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What If? IIFrom Bradley, James (EDT)/ Cowley, Robert (EDT)
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What if Lincoln didn't abolish slavery? What if an assassin succeeded in killing FDR in 1933? This volume presents 25 intriguing "what if..." scenarios by some of today's greatest historical minds-including James Bradley, Caleb Carr, James Chace, Theodore F. Cook, Jr., Carlos M.N. Eire, George Feifer, Thomas Fleming, Richard B. Frank, Victor Davis Hanson, Cecelia Holland, Alistair Horne, David Kahn, Robert Katz, John Lukacs, William H. McNeill, Lance Morrow, Williamson Murray, Josiah Ober, Robert L. O'Connell, Geoffrey Parker, Theodore K. Rabb, Andrew Roberts, Roger Spiller, Geoffrey C. Ward, and Tom Wicker.
- Sales Rank: #944184 in Books
- Brand: Bradley, James (EDT)/ Cowley, Robert (EDT)
- Published on: 2002-10-01
- Released on: 2002-10-01
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.00" h x .90" w x 6.00" l, 1.10 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 448 pages
Amazon.com Review
Many armchair historians have spent hours daydreaming of what might have been if some turning point in history had gone another way. The appeal of the What If? books is that editor Robert Cowley gets professional historians to concentrate on these imaginative questions. The first volume focused entirely on military matters; What If? 2 leans heavily but not exclusively in that direction. Victor Davis Hanson wonders about the consequences for Western philosophy if Socrates had died in battle, Thomas Fleming ponders a Napoleonic invasion of North America, and Caleb Carr argues the Second World War lasted longer than it should have because George Patton's superiors restrained their energetic general. More than two dozen contributors offer bold speculation: If the Chinese had committed themselves to ocean exploration, asks Theodore F. Cook Jr., might they have discovered the New World and even prevented "the worst horrors of the Atlantic Slave Trade [by halting] Portuguese expansion along the African coast at this early date?" Other times they are pleasantly modest: In one of the book's best sections, John Lukacs describes the fantasy of Teddy Roosevelt defeating Woodrow Wilson in the 1912 election--and decides the long- term effects would not have been great. Like its predecessor, What If? 2 is delicious mind candy for readers willing to believe there's nothing inevitable about what has come before us. --John Miller
From Publishers Weekly
Like its predecessor (also edited by Cowley), this is an engrossing collection of essays on counterfactual history. Each contributor examines a pivotal event, then considers the ramifications had the event come out differently. In some cases the ramifications are so monumental that their effects are more obvious than intriguing. For example, if Socrates had died in battle during the Peloponnesian War, Victor Davis Hanson suggests, democracy, Christianity and Western thought as a whole would be radically different. Similarly, had Pontius Pilate pardoned Jesus the book's most fascinating premise Christianity would have developed in entirely new directions, according to Carlos M.N. Eire. Other essays depend, to diminished effect, on nonevents, such as Theodore F. Cook Jr. explaining what the incredible Chinese navy would have accomplished in the Atlantic and the New World had the Ming emperors not turned inwards. Most authors, however, have teased out some incredibly tiny detail in history and demonstrated how that one stitch holds the whole fabric together. Most notably, Robert L. O'Connell explains how one bureaucrat may have kept Germany from winning WWI by hindering a program of unrestricted submarine warfare. James Bradley writes about a ragtag group of Australian soldiers during WWII who held back thousands of well-trained Japanese forces on the Kokoda Trail in New Guinea and by this Thermopylae-like action prevented the enemy from taking Port Moresby and, thus, Australia; had the defenders failed, "the entire calculus of the Pacific War" would have changed. And Robert Katz explores what would have happened had Pius XII protested the Holocaust, which he twice had a chance to do. Cowley has put together another fun book, although his introductions to each essay give away too much of the game. Illus.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Review
'Marvellously entertaining as well as thought-provoking - the finest intellectual parlour-game around.' Noel Malcolm, Sunday Telegraph
Most helpful customer reviews
34 of 35 people found the following review helpful.
Clever Counterfactuals
By John D. Cofield
What If? 2 continues the work of What If? 1 by offering interesting looks at alternatives to known history (counterfactuals) written by well known historians. What If? 2 is even better than its predecessor because it does not stick to military issues, but examines a wide range of cultural and biological possibilities. For example, the most intriguing chapter is a look at what would have happened had Jesus not been crucified, but lived to an advanced age. The postulated result is a true Judeo-Christianity imposed on the world by an apparently permanent Roman Empire. Another remarkable chapter describes the probable impact of a Ming Chinese trans-Pacific voyage of discovery in the 15th century. Military affairs are not entirely neglected, as there are discussions of alternate endings for the Battle of Hastings, the Franco-Prussian War, and World War I, among others. Finally, there is a fine examination of the role of the potato in history. I hope there is a What If? 3, 4, etc.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful.
