827
pages, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, ISBN-13: 978-0399152382
Now
THIS is more like it. If you want to see how alternative history should be done
(as opposed to how it should not be; see my post below) then pick up The Collected What If? Eminent Historians
Imagine What Might Have Been. The counterfactual treatments of 45 turning
points in history presented in this volume are the combination of two
previously published volumes, What If?
and What If?2, the first treating
military questions alone, the second both military and non-military. The
factual account is presented in each case, which is instructive by itself, but
the “what if” part teaches even more about the dynamic complexity of military
conflicts, politics, and other human behaviors that shaped the way things
turned out. Even seasoned history buffs will find some eye-opening stories here
and will make one wonder why counterfactual literature isn’t used in history
classes.
As
this is a compilation, the quality of each essay varies depending on the author
and the subject matter. All of the essays go into great detail regarding the
actual history of each event and how they were pivotal in forming the world we
know – but while many essays dive into some intriguing speculation as to what
would have happened had the counterfactual event taken place (say, had the
Confederates forced the Union to accept succession, or had Jesus been spared crucifixion),
others spend a short paragraph or less at the end of their essay on what really
happened to say something along the lines of “had it worked out differently, things
would have changed a lot”, giving very short service to the whole “what if”
theme of the book.
For
all that, the overall quality is very high, with the best of the essays being
truly thought provoking while the worst are at least accessible to the general
reader. I consider it a strength that most emphasize actual history and limit
speculation to immediate and plausible alternatives; as the editor notes, this
book is not historical fiction nor is it filled with frivolous counterfactuals
of the sort that speculate about “what would have happened if Hannibal had
possessed an H-bomb” or “what if Napoleon had stealth bombers.” A great book
for getting you engaged in thinking about history in a new light.
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