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The Man with the Iron Heart

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Author: Harry Turtledove
Publisher: Del Rey
Category: Book

List Price: ~~$27.00~~
Buy New: $13.50
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Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

21 reviews
Sales Rank: 36898

Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 544
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.8
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.8

ISBN: 0345504348
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780345504340
ASIN: 0345504348

Publication Date: July 22, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New. 100% money back guarantee. All books shipped from Strand Bookstore, New York City, USA.

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
What if V-E Day didn’t end World War II in Europe? What if, instead, the Allies had to face a potent, even fanatical, postwar Nazi resistance? Such a movement, based in the fabled Alpine Redoubt, was in fact a real threat, ultimately neutralized by Germany’s flagging resources and squabbling officials. But had SS Obergruppenf�hrer Reinhard Heydrich, the notorious Man with the Iron Heart, not been assassinated in 1942, fate might have taken a different turn. We might likely have seen a German guerrilla war launched against the conquerors, presaging by more than half a century the protracted conflict with an unrelenting enemy that now engulfs the United States and its allies in Iraq. How might today’s clash of troops versus terrorists have played out in 1945?

In this imagined world, Nazi forces resort to unconventional warfare, using the quick and dirty tactics of terrorism–booby traps, time bombs, mortar and rocket strikes in the night, assassinations, even kamikaze-style suicide attacks–to overturn what seemed to be a decisive Allied victory. In November 1945, a truck bomb blows up the Nuremberg Palace of Justice, where high-ranking Nazi officials are about to stand trial for war crimes. None of the accused are there when the bomb goes off, but their judges, all of them present and accounted for, are annihilated. Worse acts of terrorism follow all over Europe.

Suddenly the Allies–especially the United States–must battle an invisible enemy and sacrifice countless lives in a long, seemingly pointless, unwinnable conflict. On the home front, patriotism corrodes, political fortunes are made and lost in the face of an antiwar backlash, and a once-proud country wonders how the righteous fight for freedom overseas has collapsed into a hopeless quagmire. At once a novel of thrilling military suspense, intriguing alternate history, and profound insight into contemporary affairs, The Man with the Iron Heart is a tour de force by a storyteller of exceptional imaginative power.

Customer Reviews: Read 16 more reviews...

1 out of 5 stars

No Imagination October 8, 2008
Being a big fan of Harry Turtledove,I am extremely disappointed in his latest book The Man With The Iron Heart. It seems all that was done was to take WWII Germany and turn it into present day Iraq. Osama Bin Laden was substituted with Reinhard Heydrich and the roles of present day Democrats and Republicans reversed. There are way to many similarities between the books setting and Iraq for it to be a coincidence and it seems to me that the author was more interested it getting a book out,then taking the time to write one. I for one hope the next book is in the same league as Harrys' past works which I have always eagerly awaited. The Man with the Iron Heart

4 out of 5 stars

Iraq 2004 in 1945? Not quite ... October 8, 2008
Although the inspiration and similarities between the real-life Iraq War and the fictious plot of "The Man with the Iron Heart" are obvious, they are not quite parallels of each other.

In this novel, Harry Turtledove illustrates a massive, deadly resistance movement formed and led by SS officer Reinhard Heydrich. Heydrich, surviving the assassination attempt that, in real-life, actually killed him in 1942, returns from the defeat at Stalingrad to meet with Himmler and gets permission to organize a resistance against the eventually victorious allies. Soon after V-E day, waves of bombings and assassinations stun the Allies, and the sides react in predictable ways. The Russians react with cruelty: deportations and executions, after letting their troops rampage. The French, propped by the Anglo-Americans, also seek a pound of German flesh. The Anglo-Americans, though, wring their hands and pick at the pieces.

Turtledove's writing draws on his strengths of multiple, distinct characters, but still struggles with his usual flaws: redundant descriptions, the "you're right, but ..." conversations, and expressions and phrases he's used forever. At least we're spared the "Confederate cigarettes are better" deal.

One major parallel against Iraq, and a flaw in the total story, is the readiness of political leaders to run away. Iraq remains an optional war to fight, but we were drawn into and had to fight out World War Two. Plus, in a defeated Germany, the US would have to stay in or Russia would gobble up the spoils. No major foreign power could do the same in Iraq, but rather it would be a morass of jihadi groups.

Either way, the message, intentional or not, remains clear. We have to stay, like it or not, and see the end, or the consequences will be far worse.

5 out of 5 stars

Great book September 22, 2008
Turtledove hit a home run with this book. This is a stand alone book. This is not a sci-fi book but a good alternate history book. A good old what if??? story. It has modern Iraq all over it. Well worth your money if you like action.

4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable, but not without flaws August 24, 2008
For the most part, this novel makes an interesting story out of what started out as a Bush administration talking point. About four years ago, as the insurgency in Iraq started growing, the Bush administration tried to play down the problems in Iraq by drawing a false analogy with post-war resistance in Germany. The comparison was a weak one, since post-war resistance in Germany was minimal and quickly fizzled -- but the talking point apparently motivated Harry Turtledove to wonder what it would have been like in post-war Germany had there been a real resistance.

This novel is the result. The resistance efforts and our relatively inept responses are chilling -- all the more so for their plausibility. Less believable is the speed at which the "bring our troops home" movement develops back at home; while I expect that such a movement would have developed over the course of several years, I'm not sure that I believe that it would have started within six months of VE Day, as this novel postulates.

Despite this one weakness, "The Man With the Iron Heart" did an excellent job of holding my interest. It also gives the reader plenty to think about -- and not necessarily in a way that will satisfy hard core partisans on either side of the current debate over Iraq. If you've enjoyed other Harry Turtledove alt-war novels, you'll probably enjoy this one as well. And if you're interested in how we would have dealt with an insurgency in a different time and place, I'd recommend this one as well. On the other hand, if you're looking for a book to confirm your prejudices one way or another about Iraq...well, keep looking.

1 out of 5 stars

Three words... August 22, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful

...pedantic and derivative.

I wish Harry would get back to writing his own books. I wish he'd finish the "Colonization" series.

I wish he'd finish the series he began with "Days of Infamy" -- even though that, too, comes from the writing-mill.

Above all, I wish he'd grow some neuticals and go back to being a *writer*.

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