Book Review: In the Presence of Mine Enemies

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

In the Presence of Mine Enemies     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Harry Turtledove
Class/Genre:   Fantasy   Military   Alternate History
NAL, Nov 2003, $29.95, 464 pp.

The Germans won World War III using nuclear bombs to wipe out a third of the population of the United States. The borders of the Germanic Empire include England, Russia all the way to the Urals and India. The armies of the victorious German Empire occupy the U.S., France and Canada. Most Jews and Blacks have been put to death, making the empire and the countries it occupies racially pure. The Germans believe that all the Jews and Gypsies were destroyed in the camps but in the heart of the capital, a small cell of Jews hides their religion from the public at large.

The Nazi Party led by the SS stormtroopers have kept the country in a grip of repression for over two decades. The newly appointed Fuhrer Heinz Buckhagen calls for radical reforms. He wants free elections in the conquered and occupied countries as well as Germany. He strongly feels that Germany must become self-supporting instead of looting the treasures of the losers to keep the country in the black. The people, particularly the Jews, wait with baited breath to see how far he will take his reforms and if his enemies will stop him.

The question of what would happen if Germany won W.W.II is answered very satisfactorily IN THE PRESENCE OF MINE ENEMIES. Hearts will go out to the German Jews who live their lives in fear of being discovered and put to death by the SS. HARRY TURTLEDOVE, the master of alternate history, has written a sweeping saga of a world where the Fascists won and to the victors go the spoils.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner