"Lightning in the Night" by Fred Allhoff. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, (1979). First published as a serial in Liberty Magazine (Aug. 31-Nov. 16, 1940)
From the blurb on the dust jacket:
In just 20 cataclysmic months, Adolf Hitler had completed his lightninglike subjugation of virtually all of Europe. Now, he intended to reach his destiny in the east by invading America in the west. . .
What if Hitler had invaded America? This startling novel, written before Pearl Harbor, is the provocative answer.
In 1940, the Nazi war machine was ravaging Europe. Most Americans wanted no part of the foreign conflict, but wondered what might happen if we maintained our neutrality. When would Hitler finally be satisfied? Could the Wehrmacht conceivably attack the United States? Veteran journalist Fred Allhoff interviewed military experts of the day, and his informed scenario, serialized in "Liberty," sold more copies of that magazine than ever before in its publishing history.
"Lightning in the Night" assumes that England has fallen; America stands alone as the last bastion of democracy. By diplomatic coups and sheer bravado, the "Greater German Reich" annexes British, Dutch and French colonies throughout the Americas. Hitler acquires heavily fortified bases within striking distance of our Atlantic Coast . And then. . .
The action-packed plot follows Lt. Douglas Norton of Naval Intelligence and his fiancee Peggy O'Liam as they witness the siege of Seattle, the bombing of New York, and the fall of Baltimore. Tank warfare ranges across Pennsylvania; the Nazi flag is raised over Washington, D.C. The story moves from the pre-dawn Pacific to a concentration camp in Maryland; from a naval battle in the Straits of Magellan to the paratroop invasion of the Panama Canal -- until Adolf Hitler and the President of the United States confront each other across the peace table in Cincinnati. And yet many of Alhoff's prophecies are remarkably accurate, beginning with his forecast that war would actually begin with a Japanese attack on Hawaii! And his surprise conclusion, melodramatic and far-fetched by 1940's standards, today seems almost uncomfortably realistic.
Now collected in book form for the first time, together with the original "Liberty" illustrations, "Lightning in the Night" is a unique glimpse of the world of 1940 -- and a chillingly authentic account of the world that could have existed in 1945!
Jacket Art by Hal Siegel.
"Lightning in the Night" by Fred Allhoff. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, (1979). First published as a serial in Liberty Magazine (Aug. 31-Nov. 16, 1940)
From the blurb on the dust jacket:
In just 20 cataclysmic months, Adolf Hitler had completed his lightninglike subjugation of virtually all of Europe. Now, he intended to reach his destiny in the east by invading America in the west. . .
What if Hitler had invaded America? This startling novel, written before Pearl Harbor, is the provocative answer.
In 1940, the Nazi war machine was ravaging Europe. Most Americans wanted no part of the foreign conflict, but wondered what might happen if we maintained our neutrality. When would Hitler finally be satisfied? Could the Wehrmacht conceivably attack the United States? Veteran journalist Fred Allhoff interviewed military experts of the day, and his informed scenario, serialized in "Liberty," sold more copies of that magazine than ever before in its publishing history.
"Lightning in the Night" assumes that England has fallen; America stands alone as the last bastion of democracy. By diplomatic coups and sheer bravado, the "Greater German Reich" annexes British, Dutch and French colonies throughout the Americas. Hitler acquires heavily fortified bases within striking distance of our Atlantic Coast . And then. . .
The action-packed plot follows Lt. Douglas Norton of Naval Intelligence and his fiancee Peggy O'Liam as they witness the siege of Seattle, the bombing of New York, and the fall of Baltimore. Tank warfare ranges across Pennsylvania; the Nazi flag is raised over Washington, D.C. The story moves from the pre-dawn Pacific to a concentration camp in Maryland; from a naval battle in the Straits of Magellan to the paratroop invasion of the Panama Canal -- until Adolf Hitler and the President of the United States confront each other across the peace table in Cincinnati. And yet many of Alhoff's prophecies are remarkably accurate, beginning with his forecast that war would actually begin with a Japanese attack on Hawaii! And his surprise conclusion, melodramatic and far-fetched by 1940's standards, today seems almost uncomfortably realistic.
Now collected in book form for the first time, together with the original "Liberty" illustrations, "Lightning in the Night" is a unique glimpse of the world of 1940 -- and a chillingly authentic account of the world that could have existed in 1945!
Jacket Art by Hal Siegel.