A Venture into Alternate History

Harry Turtledove is proclaimed by some to be the master of alternate history. After reading The War that Came Early: East and West, I couldn't agree more. As with most of his many many books, the overarching story is told through a number of smaller stories from different viewpoint characters. From an American socialite trapped in Nazi Germany to a Czech sniper who learns to snipe with an antitank rifle, all of his characters are interesting, if not always believable. The whole premice of the book is that at the Munich Conference, Britain and France did not yield to Germany's demand of German takeover of the Sudentenland. From there, small changes here and there begin until this worlds version of the Second World War has very little in common with what happened in our history. Poland instead of being split between the Soviet Union and Germany, allies itself with Germany when the Soviet Union sends troops into Poland to attack Germany when Germany invades Czechoslovakia. The book ends in 1940 with German troops fighting in both France and Poland. I cannot wait to see just what other twists and turns come in the next volume of the series.