In a tale that parallels todays debate about the war in Iraq and our battles againtst al-Qaeda, Turtledove's most recent novel presents an alternate timeline in which World War II did not quite conclude with V-E Day. The Nazi's have continued fighting under the leadership of Reinhard Heydrich, who was the second in command of the SS. In reality he died in 1942, when he was attacked by Czech assassins. Turtledove has him survive and start an underground resistance group as Germany is falling to the approaching Allies.

Heydrich's techniques are strongly influenced by the kamikaze pilots used be the Japanese to take out American ships. Nazis are using some of their people as human bombs, sacrificing themselves to bring back the fallen Vaderland.

France, Britain, the US, and the Soviets still take there occupied areas, but find that the German partisans are more than happy to take the opportunity to strike repeatedly, taking out major players like Patton and Adenaur, and wiping out some cities and major monuments.

As more and more Americans are dying, support for staying in Germany after the completion of the war dwindles and their is a strong movement to end the war, particularly on the part of the Republicans, who are hoping to gain back power in Congress (and eventually the White House) by tearing down Truman's plans.

As with most of his book, Turtledove does a great job presenting history (in the form of an alternate) through the eyes of everyday people such as the mother of a lost soldier, the leader of the Soviet forces in East Germany, the man assigned to find Heydrich, and everyday soldiers fighting in a war that is supposed to already be over.

I really liked the book, but found it eerie. The parallels are realistic and echo many of the reports I have heard about the Iraq War and does a good job presenting both sides of the debate while not portraying either side as being evil. In some ways, I thought that the story was presented by too many perspectives, making the novel drag a bit in some areas, but I can see why Turtledove made the choices he made.

There is a wonderful Author's Note at the end that talks a bit about the real Heydrich for those unfamiliar with him.