|
Sensible
people don't give much thought to what the world would be like if the
British had won the War of 1812, or if radio had never been invented.
|
I am not one of those people. |
T here is a surprisingly large Alternative History literature, on the Internet and off it. A good place to start might be The Alternative History Travel Guides , which has both excellent content and lots of links. Pteranodon's View is remarkable not just for Alternative History but as a general history resource. The links there to alternative history resources on the Internet are also good.
The most comprehensive source may be the Alternative History Web Ring, of which this site is a member. The menu for that is below.
There are also two Usenet Newsgroups, SOC.HISTORY.WHAT-IF and ALT.HISTORY.WHAT-IF , whose users go on about this kind of thing all the time. Most of the following material, in fact, started as Usenet postings.
Anno
Dracula
(A review of Kim Newman's novel, based on the premise that Dracula had married
the widowed Queen Victoria. This book makes it unnecessary to ever read
another vampire story.)
If the Loyalists Had Won the Spanish Civil War....
Time
on My Hands
(A review of a novel by Peter Delacorte that shows how wonderful life would
be if Ronald Reagan had never been president.)
Altscript
(This started as an alternative history of English spelling in the 20th
century, but it shows every sign of getting out of hand. A disclaimer is
in order: I am a member of an organization called the Simplified Spelling Society . The SSS
really does promote spelling reform, but they are not to blame for Altscript.)
The
Xin Dynasty of 1916?
(An ambitious general tried to establish a new dynasty in China after the
Revolution of 1911. Here I consider what would have happened if he had succeeded.)
Cthuluism
and the Cold War
(A Halloween piece.)
What
If the Second Temple Had Survived AD 70?
(The answer is that there would be no Israel in the 20th century. It's a
long story.)
The
Pity of War
(A review of Niall Ferguson's wrong-headed but fascinating study of the
First World War and the possible historical alternatives.)
Virtual
History
(This collection of "Alternatives and Counterfactuals," edited by Niall
Ferguson, is the real deal when it comes to serious alternative history.)
C.S.
Lewis
(An Alternative Obituary.)
The
Great Disappointment of 1844
(Do not expect too much of the end of the world.)
The
Domination
(So, you wanted a sustainable world, did you?)
The
Man in the High Castle
(The Iliad and the Odyssey of Alternative History.)
