What Ifs? of American History: Eminent Historians Imagine What Might Have Been - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0399150919 ISBN 13: 9780399150913

Publisher: Putnam Adult, 2003

Synopsis

A collection of essays on pivotal moments in American history, written by award-winning historians, includes Caleb Carr on America had there been no Revolution, Antony Beevor on Eisenhower's possible capture of Berlin before the Soviets' arrival, and Robert Dallek on what might have happened if JFK had not been assassinated. 60,000 first printing.

About this title

About the Author:

Robert Cowley is the founding editor of MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History, which has been nominated for a National Magazine Award for General Excellence. He is the editor of What If ?(tm), volumes I and II, No End Save Victory, and With My Face to the Enemy.

From Publishers Weekly:

The 18 contributors to this latest installment of the What If? series are indeed eminent: they include David McCullough, Tom Fleming and Robert Dallek (though series editor Cowley might have found more than one woman for his roster). For historians whose works are bound by facts, there must have been pleasure in letting their imaginations engage instead in speculation, though the "shadow universe" presented here is still rooted in the historical record and reflects back on it. In "Might the Mayflower not have sailed?", for example, Theodore K. Rabb enumerates a series of "strokes of luck" that enabled the Pilgrims to come to America, including Sir Edwin Sandys's propitious takeover of the Virginia Company. And in "What if Watergate Was Still Just an Upscale Address?", Lawrence Malkin and John Stacks wonder what would have happened Nixon hadn't been forced to resign the presidency. Americans would be less cynical, they speculate, and, more surprisingly, the U.S. might have had a national health insurance plan. Other essays ask fascinating questions about the the Civil War and the Cuban missile crisis. A pleasure for history buffs longing to engage in some footloose imagination, this book drives home the fact that even momentous political events can hinge on a few uncontrollable events. Maps and b&w photos.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Putnam Adult
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0399150919
• ISBN 13: 9780399150913
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320
• Editor: Robert Cowley