Presidents A Pope And The Potato
By taking a rest
This is the sequel to the excellent first volume of counter factual history that was presented in the original, "What If ?". The possibilities of how history may have unfolded if the path that did take place was altered are literally endless. Not all the scenarios are as entertaining or thought provoking as others, and in general the first of these two books was more consistent in both subject matter and presentation. The majority of the alternate histories that are presented are very worthwhile for contemplation, however there are some exceptions that make an otherwise worthy continuation, place second among the two books readers have been offered.
The first book was largely based on military what if scenarios. This second volume tries to take a broader look at events, however conflict of one sort or another is usually a factor. The book opens with one of the better and most far reaching counter factual scenarios. The death of a single individual that can modify a portion of history is less scarce than one whose death could arguably change history fundamentally. The first scenario asks what if there was a single death at Delium in 424 B.C., and the life lost in battle had been that of Socrates? In the broadest sense no less than the Western intellectual tradition that flowed from this man would have been replaced by a very different set of criteria. If there were no Socrates, then who would have taught Plato, would he even have aspired as he did? This initial foray into what if is excellent.
The Chinese traveled widely by sea, in ships that were up to 400 feet in length and 150 feet wide. Their ability to have "discovered" the world that Columbus eventually stumbled upon was not only within their capabilities, it is again an alternative historical outcome that holds fantastic variables. The Pontificate of Pope Pius The XII is a controversial one. Whether one studies his behavior prior to becoming Pope, The Vatican Concordat signed with Germany in 1933, or his inaction as Pope to use his influence during the war, the decisions he made were epic even as he believed his decisions to do very little were equally important. The world will never know what a Pontiff who used his authority before Hitler began his onslaught on humanity might have accomplished, what lives he may have saved. I believe it is reasonable to say that had he been an aggressive defender of humanity without regard for sectarian beliefs there would certainly be more people that would have lived through the war.
There are a total of 25 scenarios for the reader to choose favorites from. Pontius Pilate decides not to condemn Christ to death is a major historical shift, however the presentation does not rise to the gravity of the issue. Others are not unfamiliar, such as what if England had been lead by a Prime Minister named Halifax instead of Churchill? The hour would have happened, would we still recall it as "their finest hour"?
An essay on the potato may seem trite, however it is as meaningful as most other discussions you will read. If this spud had not been found in Peru by noted explorers and was not spread around the world, how different would history be, the answer may surprise you.
This second, in what I hope will be a continuing series, is not as strong as the first. With few notable exceptions, both the scenarios proffered, and the manners they are examined are very worthwhile. There are some writers included that are not up to the task they chose, but overall the book is well worth a reader's time.
22 of 25 people found the following review helpful.
Long on history, short on speculation
By Amazon Customer
When I first found out that there was going to be a "What If? 2" and that it wasn't going to focus exclusively on military matters, I was very excited. As much as I am a fan of military history, I was very interested to see how historians of other disciplines might predict how our world could be different today. Unfortunately, having finished the book, I am rather disappointed. That's not to say that the quality of the writing, or the turning points are sub-par, they're not. In fact, in terms of composition and selection of historical turning points, this book is actually more original and uniform than its predecessor.
That's what makes this book so disappointing: there is great potential, but it never lives up to its self-proclaiming goal of telling the reader "what if?" The background research is solid, and the authors in almost every instance make a cogent, educated case as to why history turned on a given moment or person. Unfortunately, in almost every instance they fail to follow up with any meaningful speculation. In fact, there are very few alternate scenarios that extend for more than a few paragraphs.
Considering how successful the first volume was in regards to alternate histories, this volume's lack of them is inexcusable. What else can the reader expect in a series entitled "What If?" than a detailed exploration of how our world could be different today. The only explanation I can think of is that counter-factual history is an immensely useful tool in political-military history, but it is less so (or at least less utilized) in social history. It therefore seems probable that many of the writers in this edition were unsure as to how to weave a different world after having identified their turning point.
At any rate, this isn't a terrible book, but it is pretty disappointing. As I have mentioned above, the research and writing are excellent. Furthermore the points of departure for are some of the most unique I've come across in alternate history. Unfortunately, the "what if" scenarios never really pan out, and as a result the book never lives up to its title. This book will get you thinking about some overlooked episodes in history, but it will, for the most part, be up to your imagination to supply the counterfactual.
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