Classic Sci-Fi

Philip Roth has a new book out called The Plot Against America, in which Charles Lindbergh defeats Franklin Roosevelt in the 1940 election. Lindbergh, known in real life for his isolationism, publicly blames the Jews for selfishly pushing America toward "a pointless war with Nazi Germany" and negotiates an "understanding" with Adolf Hitler. The buzz about this book got me thinking about a science fiction and alternative history classic, The Man in the High Castle (PB DIC) by Philip K. Dick. Written in 1962, Vintage Books re-released it with a sparkly new cover in 1992:



In Dick's spin on World War II, the Axis powers have won the war and the United States is now occupied jointly by Nazi German and Japan. Slavery is legal again. The Jews who still survive hide under assumed names. And everyone on the west coast relies on the I Ching for making decisions. This book is perfect in every detail. Too perfect.