In the Presence of Mine Enemies

"In the Presence of Mine Enemies" is a massive and sweeping chronicle of life in Berlin, in a world where the Nazis won, told from the viewpoints of several members of a secret community of Jewish survivors in the heart of the Germanic Empire. This book is actually two chronicles with the same protagonists, but the transition between the two is so seamless that the reader never notices the transition. The first chronicle tells how a tiny community of Jews manages to continue to survive in the very center of a world-dominating empire in which anti-Semitism is taught to grade-school children and remains an unquestioned theological doctrine of the entire society. Even in the early 21st century, he Volk of the Reich have not forgotten the Jews, nor have their attitudes toward them mellowed in the least. To be discovered as a Jew in this society is to die, instantly, without the least hope of any hearing or appeal. Thus far, the book presents us, albeit from a unique set of viewpoints, a triumphant Third Reich which every reader of alternate histories has seen before: a world-dominating empire, triumphant over all its enemies, unassailable in its power. Clearly it will last at least a thousand years, and perhaps much longer, because who is left to pull it down? Harry Turtledove has the answer to this question, though, and it is the answer every competent historian knows: No human society can remain unchanged forever; either it will change or it will die. And it is the way in which the Reich changes which constitutes the second of the two chronicles in this amazing book. It should have been obvious. How could we not have expected it? The Reich has conquered all its _external_ enemies, but this is a society which has an unconquered _internal_ enemy, and that enemy is human nature itself. A new generation of leaders arises, using the very doctrines of Nazi ideology to support what that ideology never expected to encounter: social and political reform. The impact of this book upon the reader is all the more stunning because the author does not permit himself to describe a single emotion which his characters would not, necessarily, have felt as they lived through the events of this book. It does not matter what you, I, or any reader might feel, put in their place; the only thing that matters is how they feel, as they experience the beginning transformation of the Germanic Empire into something its founders would never have envisioned. I give this book five stars for only one reason: there is no way I can give it ten stars.

Dr. Harry Turtledove is a specialist in writing alternative history, and this somewhat scary and horrifying book is one of his best. Imagine, (Dr. Turtledove asks) that Nazi Germany has won WWII and you are one of the few surviving Jewish families left in Germany. And further imagine that following Poe's "Purloined Letter" doctrine, (the best place to hide something is in plain sight) you are actually working for the German government! That is the basic premise behind this work. Both longtime and casual readers of Turtledove often critcized him for returning over the same ground over and over, (which in all honesty, can be annoying...) but here, that same "flaw" works. Why? Because a Jew hiding and living in the Third Reich would HAVE to constantly remind himself of the possible consequences of his (or her) most innocent action. Imagine living like that. One simple mistake and you and your entire family is dead. Dr. Turtledove makes you FEEL the pressure on each page. I don't agree with him at all on the notion of telling the children who they really are at age 10. From my own expernice with children, that would be far too young to trust a child to keep a secret of this magnitude. But it doesn't detract that much from the book, (I admit reading that part and thinking, "what the hell is he thinking about?") And I thought the part of the woman who doesn't succeed in having an affair with the hero badly done, but nonetheless, I award this one 5 stars because the premise is outstanding and Harry Turtledove does such a masterful job of pulling it off. Dr. Turtledove is a truly excellent writer when he chooses to put forth the effort, and this novel is a fine example of that.

Mr. Turtledove's novels tend to be hit or miss with me, and this one was a definite hit. The story was believable and (I thought) a pretty decent projection of what might have happened if the Third Reich won WWII...and what might have happened to the Jews in their midst. The interplay of personalities certainly held my interest. I thought the main characters were well drawn and sympathetic. Some of the minor characters could have been more well-rounded but this did not detract from the plot. And yes. I stayed up ALL NIGHT to read it.

This is a great book about a future that fortunately did not happen. It is also, in many ways about pasts that did happen in several places and throughout history. I know the "if the Nazis had won the second world war" theme has been beaten to death. I would however like to point out that this is NOT the theme of this book -- the theme of this book is hidden identity, public identity and the scary point at which the two merge. (It is also an interesting study in how dictatorships exploit what ANYONE has to hide. Any careful reader will notice that even the non-Jewish characters are afraid and have things they would like to hide.) As such, the fact that the fall of the Reich is much like the fall of the USSR (and really, we don't have any other models for the fall of a dictatorship in the modern age) didn't disturb me. The second half of the book is a tale of how the characters bring both their public and their secret identities into actualization and achieve some sort of coherent whole. It is a story of the characters -- Jewish and not -- finding their humanity with their freedom.As such, I don't know a more relevant story for our time. A book worth buying, reading, re-reading and reading to your children.

When reading reviews of any Harry Turtledove book, it's difficult to miss the phrase "The Master of Alternate History." Once again, Turtledove shows us why that label keeps getting pinned on. _In the Presence of Mine Enemies_ is a new standalone book, from a writer who specializes in multivolume series. And it is his most personal work yet. I had the priviledge to meet Turtledove at WorldCon 2002 in San Jose, and he described this upcoming novel in very emotional terms. Another fan seemed distinterested, and asked when one of his series would be returned to, and Turtledove went on to explain that given his family's history, this work compelled him to finish it. The Master of Alternate History brings us the eightieth year of the German Reich, and no one will accuse him of stealing anything from Phillip K. Dick's _The Man in the High Castle_. This work is clearly Turtledove's own.An expansion of a novella of the same name, most of the first chapter is identical to its roots. We meet Heinrich Gimpel, who works in the army's budget analysis unit. His job is to predict whether the United States will pay all its tribute, and with how much fuss. Since the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht has multiple bases occupying the US, these calculations will determine whether panzers roll. His office mate, Willi Deutsch, performs a similar job, but while Heinrich keeps his head down and revels in calculations, Willi is loud, boisterous, and loves the ladies.We'll meet many more people over the course of the book; Walter and Esther Stutzman; he's a software developer for Zeiss (which is Microsoft and Intel in one in this timeline), she's a part-time receptionist for a pediatrician. Susanna Weiss, an unmarried professor of Medieval English in a "kueche, kirch, kinder" world; and the Gimpel and Stutzman children. As in most Turtledove novels, there are several viewpoint characters. In this one, the rotating point of view moves among six people, but they all have the same secret: right in Berlin, the capital of the German empire, all are secretly Jews. Hidden in plain sight by their quietude, their fitting in, and by Walter Stutzman's hacking the geneological records database, their biggest fear is what their children will do when they are old enough to learn who they really are.Did I mention how personal a story this is for Turtledove? Heinrich Gimpel clearly IS Harry Turtledove. Gimpel means "bullfinch" (Turtledove already writes historical novels under the German equivalent Turteltaub). Heinrich's wife is the former Lise Frank; Harry's wife is named Laura Frankos. Both couples have three daughters. And Heinrich, just like Ealstan in Derlavai, and so many other characters in his other novels, always does an excellent job, and values rational thought over emotional reactions. Lise is just as level-headed, but more empathetic, while oldest daughter Alicia is exactly like her dad. And the book begins with Alicia, at age ten, discovering that most of wha