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What Might Have Been: Imaginary History from Twelve Leading Historians
 
 
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What Might Have Been: Imaginary History from Twelve Leading Historians (Hardcover)

by Introduced and Edited by Andrew Roberts (Author) "'Untune one string,' says Ulysses in Troilus and Cressida, 'And, hark! what discord follows; each thing meets in mere oppugnancy.' ..." (more)
1.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson (1 April 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0297848771
  • ISBN-13: 978-0297848776
  • Product Dimensions: 21.8 x 14.5 x 2.5 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 1.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 126,209 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #2 in  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Alternate History
    #14 in  Books > History > Other Historical Subjects > Historians > Roberts, Andrew

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Product Description

Kathryn Hughes, THE MAIL ON SUNDAY
'Counterfactual history, when deployed as expertly as it is herre, reminds us that what seems inevitable is actually often a matter of chance.'

Review
'Stimulating, provocative and playful, WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN, is everything on looks for in a collection of essays.' (Graham Stewart LITERARY REVIEW )

'a gifted team of authors evnisages alternative historical scenarios. As has become the custome of the genre, some of the contributors submit sober and measured assessments, while others spot a chance for playfulness.' (Blair Worden SUNDAY TELEGRAPH )

'Roberts himself contributes both the best essay in the collection.... and an affable, perceptive introduction which he deploys to muse on the nature of such virtual historical projections.' (Roger Hutchinson THE SCOTSMAN )

'Andrew Roberts has recruited a dozen historians to pose, and answer, some of these What If, and some of their answers are as good as the questions.' (Nichola Harman THE SPECTATOR )

'All twelve essasy are good fun, and they will make the reader think - and that is, after all, what all good history, 'factual' or 'counterfactual', should be about (TG Otte TLS )

'The role that chance can play (in history) is well worth reasserting, and it is done here with much vigour and expertise.' (Philip Ziegler DAILY TELEGRAPH )

'this intriguing and entertaining anthology.' (Andrew Holgate THE SUNDAY TIMES )

'Buy the book and read it for fun.' (Roy Hattersley THE OBSERVER )

'many of the essays are amusing.' (Tristram Hunt NEW STATESMAN )

'WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN is a highly enjoyable read.' (Andrew Lynch SUNDAY BUSINESS POST )

'Counterfactual history, when deployed as expertly as it is herre, reminds us that what seems inevitable is actually often a matter of chance.' (Kathryn Hughes THE MAIL ON SUNDAY )

See all Product Description
Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
'Untune one string,' says Ulysses in Troilus and Cressida, 'And, hark! what discord follows; each thing meets in mere oppugnancy.' Read the first page
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What Might Have Been: Imaginary History from Twelve Leading Historians
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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
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 (1)
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2 star:
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1 star:
 (3)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
1.8 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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3 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Stick to other What If books, 16 Jul 2007
By R. Servini "robs882002" (england) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I was rather disappointed with this book I found it rather difficult to read since it does not state how this alterative could have arisen.

The other `What if' series provide a background to the actual events and a number alternative courses. It also makes clear that the planners had more workable alternatives suggested to them, at the time, but these were not taken up/or rejected.

This book just launches into an alternative history without any background or why it arrived at its conclusions and just writes the alternative events as if they are fact and just sticks to the one alternative as though this is the only one that could have been possible.
A typical example would be the Armada it just states that they were successful destroying the British ships (how?) and having a successful land force (why?) . It gives no indication of how they destroyed the British ships or how they would overcome British opposition it is just assumed that if the British suffered 1,000 injured infantry they would lay down arms and let the Spanish do what ever they liked. You might as well have said that the Spanish had martian help The book just ignores facts. You probably could get more fact from a historical novel than this rubbish. It is books like this that give serious historicans ammunition to say the alternative -`what if....' Series is cold fish.
Shame on the authors of this book.

The only good thing about this book is the introduction. Which gives a strong and convincing case for having an alternative history. The rest of the book provides a good demonstration for not having an alternative version of history.

Roberto
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3 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Misleadingly titled propaganda, 16 Sep 2007
By Mr. J. Halligan "F101Voodoo" (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Atrocious rubbish.
A more honest title might have been "How things might have happened." Instead of exploring the long term implications of certain events happening differently, the authors merely detail why these actual events may have occurred. So in "What If Charles I had Won The Civil War?" we are treated to a (boring) list of alternative events rather than considering whether, for example, the Glorious Revolution would have taken place.
But the worst thing about this book is that it is a smug, self-satisfied justification of neo-con values. Robert's introduction includes a vicious attack on left wing and Marxist historians and basically continues from there. The last lines in the book by David Frum are laughable.
"Can you imagine if Bush had been in charge?"
"Yeah what a disaster."
I write this on the same day as it has been announced that 1.2million Iraqis have died in the war.
Still, what can you expect from a man responsible for a book titled "The Right Man: The Surprise Presidency of George W. Bush" (Still can't figure out whether that was a joke or not).
I suppose I should have known what to expect when I saw Conrad Black amongst the contributors. Maybe he can do a sequel from his prison cell?
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5 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Dissapointing Second Half Mired In Political Bias, 29 Jan 2006
By buddingpasha "A multilateralist" (London, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: What Might Have Been: Imaginary History from Twelve Leading Historians (Phoenix Paperback Series) (Paperback)
I have read others in this series but I have to say the second half of the book by the contributions of Simon Heffer, Conrad Black and David Frum. I am astonished that these guys feature as contributors. Predictably Simon Heffer embarks on a tirade against Michael Heseltine, Conrad Black assures us if the US entry in WW2 and David Frum assures us that Bush was/is best as leader of the Free World. Keep your day jobs guys and leave your predjudices there, you get enough air time there!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Familiar history imagined as something completely different...
`Counterfactual' history - what might have been - is a fascinating approach to events of the past, one that can shed new light on why what actually took place happened as it did... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Jeremy Bevan

2.0 out of 5 stars A disapointment
Books of this sort rely heavily upon the unbiased views of the contributors. Unfortunately, this book starts well but falls away seriously as it moves into more modern history,... Read more
Published on 21 Nov 2006 by Simon Welch

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