I had been getting a little tired of Turtledove's work recently, phrases repeated, similar plots, but I think he has returned to his better early works.I loved the story of a Jewish family hiding and the many concessions they had to make to their own faith to survive.And I also loved the way the author retold the Gorbachev/Yeltsin years. It made me realize how lucky Russia was with the way things turned out. (Too bad Russia looks to be slipping back.)