Title: The First EU: An Alternate History
Author: Alan J. Caulfield
Publisher: AuthorHouseUK
ISBN: 978-1-5462-9251-7
Pages: 524
Genre: History, Fiction
Reviewed by: Jessica Schmidt
Pacific Book Review
The First EU: An Alternate History focuses on the 1940’s in England and Germany and how then and now would have been different if Hitler had been in a plane crash and then died of pneumonia. The story focuses on what life would have been like if there were partnerships among Germans and British from the government down to villagers and encouraging dances and relationships between the German soldiers and the British communities. The author obviously has a lot of passion for history in general and specifically the WW2 era as well as related knowledge and a skilled imagination to create this realistic revisionist history.
The first love scenes in the book is awkward and could be smoothed out with some light editing. Overall, the writing is very detailed and contains good descriptions which make the village and the farms come alive for the reader. This book would be a great book club selection because I am sure it would inspire interesting discussions and comparisons between history and the fictional version in the book. This book would be interesting to read for young adults and adults of all ages.
The poem at the end of the book is a wonderful overview of history that is interesting to read. The author also includes an interesting overview of his reasons for writing the book and his background as well as his personal viewpoints at the end of the book to make the reader continue to think about current world events and correlations between the fictional history he created in the book.
As an American with both German and English heritage, I, as well as many others around the world, always have been interested in this period of world history. I wholeheartedly wish that history had been different, and it is interesting to imagine the many other repercussions and effects of Hitler’s death happening as the author describes. As an eternal optimist, I choose to think that present day life would be better if this fictional tale was our true history.
The book is well written, enjoyable and interesting to read. I think the inclusion of the author’s viewpoint and background both at the beginning and end of the book are important so that the reader understands the context of the story. The focus on the youth and their power in making a difference in the governance of the country is a good message and reminder for readers too about how change and revolution can and have happened throughout our world history.
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