To me, it was an illustration to a point that I’ve been making for a long time. We have a single point of reference for speculation about spacefaring extraterrestrial life. That tells us...exactly nothing, except that spacefaring civilizations are possible.
I’m told that there is a sequel story that puts us in our place, after we start capitalizing on FTL and our warmaking capabilities.
I love Turtledove’s work. Guns of the South is also a fun read, which I re-read from time to time. I also read his alternate history versions of both world wars (the WW2 version being essentially wargaming moderns vs. WW2). Haven’t read any of it in a while- too much bad in my life to concentrate on it right now. :-)
It's The Good Stuff. Chew it slowly.