Harry
Turtledove introduced me to the whole alternate history genre way back in the
early nineties with The Guns of the South,
his brilliant take on the American Civil War.
Turtledove is all over the alternate history map with books that even include
aliens invading Earth during WWII, and the like, but my other favorite of his, Ruled Britannia, sees William
Shakespeare using his writing skills to motivate the populace to overthrow
their Spanish oppressors. It is only
fitting then that Mr. Turtledove is the editor of this collection of some of the
alternate history stories considered to be the best ones written last century.
The Best Alternate
History Stories of the 20th Century includes fourteen
stories (one of which is 100 pages long) that offer “what if” re-imaginings of
everything from the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan, to George McGovern’s
Vietnam-era election victory over Richard Nixon, to Shakespeare lost in the New
World and living with an Indian tribe, and on to more commonly-themed tales
involving a German victory in World War II and a Southern one in the Civil War.
 |
| Harry Turtledove |
The
longest, and oldest, of the stories (“Bring the Jubilee”) dates to 1952 and the
most recent (this collection was published in 2001) was written in 2000 – with
the majority of the tales having been first published in the eighties and
nineties. Some of the more recognizable
author names are: Harry Turtledove, Kim Stanley Robinson, Larry Niven, Greg
Bear, Poul Anderson, and Ward Moore.
My
personal favorite is one of the more oddball ones in the collection, a story by
Nicholas A. DiChario called “The Winterberry,” in which John F. Kennedy
survives the head-wounds he suffered in Dallas on November 22, 1963. It is a touching tale of innocence, family
love and loyalty, and overwhelming sadness.
Even if you never read another alternate history story, I think the ones
like this one – the non-military themed ones – will appeal to most any
reader. And, who knows? You just might find yourself intrigued enough
to read others in this fun genre.
Thank you for reviewing it, Sam! I will be adding it to my list of books to get from the library once the Double Dare challenge is over. I have to read some of my own books first, but as soon as I can, I will try to see if I can find this.
ReplyDeleteSo many alternate stories do involve war, different sides winning, don't they? I would think it's because so much of how we view history is through the lens of battles won and lost. It would be fun to have stories that don't involve war - like the movie with Gwyneth Paltrow (cannot remember the name right now!), where it hinges on what action she takes. Harder to do and show, but it would be interesting. It would have to do with exploring or inventing, something famous that people would generally know the outcome to.
Susan, are you referring to "Sliding Doors" on that Gwyneth Paltrow movie? I saw it...seems like maybe 10 years ago...and remember enjoying it but not much about it. I might have to grab it again. Thanks for reminding me about it.
ReplyDelete