American Empire: The Center Cannot Hold
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| American Empire: The Center Cannot Hold | |
| Author | Harry Turtledove |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | American Empire |
| Genre(s) | Alternate history novel |
| Publication date | June 25, 2002 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
| Pages | 512 |
| ISBN | 0345444213 |
| Preceded by | American Empire: Blood and Iron |
| Followed by | American Empire: The Victorious Opposition |
American Empire: The Center Cannot Hold is the second book in the American Empire series by Harry Turtledove. It takes place during the period of the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression (specifically from 1924 to March 4, 1934). During this era in Turtledove's Timeline 191 world, the Confederate States of America, stretching from Sonora to Virginia, is led by Whigs (with fascists gaining more and more power) while the United States of America (which has been occupying Canada) is controlled by socialists.
During the period, the U.S. shares world domination with Germany (now victors of the Great War) while the C.S.A. faces poverty and national calamity. Much like Adolf Hitler and his rise to power in real-life 1930s Germany, a protagonist named Jake Featherston rides a fascist wave to power in this desperate Confederacy of the Great Depression. The Americans seem to care little about the activities of the Confederates until it is too late and it seems the road is leading the U.S.A. and C.S.A. toward a fourth Civil War (after facing one another in the War of Secession, the Second Mexican War, and the Great War).
The cover of the book shows the top of a right facing swastika, in red with white stars inside it surrounded by blue, insinuating a new CSA flag for the growing rise of Fascism.
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| Videssos books | Videssos Cycle | The Misplaced Legion | An Emperor for the Legion | The Legion of Videssos | The Swords of the Legion |
| The Tale of Krispos | Krispos Rising | Krispos of Videssos | Krispos the Emperor | |
| Time of Troubles | The Stolen Throne | Hammer and Anvil | The Thousand Cities | Videssos Besieged | |
| The Bridge of the Separator | ||
| The Race or Tosev timeline series |
Worldwar Tetralogy | In the Balance | Tilting the Balance | Upsetting the Balance | Striking the Balance |
| Colonization | Second Contact | Down to Earth | Aftershocks | |
| Homeward Bound | ||
| Southern Victory or Timeline-191 |
How Few Remain | |
| Great War Trilogy | American Front | Walk in Hell | Breakthroughs | |
| American Empire Trilogy | Blood and Iron | The Center Cannot Hold | The Victorious Opposition | |
| Settling Accounts Tetralogy | Return Engagement | Drive to the East | The Grapple | In at the Death | |
| Darkness | Into the Darkness | Darkness Descending | Through the Darkness | Rulers of the Darkness | Jaws of the Darkness | Out of the Darkness | |
| War Between the Provinces | Sentry Peak | Marching Through Peachtree | Advance and Retreat | |
| Hellenic Traders | Over the Wine Dark Sea | The Gryphon's Skull | The Sacred Land | Owls to Athens | |
| Crosstime Traffic | Gunpowder Empire | Curious Notions | In High Places | The Disunited States of America | The Gladiator | The Valley-Westside War | |
| Pacific War Series | Days of Infamy | End of the Beginning | |
| Scepter of Mercy | The Chernagor Pirates | The Bastard King | The Scepter's Return | |
| Other, non-series books | ||
| Agent of Byzantium | A Different Flesh | Noninterference | Kaleidoscope | A World Of Difference | Earthgrip | The Guns of the South | The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump | Departures | Down in the Bottomlands | The Two Georges | Thessalonica | Between the Rivers | Justinian | Household Gods | Counting Up, Counting Down | Ruled Britannia | In the Presence of Mine Enemies | Conan of Venarium | Every Inch a King | Fort Pillow | Beyond the Gap | Opening Atlantis | The Battle of Teutoberg Forest | ||
