Lee at Chattanooga: A Novel of What Might Have Been
by Dennis P McIntire

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Book Reviews of Lee at Chattanooga: A Novel of What Might Have Been

Book Review: The way alternative History ought to be
Summary: 5 Stars

The book is told in the form of a memoir. It begins, in a brief introduction, with the narrator (Jed Hotchkiss, Stonewall Jackson's Cartographer) recounting the surrender of the Confederate army in 1864, then shifts to 1867. In the latter section, Hotchkiss meets Jefferson Davis' secretary at General Lee's funeral, and recounts to him the events surrounding General Lee's participation in the battle of Chattanooga, and the results that came from these events. I will tell you no more: you should read the book yourself to find out how things get screwed up.

This book essentially turns the genre of Civil War Alternative History (so far anyway) on its head. Instead of the Confederates winning the war and living on in glory, Lee's presence at Chattanooga actually hastens the end of the war. To my mind, it's the equivalent of the David Downing novel The Moscow Option, which purports to show that even if Hitler's generals had been directing strategy in WW2 things might not have gone as well as they'd hoped. I enjoyed this book a great deal. McIntire is a good writer, and the prose is more than serviceable. The plot is interesting, and makes sense, and the characterizations of the generals involved are in line with what we know of them. I would recommend this book to all Civil War buffs, though the rest of the public would have to know something about the war and the battle to get the full import of what the book is saying.

Summary of Lee at Chattanooga: A Novel of What Might Have Been

Historical Books

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• Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Alternate History