- Hardcover: 376 pages
- Publisher: Politico's Publishing Ltd (2 Oct 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1842750690
- ISBN-13: 978-1842750698
- Product Dimensions: 19 x 13.4 x 4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 859,515 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Synopsis
This collection of 20 political counterfactuals imagines what would have happened if Michael Portillo had kept his seat in 1997; Margaret Thatcher had resigned over the Westland affair; and if Lee Harvey Oswald had missed?
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The 'what if?'s of politics,
By
This review is from: Prime Minister Portillo and Other Things that Never Happened: A Collection of Political Counterfactuals (Hardcover)
In twenty-one articles, each written by a different author, this book covers almost every 'what if?' in British 20th century political history. Different essays are of differing interest but almost all well-argued and written - from events which really did almost happen, like Callaghan calling an election in 1978, to somewhat unlikely events such as Iain Dale's friend Portillo becoming prime minister in 2001. All involve an element of going over the facts of what actually happened and then speculating on how things could easily have been different. Although some use more fantasy than others, there's a lot of factual content, as well as counter-factual.The different authors make it difficult to generalise about the style of the book. Personally I found most of the essays readable and interesting with a few notable exceptions - Bernard Ingham's treatment of 'What if Thatcher had resigned over Westland?' disappoints, and Simon Burns' essay about 'What if Lee Harvey Oswald had missed?' is very dry. However, by and large, if you're a political junkie, or if you're a fan of other counter-factual history books, you surely won't be disappointed. There's something for everyone, left and right alike.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Quality Alt-Hist,
By Edwin Dion (Tynemouth, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Prime Minister Portillo and Other Things that Never Happened: A Collection of Political Counterfactuals (Hardcover)
'Prime Minister Portillo' is a book, primarily, for British political geeks. A huge range of 'what-ifs' of the last fifty-plus years of British politics are covered, ranging from the obvious, (What if Ted Heath had resigned in 1974?; What if the SDP-Liberal Alliance had finished second in terms of the national vote in 1983?) to the more obscure. (What if Roy Jenkins had joined the Liberal Party in 1981?)
In a genre of writing which can often descend into farce if it isn't handled intelligently, these speculative excercises are almost all, without exception, of a high standard, written fluently and by people who know their stuff; there is in most cases an impressive range of footnotes provided, almost a mini-bibliography in some cases. Only occassionally does the individual chapter writer not entirely catch the spirit of the enterprise, such as with Sir Bernard Ingham's chapter on the Westland Crisis. So too, there is a much less surer grasp of things the further we travel from recent British history, but even in these instances there is nothing that can be roundly described as sub-par. You'll like some chapters more than others, but they are nearly always well-crafted. All in all, it's an absorbing and thoughtful read.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable and fun for those who like British politics,
By
This review is from: Prime Minister Portillo and Other Things that Never Happened: A Collection of Political Counterfactuals (Hardcover)
If you are interested in politics - most especially British politics - and you like the idea of exploring 'what if?' questions then this book will be a good and entertaining read. It is a little uneven and the best chapters are ones that take on the alternative history with both knowledge and a sense of fun (who can resist Margaret Thatcher losing her seat after her failure in the 1978 General Election to up and coming left-wing lawyer Cherie Booth?). There is a certain amount of knowledge of what actually happened needed, although in most cases that is explained either before or after the invented history.
There are one too many chapters about the 1979 General Election and musings on the battles between the Liberals and Labour to control the centre left of British politics (though congratulations to the several contributors who saw a Conservative / Liberal coalition as likely when writing in 2003) and Bernard Ingham's chapter about Westland simply reads as one long 'why I was right about everything' justification. However, the rest are all well worth reading and the final essay itself, about Prime Minister Portillo has a lovely twist to end the book.
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