Quote:
Originally posted by Torrere
He didn't really explain in the book why it was a significant change.
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Torrere, it's not a freakin' essay. He doesn't have to sit down and explain how things happen. The books are not bridges between this world and another, chronicling every event and how they are different from what really happened, but a window onto the actions of the other world that we get to look through and make the comparisons on our own. When you're reading along and see Lincoln still breathing, Custer still breathing, Stonewall Jackson still breathing, an entire separate country just a stone's throw south of D.C, you get to thinking "Hey, this place is pretty damn different."
Further, it accustoms the reader to what the world is like in this timeline and provide background to the series forthcoming - why the Socialists are the primary second party in the Union challenging the Democrats every election, why the Mormons flare up, why slavery is- de jure - abolished, the bitterness between the two nations United and Confederate, why the United States' friendship in Europe lies with Germany and not England and France, why they reached out to form an alliance in the first place, the list goes on so long as you pay attention to the goings-on. You can't skip whole damn chapters and expect to get something out of this book, Torr.
As for what Turtledove is trying to tell you: in layman's terms, it's a "story". No message, no philosophy, no moral. Just entertainment. That's what he's trying to tell you. If you really have trouble with such things as supporting details, and characters and such, perhaps you should wait for the movie.