Joseph Robert Conroy (August 24, 1938 – December 30, 2014) was an author of

alternate history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, altern ...

novels.

Life

After he got an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

, Conroy was a professor at

Macomb Community College Macomb Community College is a multi-campus community college in Macomb County, Michigan. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. The college's offerings include university transfer, early college, professional certification ...

and taught business and economic history. Following his early retirement, Conroy first became interested in alternate history after studying recently discovered

Imperial German plans for the invasion of the United States Imperial German plans for the invasion of the United States were ordered by staff officers from 1897 to 1903 as training exercises in planning for war. The hypothetical operation was supposed to force the US to bargain from a weak position and to ...

by Kaiser

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Empir ...

, which formed the basis for his first novel, ''

1901 Events January * January 1 – The Crown colony, British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and Western Australia Federation of Australia, federate as the Australia, ...

''. He then wrote other alternative history novels during his semiretirement. Married for over 40 years, he had one daughter and two grandchildren. On December 30, 2014, Conroy died from cancer.

Bibliography

Novels

* ''

'' (1995), , his first novel, deals with an Imperial German invasion of

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

when

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

. * ''

1862 Events January–March * January 1 – The United Kingdom annexes Lagos Island, in modern-day Nigeria. * January 6 – French intervention in Mexico: French, Spanish and British forces arrive in Veracruz, Mexico. * January ...

'' (2006), , is based on what might have happened had the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

entered into the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

on the side of the Confederacy after an actual international incident in which that did not happen. * ''

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

'' (2007), , a scenario in which the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent fo ...

refuses to surrender following the

atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki The United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, respectively. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the onl ...

, forcing the United States to launch

Operation Downfall Operation Downfall was the proposed Allied plan for the invasion of the Japanese home islands near the end of World War II. The planned operation was canceled when Japan surrendered following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, th ...

. * ''

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

'' (2009), , which won the

Sidewise Award for Alternate History The Sidewise Awards for Alternate History were established in 1995 to recognize the best alternate history stories and novels of the year. Overview The awards take their name from the 1934 short story "Sidewise in Time" by Murray Leinster, in wh ...

, tells of the Japanese conquest of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

after the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

is far more successful than actually happened. * '' Red Inferno: 1945'' (2010), , deals with a war between the

Western Allies The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international military coalition formed during the Second World War (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers, led by Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Fascist Italy. ...

and the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

following the controversial move by the Allies towards

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. The move is tragically misunderstood by

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

, who becomes determined to seize all Europe, resulting in a

Third World War World War III or the Third World War, often abbreviated as WWIII or WW3, are names given to a hypothetical worldwide large-scale military conflict subsequent to World War I and World War II. The term has been in use since at ...

. * ''

Castro's Bomb Castro's Bomb is an American alternate history ebook written by Robert Conroy. It was first published on Kindle on September 21, 2011. Plot In 1963, a year after the Cuban Missile Crisis, the leader of Cuba, Fidel Castro, and the Cuban Army us ...

'' (2011), , (e-book, audio book only. No print release) depicts

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

seizing control of Soviet nuclear bombs during the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United S ...

. * ''

Himmler's War Himmler's War is an alternate history novel written by Robert Conroy. It was published by Baen Books online as an ebook on December 1, 2011, before being published in print five days later. Plot About a month and a half after the start of the ...

'' (2011), , deals with what might have happened if

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...

had been killed in 1944, and leadership of Nazi Germany had passed to

Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

, who then adopts a considerably different strategy. * '' North Reich'' (2012) (e-book only), considers if the UK had surrendered to Germany in World War II, and had a fascist regime installed across the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

and

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

, with

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

becoming a base from which Germany prepares to launch a war against the United States. * '' Rising Sun'' (2012), , is set in the aftermath of a Japanese victory at the

Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy under Adm ...

, in which Japan launches an invasion of Alaska and conducts carrier-based airstrikes against the West Coast of the United States. * '' 1920: America's Great War'' (2013), , in which the United States remained neutral during World War I, resulting in victory that leaves Germany in control of most of Europe. Germany then uses Mexico as a base to launch an invasion of the United States. * '' Liberty 1784: The Second War for Independence'' (2014), , depicts the aftermath of a British victory in the American Revolutionary War and the last stand of the remaining uncaptured American founders in what would have been Chicago, which has been renamed Liberty. * '' 1882: Custer in Chains'' (2015), , depicts George Armstrong Custer surviving and winning the Battle of Little Big Horn. As a result, he is elected President in

1880 Events January–March * January 22 – Toowong State School is founded in Queensland, Australia. * January – The international White slave trade affair scandal in Brussels is exposed and attracts international infamy. * February � ...

and two years later provokes a war with Spain and its decaying empire after an incident involving an American ship being massacred near Cuba. * ''

Germanica Germanica is an alternate history novel written by Robert Conroy. It was published by Baen Books online as an ebook on August 16, 2015 before being published as a normal book on September 1, 2015. As Conroy had died eight months before the book was ...

'' (2015), ,

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...

prolongs World War II by building a German redoubt in the Alps. * ''Storm Front'' (2015), , Conroy's last book and his only non-alternate history work. This novel is about a small town in Michigan which is hit by an unexpected and record-setting blizzard. The townspeople must survive the storm and deal with other threats, the most serious of which is two violent escaped convicts. * ''

The Day After Gettysburg The Day After Gettysburg is an alternate history novel written by Robert Conroy. It was published by Baen Books online as an ebook and hardcover book on June 6, 2017 and then released a paperback version a few weeks later on June 26. As Conroy h ...

'' (2017), , published posthumously and completed by J. R. Dunn, retells the events after the famous battle. * ''Interregnum'' (2018), published posthumously, tells the story of a post-nuclear war America.

Critical studies and reviews of Conroy's work

;''1882: Custer in Chains'' *

References

External links

Robert Conroy's books
at Random House
Robert Conroy's books
at Baen *
Robert Conroy's books
at Fantasticfiction.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Conroy, Robert 1938 births 2014 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists American alternate history writers American male novelists Sidewise Award winners