What If...? Vol 1: The World's Foremost Military Historians Imagine What Might Have Been

Published by Simon & Schuster Audio

Narrated by John Cunningham and Janet Zarish

Historians and inquisitive laymen alike love to ponder the dramatic what-ifs of history. In these never-before-published essays, some of the keenest minds of our time ask the big, tantalizing questions: Where might we be if history had not unfolded the way it did? Why, how, and when was our fortune made real? The answers are surprising, sometimes frightening, and always entertaining.

This provocative collection of essays features today's foremost historians speculating on these "what ifs", providing a fascinating new prospective on history's most pivotal events. The essays include:

The Peace of 1914: The World War that Wasn't by Robert Cowley

How Hitler Could Have Won the War: The Drive for the Middle East by John Keegan

Our Midway Disaster: Japan Springs a Trap, June 4, 1942 by Theodore F. Cook

D-Day Fails: Atomic Alternatives in Europe by Stephen E. Ambrose

Funeral in Berlin: The Cold War Turns Hot by David Clay Large

China Without Tears: If Chiang Hadn't Gambled in 1946 by Arthur Waldron
In addition to the essays are fascinating "sidebars" provided by such authors as James Chace, Ted Morgan, and others that illuminate in brief other world-changing episodes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Dec 1, 1999
• ISBN: 9780743519755

Reviews for What If...? Vol 1

[mbmackay · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Essays on what might have happened if historic events had turned out differently. Some arresting scenarios hanging on simple premises ? different winds and the Spanish Armada could easily have been successful? the Mongols could easily have ravaged Europe if they hadn?t gone home when their leader died; etc. Variable quality writing but a great concept. Read December 2007

[jolson12_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is very entertaining and is very thought provoking because it explains the close calls in our world?s history. The book, containing many essays written by notable historians, takes us from the fated battle of Salamis in 480 B.C to the Chinese Communist Revolution in the late 1940?s. A very small portion is attributed to American history, while most of the book is about the broader picture of world impact. The historians, who are interviewed at their areas of expertise, dive into complicated and oft times confusing ?what ifs? and their outcomes. These scenarios introduce amazing insight on what could have been and what should have been. None of these scenarios are fantastic and are very realistic to their nature. Each article is interesting as it sheds light on some of the moments in history that are taken for granted. For any history lover, this is a fun and interesting book to read. Though captivating and interesting to the last, some of the articles are confusing and hard to understand. I suppose that the interesting material that is drawn from this book makes up for some of the confusing details. Not one article is over twenty pages long and is not so specific and detailed that you get dizzy looking at it. The book simply shows a broad picture of the world?s history and how it could have been different.

[maboeln · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I liked this, but I did gradually grow weary of the American preoccupation. There are some fascinating concepts, but I think I would have liked a little more insight into how far things could have changed, instead of emphasis on the pivotal moments themselves.

[kuiperdolin · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This is a collective work or more to the point a collection of works by different authors, of very varying quality. In my opinion most of them run from awful to just mediocre. Some of the scenarios are just rehashed or uninteresting (do we need yet another WW2 what if ?), some make no sense at all (Bismark vs. Talleyrand wat), and most have the point of departure be some ridiculous "butterfly effect" incident, which is OK-ish in uchrony fiction but make for lousy nonfiction essays.The authors have no command of the foreign languages they try to use (such as French), and obviously these parts have not been proofread, which is unacceptable for a professional work. Various attempts at "humour" fall embarassingly flat.The most interesting counterfactuals are actually historical lectures in disguise, such as the potato one.I normally shrug off the bad books I buy but for some reason that one irked me. It is not only bad, it is deliberately sloppy, lazy, amateur work that try to pass itself as an actual history book.

[fnielsen_18 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My first read in what-if history this counterfactual military history presented makes me wonder if the hinges of history are all related to military decisions and incidences to military leaders...? Of the group of essays written by different historians one that I find striking is Cecilia Holland's Mongol conquest of Europe in the 1240's under general Sabotai. It was not so probably only due to the death of the khan Ogadai thousand of kilometer away: In Holland's words "a stroke of blind luck". Later in 1258 the Mongols would destroy Bagdad. The two essays on events in the USA civil war gave me too little introduction and context. The Battle of Midway is also treated. American cryptanalysis sometimes gets credits for the victory, but as the essay as well as John Keegan book 'Intelligence in War' explain the victory may come down to minutes of American luck.

[antiquary_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Less satisfying than other exercises in this genre, notably the original If, or History Rewritten.

[dinadansfriend · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This has some good points but others are quite weak as Alternate starting points. The section on WWI alternatives was very interesting, but I don't think the complete lack of a socialist / communist alternative history is anything but American Exceptionalist hope. the idea that Hitler may have won the European War is very intriguing. The last good one is the view of China divided into a North and South , one Communist, the other Nationalist, is also worth exploring further.

[jpsnow · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This series of counter-factual essays provides some interesting potential scenarios -- some that very nearly happened. The historians also present varying views on how far counter-factual history can go and what parameters make it credible. Weather is a frequent theme, as is the near miss, and the phenomena of a key player being taken out before their time. I found the cases of Salamis, the American Revolution, and the Civil War most interesting.

[toniry · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Overall average; several chapters are very interesting

[johnthefireman · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book was not as good as I expected. The ancient history was pretty good, but the stuff on the American war of independence and the American civil war just seemed to go on and on. I would have liked to see more on World Wars I and II, and I think I would have expected more than a single chapter on Napoleon to deal with all the European wars between the 16th and 20th centuries. Basically this book is very USA-oriented, even in its treatment of World War II. The final chapter on China is interesting.

[borhap-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Quite fascinating mainly, but you really have to be a history buff and own a great detailed background knowledge, since background info is rarely given.

[worldsedge · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"Counterfactual" history from many famous historians. Very well done, even if this work didn't stray too far from the beaten path of the US Civil War (What if the North had won after at First Bull Run/What if the South had won, period), World War II (D-Day Fails, How Hitler could have won), various World War I scenarios, the Greeks lose to the Persian Empire. The most intriguing to me was the Mongols succeeding in overrunning Europe and Alexander the Great dying before he conquers the Near East. The narrators were acceptable, but nothing that really wowed me as I listened.

[wyvernfriend · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As some other commentators have pointed out, quite Amero-centric but in many ways quite interesting all the same. Though I did glaze over the American revolution and Civil war bits somewhat. I would have liked more variety. It was still interesting to read and to see how history can hinge on small incidents, I found a more interesting read in The Hinge Factor.

[John Bethea · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Many scenarios are very interesting. However, some are too short, and Midway goes on interminably long. There are also errors in the recording such as 30 second pauses and a solid minute of white noise. It still raises many interesting questions about how the world might have been different.