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    Joe Steele
    Joe Steele
    Joe Steele
    Audiobook16 hours

    Joe Steele

    Written by Harry Turtledove

    Narrated by Richard Poe

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    From "the master of alternate history" comes a standalone novel reimagining a 20th century in which a young Joseph Stalin immigrates to America, calls himself Joe Steele, and turns the United States into an autocracy.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateApr 7, 2015
    ISBN9781490668840
    Joe Steele
    Author

    Harry Turtledove

    Harry Turtledove is an American novelist of science fiction, historical fiction, and fantasy. Publishers Weekly has called him the “master of alternate history,” and he is best known for his work in that genre. Some of his most popular titles include The Guns of the South, the novels of the Worldwar series, and the books in the Great War trilogy. In addition to many other honors and nominations, Turtledove has received the Hugo Award, the Sidewise Award for Alternate History, and the Prometheus Award. He attended the University of California, Los Angeles, earning a PhD in Byzantine history. Turtledove is married to mystery writer Laura Frankos, and together they have three daughters. The family lives in Southern California.

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    Reviews for Joe Steele

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    • 5/5
      Great alternate history! Joe Steele (Stalin) wins the 1932 Democratic nomination after FDR and Eleanore are killed in a fire set by Steele's operatives. Four Supreme Court Justices are executed after declaring Steele's New Deal legislation unconstitutional. Work camps are opened for Steele's critics, otherwise known as wreckers. The story is told through two newspapermen brothers. One works for Joe Steele as a speech writer. The other has been sent to the camps for trying to investigate FDR's death and the arson behind it. World War II breaks out. The leader of the USSR is Leon Trotsky. Several leading generals are executed in purges after the Japanese attacks caught them by surprise, including Douglas MacArthur. Also executed is Albert Einstein because he held back information on the development of the atomic bomb because he was opposed to it. Hyman Rickover becomes the head of the Manhattan project. The bomb is not available to use on the Japanese and the home islands are invaded by Russia and the United States. Japan is divided into North and South, ala postwar Korea. Like Korea a war breaks out started by North Japan. Both Russia and the U.S. now have atomic weapons and use them in the conflict. J. Edgar Hoover runs the GBI, the Government Bureau of Investigations and ends up in charge of the U.S. after Steele's death. I hope there is a sequel.
    • 3/5
      Harry Turtledove writes page-turners; they aren’t great literature but you want to see what happens next. In this case, the premise is a Russian family immigrates to California, where they have a son. He changes his name to Joe Steele (it’s commented that his original family name “sounded like a sneeze”) becomes a lawyer and is elected to Congress. In 1932, with the country deep in the Depression, he vies for the Democratic presidential nomination, proposing his “4 Year Plan” in completion with Roosevelt’s “New Deal” – well, spoilers would follow, but you can probably guess what happens.
      Contemplating Steele’s career – which Turtledove makes perfectly plausible – gives me a different take on FDR. I know people of my parent’s generation saw him as the next best thing to The Second Coming. I am therefore grateful that FDR was an affable and basically decent dilettante rather than someone more nefarious; a number of his confidants urged him to assume dictatorial powers (including, reportedly, Eleanor). He probably could have if he’d tried. He didn’t. He may not have had the best possible response to the Great Depression – but it wasn’t the worst possible, either. I will think on that some more.
    • 4/5
      Harry Turtledove is known for the revisionist history genre, and this story fits the bill completely. Personally I find it interesting to play the game of “what if . . . “ but I'm sure there are those that would be completely bored by the speculative nature of the genre. That being said, once again Harry has done a wonderful job of playing the game and making it seem plausible. I want to thank the publishers, NetGalley, and of course the author for the opportunity to read another enjoyable installment of his work.