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Title: What Ifs? of American History: Eminent Historians Imagine What Might Have Been by Antony Beevor, Calebert Carr, Robert Dallek, John Lukacs, Jay Winik, Robert Cowley, Caleb Carr ISBN: 0-399-15091-9 Publisher: Putnam Pub Group Pub. Date: 16 October, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $26.95

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Average Customer Rating: 4.29 (7 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: Amazing Grace. History often hangs on a shoestring ???
Comment: A very interesting book. The premise is some of the 'etched in stone' understandings of today oftentimes rely on some very tentative shoestrings. For instance; the Mayflower was bound for the Hudson River but was blown off course by a storm. Would the independent streak/ 'religious tolerance' nurtured by the Puritans have gone Episcopalian if they were in closer proximity to the main body of English settlers in Virginia? Historian Theodore Rabb considers the possibilities.
What about the battle of Long Island? If Washington had been caught in the pincer movement the British were about to spring on him, but didn't thanks to a very thick fog...would the Union Jack be flying over America today? David McCollough wonders...
Oh, the probabilities do mount up. What if the Confederacy had more competent generals in Kentucky? Would Cincinnati and Louisville have fallen to the CSA? Would we still be one nation indivisible or Balkans West?
The suppositions go on. This is an interesting book, one that perhaps should have markers in the margin...<>. The final story reminds us that if a security guard had not noticed a door taped open, Watergate may never have been discovered. Could that have hastened in the Reagan Bush years or is there an inevitability to history dependent more on the characters involved-- so that while history may have its 'shoestring' moments-- nevertheless a 'preordained course' will more or less be followed... I wonder...

Rating: 4
Summary: American History that Might Have Been
Comment: This is the third collection in the superb "What If" series, and the first to focus exclusively on American History. The first caveat I would give to anyone thinking of making a purchase is that two of these essays (by David McCullough and James McPherson) are repeats from the first volume in the series. I would secondly note that the quality of the essays included here vary wildy.

Some, like the speculation on John Tyler's ascendency from Vice-President to President upon the death of William Henry Harrison, and the possible outcome of a third U.S. war with Britain (circa 1896) are quite informative. At least one, a telling of the Cuban Missle Crisis as if it precipated World War III, is quite chilling. Others, however, are less engaging. Anthony Beevor's recounting of Eisenhower's decision at the end of World War II not to march on Berlin, for example, adds little to the controversy that wasn't already there.

Overall, a worthwhile collection for those who love counterfactual historical speculation, with the above reservations.

Rating: 3
Summary: Extremely uneven
Comment: Unfortunately, the defining characteristic of the "What If?" series of books (edited by Robert Cowley) is their scattershot approach to alternate history. While the first volume was fairly sound, "What If? 2" and now "What Ifs? of American History" are plagued by uneven quality of writing, questionable conclusions and most surprising, a pronounced lack of allo-historical content. For a series that defines itself by what might have been, the lack of authors willing to make leaps into the future is a serious, perhaps even crippling problem for any future editions. Identifying tipping points is generally well done, but that is something one finds in conventional history; it is projecting a meaningful alternate outcome rooted in historical fact that defines alternate history, and it is that projection that is becoming less prevalent with each passing volume.

That said, I don't want to indict every author who contributed to "What Ifs? of American History", as there are some genuinely excellent contributions. However, taken as a whole the seventeen chapters are something of a let down. This is true not least because two of the pieces are reprinted from the original "What If?"; while there is nothing wrong with them in their own right, I find it sorely disappointing that a major hardcover release couldn't drum up new contributions.

The problem with many of the contributions is that they find an engaging turning point, and then fail to flesh it out. This is true from the start in "Might the Mayflower Not have Sailed?" which makes a compelling case that this was possible, and outlines significant consequences, but never ties them together to paint a cohesive portrait of how a different America might have evolved.
"The Northwest Conspiracy" is another work that is admirable for a number of reasons. First, it identifies a relatively obscure event (which always make for the most interesting divergences), and secondly, it offers a superb overview of the gross violations of the Constitution committed by the Lincoln administration during the Civil War. Nonetheless, the speculation never evolves into genuine alternate history, and therefore the piece is something of a let down. Finally, there is "The Revolution of 1877" which does delve into some alternate history, but which could have been fleshed out to even greater effect.

"William Pitt the Elder and the Avoidance of the American Revolution" has the opposite problem as it draws conclusions that are to my mind entirely unsupportable. Carr's portrait of the British Empire as a force for benevolent change doesn't seem to be born out in the historical record. The same is true of "JFK Lives" which seems all to ready to ignore Kennedy's cynical manipulation of Cold War politics to his own ends, his relative clumsiness in foreign policy, his hawkish advisors and his indifference to any real momentum in the civil rights movement. Finally, there is "Joe McCarthy's Secret Life" which while somewhat allo-historical is really more of a secret history. An amusing, tongue in cheek look at one of America's most loathsome politicians, but not really alternate history.

Next are three works that never go anywhere. "No Pearl Harbor? FDR Delays the War" and "If Eisenhower Had Gone to Berlin" both change history and then predict virtually identical outcomes. Such considerations are valuable in traditional history, but they aren't really alternate timelines as things rapidly converge back to what we know in months or years. Finally "'His Accidency' John Tyler" raises an interesting question about presidential succession, and then fails utterly to answer what the impact would be.

Now with the negatives aside, let's focus on the highlights. "Lew Wallace and the Ghosts of Shunpike" is a far ranging contribution that posits military, cultural and political impacts springing from the battle of Shiloh. Next is "Beyond the Wildest Dreams of John Wilkes Booth" which examines a Constitutional crisis and a guerilla South to great effect. "The Whale Against the Wolf: The Anglo-American War of 1896" is another interesting military piece that also addresses the shocking absence of Canada (and Mexico) from this book in any meaningful sense.

"If the U-2 Hadn't Flown" suffers from some of the problems above, but ultimately offers so much detail on the consequences of Gary Powers' ill-fate flight it overcomes them. Which brings us to the highlight of the book "The Cuban Missile Crisis: Second Holocaust". Written from an entirely allo-historical point of view, this piece offers a realistic divergence with realistic consequences. Of particular note is the author's appreciation of how vastly larger the U.S. nuclear arsenal was than the Soviet. Not only does this justify the level of destruction of the author envisions, but it is a salient point in that the Kennedy administration seemed to have bought into the myth of the missile gap, in spite of blatant evidence to the contrary. This willful ignorance led Khrushchev to believe Kennedy something of a bumpkin, and ultimately contributed to the decision to deploy missiles to Cuba in the first place.

Finally there is "What If Watergate Were Still Just an Upscale Address?" which like the U-2 piece isn't exactly allo-historical. However, it likewise makes up for this fact with a wealth of detailed consequences.

As one can see, I have mixed feelings about this book. Ultimately, the good outweighs the bad, and I can honestly recommend it to history and alternate history lovers. That said, I think that the overall direction of this series and the consistency and methodology of the contributions need to be seriously considered before any future releases. As such, I know that I will turn a more critical eye to any future books, and will probably hesitate before making a purchase.

Jake Mohlman

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