The Man in the High Castle

The Man in the High Castle is a 1962 alternative history novel by science fiction writer Philip K. Dick. The novel is set in the United States, 15 years after the Axis Powers defeated the Allies in World War II and the U.S. submitted to German and Japanese military occupation.

The Grasshopper Lies Heavy

Several characters in The Man in the High Castle read a popular, although banned, novel called The Grasshopper Lies Heavy by Hawthorne Abdensen in which the Axis powers lost the war. Although closer to actual history, the novel portrays a third scenario.

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In The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, Roosevelt survives the assassination attempt but does not run for reelection in 1940. The next president, Rexford Tugwell (who in our reality never ran for the presidency), mitigates the bombing of Pearl Harbor by sailing the U.S.'s Pacific fleet, so the U.S. enters the war with more naval power.

Related Topics:
1940 - Rexford Tugwell

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In the novel the British contribution to victory is greater than in the historical scenario and the Russian and American lower. The turning points of the war are a British victory over Nazi troops under General Erwin Rommel in Africa, a British advance through the Caucasus and, in coordination with the remnants of the Russian army, a British victory at Stalingrad. As in the historical scenario, Italy turns against the Axis Powers. British tanks storm Berlin at the end of the war.

Related Topics:
Erwin Rommel - Africa - Caucasus - Stalingrad - Italy

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After the war, Britain, still led by Churchill, doesn't lose its empire and the U.S. exports mostly to China, under the rule of Chiang Kai-shek. The British Empire remains racist while the U.S. solves its race issues by the 1950s, causing tension between the two superpowers.

Related Topics:
China - Chiang Kai-shek - 1950

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Eventually, the U.S. challenges the traditional British role as the world's most influential nation. However, the British ultimately overcome the U.S. to become the world's supreme power.

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The book's author, Hawthorne Abendsen, is rumored to live in a highly guarded fortress; his nickname is "the Man in the High Castle," from which the novel itself is named.

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