Book Review - Castro's Bomb

I will preface this review by stating that for the last three years I have been researching the planned invasion of Cuba for a book I'm writing. I'm also a Conroy fan. His alternate history novels are generally entertaining and enjoyable.

Three years of research on the Cuban Missile Crisis meant that the premise of this book captivated me. After the Cuban Missile Crisis Castro steals a nuke, seizes the US base at Guantanamo, and hands America a reeling defeat.

At least that's the first part of the book.

Conroy does a lot of good character development. I judge this by how the characters appear at the beginning and the end of the book. They grow, evolve, and you get to like them. The story he weaves is entertaining. If you've read his other alternate history novels, this one is worth adding to your collection.

My favorite character in this book is the spy that discovers Castro's plan at the start of the book and acts as a backchannel for talks with the Soviets. Despite my love of the combat scenes, I found this character the most interesting and appealing.

There are a few technical flaws but in all fairness, these are minor nits at best. First, in only one case were the cruise missiles used by the Russians actually married to the nuclear warheads during the crisis and post-crisis. Second, I found it implausible that the US would hold back a full retaliatory invasion of Cuba given what Castro does in the book. Sure, the Soviets apply a lot of diplomatic pressure, but lets get real. Time to break out OP Plan 316 and in 18 days you invade and secure Cuba. Also, post the missile crisis, our military presence in the region was still substantial and on alert in case the Soviets or Cubans revoked the terms of the agreement to remove the missiles.

The counter to these points is simple - Conroy is writing a novel here and there has to be some degree of literary license. So, setting aside my insider knowledge, I accepted the book for what it was - a great ride.

I rate Castro's bomb a four out of five stars. Pick it up and prepare for a great weekend read! 

The Importance of Alternate History

I am a huge fan of Alternate History.  For those of you that don’t know; Alternate History is the genre of books where a historical event is changed.  The effect is a story where a new set of events unfold, providing the readers with a new perspective of the importance of the actual events that occurred.  You end up with stories that can be compelling…what if the Confederacy won the Civil War or if Hitler had successfully invaded Britain?

Philip K. Dick really kicked off this genre with The Man in the High Castle where Germany wins WWII.  Harry Turtledove really became the flag-bearer of the current field of writers starting with his Guns of the South, (Time-travelers equip the Confederacy with AK-47’s) and his incredible series of books that covered the South winning the Civil War, through WWI and WWII (Picture, if you will, trench warfare cutting across the United States in WWI and you get the idea).  Robert Conroy has stepped up recently as well with a number of wonderful stand-alone books set in WWII. 

The Steampunk genre is really an off-shoot of alternate history.  It provides a glimpse into a universe where advanced technology is introduced in the pre-Victorian era.  While Steampunk stands on its own, it also has strong roots with alternate history…a relationship all parties encourage.  Read Boneshaker by Cherie Priest and you will see an alternate world where zombies face zeppelins and new technology. 

I have found that some mainstream historians don’t see the value of this kind of literature.  They see it as trivial or in some way diminishing from "real" history.  I respectfully disagree.  Alternate History is most often built on hard historical study, with the changing of an instance or event to generate the story.  This kind of literature actually encourages a study of history with readers – which is something that most historians desire.  It gives us all an appreciation for how history is like a game of Jenga.  Remove the wrong part and the entire tower comes tumbling down. 

Alternate history historians like Giangreco's Hell to Pay, Operation Downfall and the Invasion of Japan, have given new context to decisions like the dropping of the atomic bomb. While some authors tell the stories of these events, we are now seeing books emerge like this where historians give us a solid tangible history of what might have occurred.  I have a pet project I have been researching along these lines as well and find this kind of research exciting.  It bridges between alternate history fans and hard-core historians.   

If you have not explored this genre, I encourage it whole-heartedly.  The stories have impact on our world today.  If you read Turtledove’s Man with an Iron Heart on the surface it is a story about the Germans fighting on after Hitler’s death, waging a guerilla war against the occupying allies. The parallels between this and the insurgency in Iraq cannot be ignored or overlooked.   Books like this force us to put current events in perspective, and in many respects that is the essence of what historical study drives to achieve. 

If nothing else, you’ll enjoy the ride!