Robert Conroy Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Robert Conroy

Robert Conroy was a bestselling American author of alternative history books including Himmler’s War novel for Baen books. His popular novel, 1942 set within the Japanese conquest of Hawaii was the winner of Sidewise Awards. He was a US Army Veteran, had an MBA and was a retired instructor working at Macomb Community College. He took early retirement from automotive management and decided to venture into history and writing. After finding out that Kaiser Wilhelm had secret plans to invade the United States, he crafted his first alternate history novel titled, 1901 in which Kaiser’s invasion took place.
According to Robert Conroy, alternate history is thought-provoking, especially due to the ripple effects of altering real history.

1901

Robert Conroy’s 1901 novel is set in a year when the Germans had the second largest navy in the world, and their army was the most powerful in the world. But with the exception of small minor islands in the Pacific and a piece of Africa Germany lacks an empire. Kaiser Wilhelm the second demands the United States surrender all its acquired territories: Cuba, Guam, Philippines, and Puerto Rico but the US president McKinley refuses. But with honor and economic future of the Reich at stake, Kaiser initiates an invasion of the US striking his first target, Long Island.

The Americans, with their army disbanded, they must be united and defended their homeland. But when McKinley suffers a deadly heart attack, the new commander who takes over, Theodore Roosevelt unites his people to the cause along with Confederate James Longstreet. From the blazing of Manhattan to the battle of Danbury, the US forces come face to face with Europe’s powerful war machine.

1901 is one of the best alternate history books you’ll ever read. Many novels in this genre only concern wars such as the second and the first world wars, and this novel does too. But what separates Conroy’s books from other war books is the fact that his book is entirely fictional.

With the most powerful army and the second largest navy base in the world, the Germans under the rule of Kaiser Wilhelm II feel that they should have more overseas colonies than any other country in the world. Because of this reason, Kaiser believes that the Germans must wage war against other nations to acquire more colonies and the best country to attack first would be the United States who have newly acquired colonies.

The German attacks Long Island and then proceeds to Manhattan and Brooklyn as the unprepared US scramble to establish a defensive force. The president escapes death by assassination only to die of a heart attack leaving Roosevelt to defend the country against the invading Germany. The action in this book shifts back and forth from battlefields in Connecticut, New York, Washington DC, and Berlin- an aspect that makes the novel hard to put down.

The author does a fantastic job of crafting historical people – James Longstreet, McKinley Roosevelt, Arthur Macarthur, George Dewey, and Kaiser Wilhelm. The historical details are detailed and at times laughingly ironic.

1942

December 7th is the date that any American will live to remember. It’s the day when Japan unleashed the carefully planned attack to bring America to its knees. Their surprise invasion on Pearl Harbor was a huge success with an exception of one major detail- the second bombing to destroy all the important storage facilities wasn’t accomplished that day.

In Robert Conroy’s gripping work of alternate history, the author reimagines the events of December 7th and includes an attack that the Japanese never launched and what follows next is a thrilling adventure of resistance, war, sacrifice, and courage.

For when the leader of Japanese force Isoroku Yamamoto discovers how badly the US has been affected by the two strikes he devises another plan- an all-out attack of Hawaii.

His strategy works well for him at first, but a handful of US soldiers and civilian resistance fight back to reclaim their territory and honor. A counterassault is carefully planned, and Colonel Jimmy Doolittle is assigned a new impossible mission to a fleet of seaplanes filled with bombers. From ordinary heroes to spies and those entangled between two cultures at war, 1942 is an epic war story of the Battle of Hawaii told in the alternative history.
The narrative is told through the experiences of different characters- most of them fictional but others are historical figures with the events moving fast to an outcome similar to that of the real history.

Rising Sun

In his book Rising Sun, Conroy asks his readers one terrifying question- what if the Battle of Midway was in favor of the Japanese? In his alternate world not only does the United States lose the war but also loses all the aircraft carriers cruising the Pacific ocean except for one carrier- the Saratoga.
Now the United States have to face the Japanese nine carriers with their only one carrier. The Japanese, now feeling mightier attack everything related to the US, invading Alaska, bombing the Hawaiian Islands and shelling California. But with all these defeats the United States military plans a way that if carefully executed might give them the slightest chance to win the war.

Robert Conroy writes his novels in a unique style from different main characters, but in such a way that the narration of the characters can change from one paragraph to the next.

As an alternate history, Rising Sun the author imagines to what might have happened if the Japanese had won the Battle of Midway. It’s a book that will get you hooked from the first page to the last giving you a glimpse of some historical figures as well as the true picture of what the world would have been if the history wasn’t as we know it. The character development is well done, as both the main and the secondary characters in the story team up to spice it up. The characters interactions are believable and not hokey or contrived. If you enjoy reading historical books, it’s recommended you read Robert Conroy’s books.

2 Responses to “Robert Conroy”

1. Lynn King: 2 years ago

   I wonder where I could buy the following books by Robert Conroy: North Reich; Castro’s Bomb; and Interregnum. Not ebooks but either hard back or paperback. Thanks, Lynn King

   Reply
   • Graeme: 2 years ago

     Hi Lynn – it looks like they were released as ebooks only.

     Reply