Wednesday, June 1, 2016

The Disunited States of America - Note for a discussion, "E Pluribus Unum? What Keeps the United States United"


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

image from
The Disunited States of America
AuthorHarry Turtledove
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SeriesCrosstime Traffic
GenreAlternate history
PublisherTor Books
Publication date
September 5, 2006
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages288
ISBN0-7653-1485-1
OCLC65302467
813/.54 22
LC ClassPS3570.U76 D58 2006
Preceded byIn High Places
Followed byThe Gladiator
The Disunited States of America is an alternate history novel by Harry Turtledove. It is a part of the Crosstime Traffic series, and takes place in an alternate world where the U.S. was never able to agree on a constitution and continued to govern under the Articles of Confederation. By the early 1800s, the nation dissolved with each state as a separate country. The states trade with each other, engage in diplomacy, and even go to war with each other. Other states exist which don't in our world, such as Boone.[1]

Plot summary[edit]

The story takes place in the 2090s and concerns two outsiders caught up in a war between Ohio and Virginia: a young girl from California visiting relatives with her grandmother, and a boy from our world's Crosstime Traffic trading firm.

Development[edit]

One of the pre-publication title candidates was "The Untied States of America".[citation needed]

Literary significance and reception[edit]

Frieda Murray reviewing for Booklist said that this novel was "the best so far in this Turtledove series, with characters that you care about and action that, while grim, is plausible and engaging."[2] Publishers Weekly in their review said "Turtledove delivers lessons on racism and diplomacy for a young adult audience."[3]
[Footnotes can be accessed via original article]

No comments: