First published 2011
Three moments that could have changed everything. In December 1960, a suicide bomber targeting John F. Kennedy hesitates when he sees Jackie and Caroline at the door. In June 1968, Robert Kennedy wins California but gets redirected through a hotel kitchen instead of meeting supporters in another ballroom. In October 1976, Gerald Ford faces a moment that could alter his presidency. Greenfield constructs these alternate histories from memoirs, oral histories, and fresh interviews with journalists and key political figures. Each scenario explores how a single decision or chance encounter might have reshaped American politics. The narratives reveal the fragile nature of historical outcomes and the razor-thin margins that separate triumph from tragedy in the political arena.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, 21st-century, political-thriller, alternate-history, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: alternate-history, what-if
Setting: California, United States
Period: 1960, 1968, 1976
434 pages · Hardcover · G.P. Putnam's Sons