Alternative History

[BaltimoreTerp]

I've always liked history, as well as historical fiction, and growing up I was one of those annoying kids that would bury you in "What ifs". So liking alternative history was probably my destiny :p

I tend to like what I read to be grounded in reality. I was never a big fantasy or science-fiction guy. Even as much as I enjoyed Guns of the South, that's about the very edge of what I would like to read.

For example, right now I'm reading a book called The Two Georges by Harry Turtledove and Richard Dreyfus (though my guess is mostly Mr. Alt-History himself :D). The background is a world where the American Revolution ended peacefully in its infancy with King George accepting many of the grievances of the colonies and embracing the leadership. This leads to a "North American Union" with the capital at "Victoria" (Washington) and major cities with names like "New Liverpool" (Los Angeles). Even though I'm only a chapter or so in, there are already many insinuations of major changes from the present timeline (Most of the world under imperial control and no sign of the revolutions post-1776, a distinct slowing in technological advances for a 1996 setting).

This isn't a thread to tell how much I'm enjoying that book so far, though. I'm curious to find similar books on the subject and see if anyone else is as interested in similar subject matter.

[NewMarketSean]

I liked the What If comics. What if Punisher Killed Daredevil, etc...

[SteveA]

I've always liked history, as well as historical fiction, and growing up I was one of those annoying kids that would bury you in "What ifs". So liking alternative history was probably my destiny :p

I tend to like what I read to be grounded in reality. I was never a big fantasy or science-fiction guy. Even as much as I enjoyed Guns of the South, that's about the very edge of what I would like to read.

For example, right now I'm reading a book called The Two Georges by Harry Turtledove and Richard Dreyfus (though my guess is mostly Mr. Alt-History himself :D). The background is a world where the American Revolution ended peacefully in its infancy with King George accepting many of the grievances of the colonies and embracing the leadership. This leads to a "North American Union" with the capital at "Victoria" (Washington) and major cities with names like "New Liverpool" (Los Angeles). Even though I'm only a chapter or so in, there are already many insinuations of major changes from the present timeline (Most of the world under imperial control and no sign of the revolutions post-1776, a distinct slowing in technological advances for a 1996 setting).

This isn't a thread to tell how much I'm enjoying that book so far, though. I'm curious to find similar books on the subject and see if anyone else is as interested in similar subject matter.

Turtledove's "other" Civil War goes differently alt-hist is actually a series of 10 books, beginning with How Few Remain. No time travelling South Africans. Lee's famous lost orders detailing his plans for attacking the north never got lost (and found by Union soldiers), so Lee was able to destroy McClellan and eventually force the North to accept a truce. That all happened before the book, which takes place in the 1880s. The USA and CSA fight a second war in this time period.

That is the starting point for an entire series, which takes the CSA and USA taking sides with various world powers in WWI and going all the way through the Depression and the 1940s, including the development of the atomic bomb.

I'd highly recommend the entire series.

[BaltimoreTerp]

Turtledove's "other" Civil War goes differently alt-hist is actually a series of 10 books, beginning with How Few Remain. No time travelling South Africans. Lee's famous lost orders detailing his plans for attacking the north never got lost (and found by Union soldiers), so Lee was able to destroy McClellan and eventually force the North to accept a truce. That all happened before the book, which takes place in the 1880s. The USA and CSA fight a second war in this time period.

That is the starting point for an entire series, which takes the CSA and USA taking sides with various world powers in WWI and going all the way through the Depression and the 1940s, including the development of the atomic bomb.

I'd highly recommend the entire series.

I was actually going to mention that I was looking at things other than that, since I've already read How Few Remain and have considered reading the rest :o

Same with Robert Conroy's books.

[The Wedge]

I liked the What If comics. What if Punisher Killed Daredevil, etc...

Me too. What if Kraven The Hunter Actually Killed Spider-Man, What If Reed Richards Had Lost The Trial of Galactus, and What If Wolverine Became Lord of the Vampires were my favs.

[SteveA]

I was actually going to mention that I was looking at things other than that, since I've already read How Few Remain and have considered reading the rest :o

Same with Robert Conroy's books.

The other (10!!!) books in the series improve on HFR, in my opinion, for one main reason: the point of view characters are mostly "regular people" such as soldiers for both sides, their families, supporters of various causes, etc. In HFR, the POV characters were big name famous people (Custer, Douglass, etc).

[Mark Carver]

Newt Gingrich/William R. Forstchen -

Gettysburg (http://www.amazon.com/Gettysburg-Novel-Civil-Newt-Gingrich/dp/0312987250/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1249045288&sr=1-5), Grant Comes East (http://www.amazon.com/Grant-Comes-East-Newt-Gingrich/dp/B000FUTQ9Q/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_7) and Never Call Retreat: Lee and Grant: The Final Victory (http://www.amazon.com/Never-Call-Retreat-Grant-Victory/dp/B000J6H1U2/ref=pd_sim_b_4) is an interesting what-if of the ACW.

[Orsulak]

This isn't a thread to tell how much I'm enjoying that book so far, though. I'm curious to find similar books on the subject and see if anyone else is as interested in similar subject matter.

Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle is a great book, about a post-war United States in which the west coast is occupied by the Japanese and the east coast by the Nazis.

[BaltimoreTerp]

Newt Gingrich/William R. Forstchen -

Gettysburg (http://www.amazon.com/Gettysburg-Novel-Civil-Newt-Gingrich/dp/0312987250/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1249045288&sr=1-5), Grant Comes East (http://www.amazon.com/Grant-Comes-East-Newt-Gingrich/dp/B000FUTQ9Q/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_7) and Never Call Retreat: Lee and Grant: The Final Victory (http://www.amazon.com/Never-Call-Retreat-Grant-Victory/dp/B000J6H1U2/ref=pd_sim_b_4) is an interesting what-if of the ACW.

Three awesome books. And not just because all of the fictional battles are around Baltimore :D

[Objectivity]

Fortechen's new book is pretty good - One Second After. I actually keep meaning to recommend it to Tony. It's about a small town trying to survive after an EMP attack on the United States. Not alt history, but good.

Conroy is good, but definately over-plotted. I still think the first is his best.

Except for his Crosstime Traffic books, I've never gotten into Turtledove, although Krillyos looks interesting.

Ben Bova has a great alt-history about World War II called Triumph. Probably out of print. It's about a plan to kill Stalin with radiation poisoning.

[Capn Vivi]

I just picked up The Plot Against America (http://www.amazon.com/Plot-Against-America-Philip-Roth/dp/1400079497/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1249194425&sr=8-1) by Philip Roth. It's not quite Civil war-era, but ponders the fate of the U.S. during WWII after Charles Lindbergh defeats FDR in the 1940 presidential election.

[DurbBird]

Try Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policemen's Union, which reimagines Sitka, Alaska, as a homeland for the Jews after WWII. It's a hoot!