However, the Nazis have the hydrogen bomb, which also gives them the technology to fuel super-fast air travel and colonize space. (1999), edited by Robert Cowley, historians pondered what would happen if historical events had turned out differently. What if the Nile River had dried up thousands of years ago? Like everything else in this list, it’s all speculation. Hence, fairies and other magical beings exist on this world, and the clockwork technology of Ancient Rome advanced to the stage where, in the age of Cromwell, steam trains are already running through England. Learning that Britain has broken the Enigma code, however, the Nazis play it safe and make peace with the west. Effect: The end of nuclear proliferation... except in the U.S. Lindbergh is remembered as a national villain – in Roth’s opinion, the reputation he deserves. What if President Abraham Lincoln survived the assassination attempt? Explanation: Though usually considered a branch of science fiction, alternate history stories have their own awards, the Sidewise Awards for Alternate History, which have been presented to some renowned novels, including Harry Turtledove’s How Few Remain, mentioned above, and in 1999, Brendan DuBois’ Resurrection Day. Fantasy worlds 3. Effect: The Union would be over… forever. What if all human lifespans were limited to 35 years? Effect: Ronald Reagan is assassinated in 1985 (obviously). What if a spate of alien visitations had made the world aware of life on other planets as early as the 13th Century? (The idea of a fictitious book, telling the “real” history, was also used by Kingsley Amis in The Alteration. When Christianity finally goes West, it is absorbed harmlessly into the multi-religious society. This happens because, in this world, Giuseppe Zangara’s attempted assassination of President-elect Roosevelt is successful. What if President John F Kennedy survived the assassination attempt? Alternate History. Many of these were popular questions — What if the Americans lost the Revolutionary War? Alternate History imagines what would happen if history had gone differently. It would have severely weakened the German army, and hastened the end of the war. And The Man in the High Castle is among the most well-known books that tackle that question. With Napoleon ailing, the French government would nearly cease functioning, attacked from all sides. SBNation.com and the SB Nation NFL teams sites play out various scenarios. Lee Harvey Oswald didn’t shoot Kennedy, but shot Mayor McCheese instead. Effect: Christianity would continue to rule the world. (The essay ended there – on a cliffhanger.). In his novel Idlewild (1995), journalist Mark Lawson devised a world where Monroe survived her “suicide attempts,” President Kennedy survived his assassination attempt, and they continued their notorious (if historically unproven) affair for another 30 years. What if Neanderthals had not become extinct? In the Second Great War (1941-1944), three American cities and six European cities are destroyed in nuclear attacks. His presidency, the article speculated, would be so disastrous that Democrats wouldn’t occupy the White House for at least another 25 years. Lennon’s obscurity, of course, ensures that he is not killed by a fan in 1980. In the South, post-war measures lead to runaway inflation, poverty, and the victory of the violent Freedom party. NOT debates about present-day politics. Many, many alternate history ask how the world would be different if Germany had won World War II. 187. In simple terms, AH is a non mainstream explanation for actual history. And, thankfully, Earth’s long, long history … Explanation: The previous list of alternate histories included a historian’s view of what would have happened if the Confederacy had won the Civil War. Even though I expected that the alternative worlds will be described more thoroughly, I eventually realized that I am enjoying the book as it was - a chronicle of real events spiced with an exciting view of alternative turn-out of the course of the history. “Tropical Thunder” Alternate History. What if the Allies invaded the Japanese mainland at the climax of WWII? Explanation: In Robert Harris’ novel Fatherland (the basis for a 1994 TV movie), Nazi Germany successfully invades Russia in 1942. Texas, unhappy with the new arrangement, declares its independence in 1878. He did get a few things wrong, however—such as having a clock strike in Julius Caesar, 1500 years before such clocks were invented. These stories usually contain "what if" scenarios at crucial points in history and present outcomes other than those in the historical record. When Henry tries to usurp his nephew’s throne, he is stopped in a papal war. e.g. According to The Sun, after threatening to reveal an affair with Robert Kennedy, she was drugged, brainwashed and taken to Australia, where she lives the "simple life of a sheep rancher's wife.". Then there was the American supermarket tabloid The Sun. Hitchens didn’t explain how Nixon would avoid the Watergate scandal, or where Quayle would obtain his debating skills. What if the edge state policy succeeded and a defensive pact was formed between Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Poland? After all these years of conflict, such a move would fill Congress with some of the USA’s greatest enemies. Jonny Wilkes talks to Professor Alan Forrest about whether Napoleon's victory at Waterloo would have been enough to secure a remarkable return to power – or if it would only have delayed the … An alternate history novel is mentioned by the protagonists in which WW 3 was averted, though needless to say it doesn't have the Kennedy's being assassinated either. Well-meaning as the organization was, Vidal blames it for causing Germany’s struggles in the 1920s, paving the way for the rise of Hitler. Or get 4 … What if Napoleon defeated the armies of the Seventh Coalition at the Battle of Waterloo? The USA (or what’s left of it) moves its capital to Columbus, Ohio — now called  Columbia — but can no longer afford to buy Alaska from the Russians. What if Napoleon had succeeded in invading Russia? Set in a version of America that is ruled by Japan and Germany, with a neutral zone in between, this book is gets a little loopy, but it’s a classic of the genre. What if the Australian Aborigines had developed a civilization as technologically advanced as those of the Western World? The Southern forces annex Washington, DC — renaming it the District of Dixie. Later volumes were set in the Great War, in which the CSA allies with Britain and France, and the U.S. – still bitter over the two Civil Wars – joins forces with Germany. Determined to prevent it, he goes back in history to seek its origins. After fighting together in two world wars, the three nations are reunified in 1960 – a century after South Carolina’s secession had led to the Civil War in the first place. 1 1 11. comments. As imagined by Empire scribe Richard Luck, Scorsese would retitle the film The Happy Hooker, and it would become a hard-hitting study of life on the streets. Disaster Alternative History: list centered in natural and human-made disasters, real, changed or completely created by the author. or what if Michael Portillo had become the British Prime Minister. Here’s a list of 50 questions to excite your imagination, invalidate your history textbooks, and infuriate your stuffy childhood history teacher. Alternate history fiction is a style of fictional narrative where the author changes one key element or elements about established history and then concocts a story that results from this change. Some of the stories out there are a mixture of the serious and silly, but others are a plausible look at how a few key decisions could have changed the world. Sadly, it is too late for the South to rejoin the Union. of American History (2003), Robert Dallek, a Kennedy biographer, suggested that Kennedy would have successfully pulled out of Vietnam, and that he would be popular enough at the end of his second term to be succeeded by his brother, the Attorney-General Robert Kennedy. Playwright Douglas Mendin, in a 1992 story for Entertainment Weekly, imagined that Monroe would survive, dedicate herself to serious acting, and win an Oscar in 1965, with no make-up and her hair dyed brown. Under international pressure, the Southern states gradually abolish slavery. Posted by 15 hours ago. If Dinosaurs were still alive? For example, what if the Confederacy had won the American Civil War, what if the Germans had won World War II, what if Al Gore had won the 2000 US Presidential Election. Alternative history definition is - fiction that is based on history and that explores what might have happened if certain historical events, figures, etc., had been different —called also alternate history. Explanation: In a 1960 article published in Look magazine, author and Civil War buff MacKinlay Kantor envisioned a history in which the Confederate forces won the Civil War in 1863, forcing the despised President Lincoln into exile. 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