What Might Have Been?: Imaginary History from Twelve Leading Historians [Hardcover]

The overall impression I was left with was that the essays, while never less than intriguing and enjoyable, are of varying quality, and varying levels of accessibility. The stand out, though, is probably Adam Zamoyski's piece on Napoleon winning in Russia, simply by withdrawing from the burning Moscow, and sensibly bedding his army down for the winter, rather than delaying and eventually embarking on the disastrous retreat. The consequences for Europe of Napoleon staying in power with an intact Grand Army would of course have been far reaching. This little essay is a wonderful companion piece to '1812 - Napoleon's Fatal March on Moscow', Zamoyski's recent book on the subject, which I enjoyed very much.

One very small point of irritation was Andrew Roberts' clanging reference in his introduction to 'Sliding Doors', the lame Gwyneth Paltrow film. He obviously wasn't aware of 'Blind Chance', the great Krzysztof Kieslowski film made in Poland at the beginning of the 1980s (and therefore of great historical interest) which the former shamelessly 'borrowed' from in its structure of alternative life outcomes for the same character.

However if, like me, the idea of turning points and little decisions by individuals going on to change the world in random, unpredictable ways appeals to you, then this little collection is well worth a read. It may be overstating the case to say that it should be taken too seriously as history, but it's an interesting book nonetheless which will appeal to students of history and general readers alike.

Articles that consider different outcomes for well known historic events are necessarily works of fiction. But in some of the contributions to this book, I wonder whether I am reading something of educational value or an episode of some TV cartoon. David Frum has President Gore hesitating over sending the US army into Afghanistan because the tanks will emit too much CO2. "Whatever we do, I want this to be the first environmentally sensitive war in history. Wes, you make sure our troops know: they're to watch out for migratory birds when they march. And no littering!"

I can't tell whether this is intended as a serious interpretation of what Gore would have done, or a ridiculing of Gore's ideas. I am not sure whether the fact that I am in doubt is my shortcoming or the author's. But if it's the latter it isn't the only place in the book that is scathing. Simon Heffer makes a convincing argument that had Mrs Thatcher been among those killed when the IRA bombed a hotel in Brighton, Michael Heseltine would have been her successor. But he then goes on to shred the man, as "showing, again, a resolute determination not to learn from the mistakes of previous prime ministers". I hold no brief for Heseltine but to me the tone here is just nasty.

It is the efforts of the editor, Andrew Roberts, that are in the most questionable taste. Pages 3 to 8 of the introduction are almost unreadable, because - like this, except some are several lines long - nearly every paragraph has an aside in parenthetical dashes which is meant to be an interesting affirmation of or exception to the main argument. The device is used so much that the result is wide eyed and jerky and leaves one wondering if there is a main argument at all.

In his own article, on Lenin being shot at the Finland Station, he Russifies his name to Andrei Simonovich Robertski. He identifies the assassin as Lev Harvievic Oswalt, "whose motive has never been satisfactorily established since he himself was murdered in police custody the very next day by a man with underworld connections". Is this scholarly, or is it corny?

And is citing that "if he had not sat next to the biographer Leonie Frieda in the Poissonerie restaurant in Sloane Avenue, she might not be his girlfriend today", in the biographical blurb on the dust jacket and repeated in the publisher's review here on Amazon, charmingly romantic or just plain cheesy?

These lapses of judgement (in my opinion of course, which is not necessarily anyone else's) are unfortunate companions to intriguing and persuasive contributions from others, notably from Anne Somerset on what would have happened if the Spanish Armada had landed in England, and Anthonia Fraser on the Gunpowder Plot succeeding. Perhaps it's easier to write alternative history about topics that are further in the past.