The Proteus Operation

This is James Hogan's best book in my opinion. I will be short. It's about the theory that all possible outcomes of events occur based upon their probability. In doing so parallel universes form as a result! So we have worlds where WWII never happened and competing futures try and alter the past to form NEW future universes more ameniable to those losing their power in what they feel is an unfavorable future.This book has time travelers going from 1976 America where President Kennedy sends them to go to the 1930s to try and alter the course of history to save mankind from the coming nuclear war with Nazi Europe. They can only go back so far because they only have a standard 1970s power facility and not the Fusion Power plants of the 21st century where the whole process was developed. From THAT 21st century meddlers from the future helped bring Hitler to power and cause the recession of the 1920s rise to the great depression. Hilter of course turns on his masters however.Eventually these travelers from a version 1976 facing Nazi Europe fights to cut off the 1930 Nazi gate to the their 21st century patrons. Great cameos for Edward Teller, Albert Einstien, and many other prominent politicians and scientists of the 1930s!Great read!

I rarely re-read books but I have, this one. James P. Hogan combines alternate history, hard science fiction and suspense. He gives us fictionalized famous figures from history as well as characters we care about. Set in a bleak alternate 1975 where the Nazi's had won World War II, a team of scientists, soldiers and other specialists go back to 1939 to change the course of history. An interesting twist is that they are not the only one's who do. Mr. Hogan is thorough in his research and has really thought his scenarios out well. There is sentiment but a very real one, not sappy or maudlin. In between there are twists and turns in the plot that keep it all interesting. There have been many alternate history stories but this one stands out with that added twist of time travel and it's implications.

The story starts in the 1970's America, an America that is different from our own because of the Axis victory in WW II. Some agents find out that the reason for this Axis victory was that people from the future had come into this time-line and provided help to the Nazi's. The Americans are committed to also go back into the timeline and counteract the help the Nazi's are receiving to desperately help themselves out of their bleak prediciment. They chose to contact Winston Churchill,(who was killed fighting the Nazi's in their timeline) in an attempt to redirect their past. It is very interesting even to discover why they thought that this person should be their contact point. This novel has everything you would want in a novel, likeable characters that you care about, fast paced action, internally consistant technology, and historical perspective. What I liked about this book is that you are given "the big picture", but you are following characters so that you are also "living the story". When I read this novel for the first time, I remember getting the data together so that I could finally make the assessment on how these worlds related to our time-line. The elite team that goes back in time in an attempt to save the US is really the best that the nation has to offer. Their exploits will make you race through the novel. I really like Alternate history type novels, I have read a large number of them, and this is far and away my favorite. I have read this novel a number of times, and each time I get lost in the story. This novel allows you to suspend disbelief, and becomes a real page turner. If you have not had the pleasure of reading this book, I believe that you are in for a treat.

I don't remember being this wrapped up in a science fictionstory since I first read some of HeinLein's work while in my early teens 40 years ago. I really look forward to getting more of this man's work.

James Hogan writes a well-written alternative history novel based on the premise "What if Hitler and the Germans 'won' WW2 due to American isolationism? JFK is the US President and America stands alone, the rest of the world dominated by the Nazis, the Japanese militarists, or Italian facists. The US government, being in a desparate situation, send a team back into time to change history. In doing so, the author explores the concept of "changing history" -- is time travel really travelling to a parallel universe? The plot is interspliced with plausible expla- nations of how Hitler came to power and how he could have won WW2. For alternative history buffs, I recommend it