When you put a well-made image of an aging J.F.K. on the cover of a 9 by 12 inch glossy magazine, sooner or later some nerd is going to buy it. Yes, this special collectors issue from the makers of All About History is so good, it’s the first magazine review on this blog.
What is Alternative (or Alternate) History and how does it connect with science fiction? The answer is found in the magazine’s intro:
History is a fascinating topic, but one aspect that really fires the imagination is asking ‘What if things had gone differently?’ So-called ‘alternative history’ has long speculated along these lines, with the Romans wondering if they could have defeated Alexander the Great as early as 27 BCE, medieval writers wishing the Crusades had been more successful, and the Victorians terrifying themselves with Napoleon’s global conquest.
In What if… The Book of Alternative History, experts consider what might have happened if key moments in time had gone differently, including the Nazis winning World War II, Abraham Lincoln surviving his assassination, the Allies losing the battle of the Atlantic, China discovering America first, and much more. Each one is complemented by astonishing artwork, photography and timelines so you can see the flashpoints where truth and fantasy diverge. We also celebrate the greatest stories inspired by alternative history, including The Man in the High Castle, The Plot Against America, SS-GB and 11/22/63.
The magazine is separated into four sections: “Royalty and Leaders”, “War & Battles”, “Fate & Circumstance” and “The Best Alt-History Fiction.” Each article features an interview or commentary by an historian or history professor and a timeline with real events and alternate events emerging from a P.O.D. (point-of-divergence).
For “Royalty and Leaders”, the table of contents are:
“What if… Attila the Hun Had Survived His Wedding Night?”
“What if… Richard II Kept Had Kept His Throne?”
“What if… Richard III Had Lived?”
“What if… Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon Had a Son?”
“What if… Lady Jane Grey Hadn’t Been Deposed?”
“What if… Queen Elizabeth I Had Married?”
“What if… Charles I Had Won the English Civil War?”
“What if… Queen Victoria Had Been Assassinated?”
“What if… Abraham Lincoln Hadn’t Been Assassinated?”
“What if… Communism Had Failed?”
“What if… JFK Hadn’t Been Assassinated?”
“What if… Watergate Hadn’t Been Uncovered?”
The Next Section, “War & Battles” asks:
“What if… Constantinople Hadn’t Fallen to the Turks?”
“What if… The Aztecs Hadn’t Been Conquered?”
“What if… The Jacobite Rising Had Succeeded?”
“What if… The Spanish Armada Had Been Victorious?”
“What if… Britain Had Won the War of Independence?”
“What if… Napoleon Had Won the Battle of Waterloo?”
“What if… The Slave States Had Won?”
“What if… Britain and Russia Had Gone to War Over Afghanistan?”
“What if… Germany Had Won WWI?”
“What if… The Ottoman Empire Had Joined the Allies?”
“What if… The Entente Had Marched On Berlin in 1918?”
“What if… The USA Had Invaded Canada?”
“What if… Germany Had Won the Battle of Britain?”
“What if… Japan Had Not Struck Pearl Harbor?”
“What if… The Allies Had Lost the Battle of the Atlantic?”
“What if… North Korea Had Won the Korean War?”
“What if… The USA Had Won the Vietnam War?”
“What if… The Cuban Missile Crisis Had Escalated?”
Then we have “Fate & Circumstance”. The entries are:
“What if… Rome Never Fell?”
“What if… The Vikings Had Colonized North America?”
“What if… China Had Discovered America First?”
“What if… The Gunpowder Plot Had Succeeded?”
“What if… The Great Fire of London Hadn’t Happened?”
“What if… Prohibition Had Stayed In Place?”
“What if… The Nazis Had Never Gained Power?”
“What if… The Beatles Never Formed?”
“What if… The Soviets Had Won the Space Race?”
“What if… John Wayne Had Joined With George Wallace?
“What if… The Berlin Wall Never Fell?”
And last, but not least, a guide to the best titles Alternate history has to offer. Which titles make the list? Well, you just have to purchase the magazine to find out.
Now on the spine of the magazine, it says that this is the Tenth Edition. I’m curious as to the other “what ifs” previous editions explored. I know I have a few “what ifs” of my own:
What if Europeans never discovered/colonized the United States?
What if Senator Huey Long became President of the United States?
What if Dewey really did defeat Truman?
What if World War I never happened?
What if the USA had abolished slavery earlier than usual?
What if Garfield hadn’t been assassinated?
What if John Lennon hadn’t been murdered in 1980?
What if The Beatles had reunited?
What if Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper decided to stay with the Winter Dance Party Tour?
What if the K-Pg asteroid never killed the dinosaurs?
What if a certain species of animal never went extinct (i.e. mammoths, dodos and thylacines)?
What if a certain technology was introduced earlier than usual (i.e. a TV in every house in the ’30s instead of ’50s)?
What if Jack the Ripper had been caught?
What if Lee Harvey Oswald went on trial?
What if George Lucas never made Star Wars?
Will these questions get answered in the eleventh edition? The possibilities are endless. As for the current edition, you can order it online from magazinesdirect.com or buy on newsstands at (or at the website of) your local Barnes & Noble.
And now I’ll leave with more alternate history images.
the lady from planet x 