empire trilogy is a distinct upturn from the last one, Blood and Iron. Read more
Published on Jan 22 2003 by John Faerseth
4.0 out of 5 stars Adolf Hitler
I've read many of the reviews here, and to be honest I'm only about a third of the way through the book right now (got it for Christmas). Read more
Published on Jan 3 2003 by Daniel M Bronson
3.0 out of 5 stars Alternate History, Flawed By Unbelievable Actions
This series started with "How Few Remain", which had the South winning the Civil War, aligning with France and Britain to humiliate the North in a 2nd Civil War, similiar to the... Read more
Published on Dec 17 2002 by Paul
3.0 out of 5 stars Aftermath of WWI, with the South as defeated Germany
he United States's victory during the great war has not led to the utopia many had hoped for. A nazi-like movement has sprung up in the (truncated) Confederate States of America... Read more
Published on Oct 18 2002 by booksforabuck
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