First published 2004
Award-winning historian Andrew Roberts gathers leading scholars to explore history's great turning points. Each contributor examines their specialty through the lens of alternative outcomes. David Frum, former White House adviser to George W. Bush, explores how President Gore might have responded to September 11th. Conrad Black investigates American entry into World War II without Pearl Harbor as the catalyst. Simon Sebag Montefiore envisions Stalin abandoning Moscow in 1941, while Adam Zamoyski pictures Napoleon succeeding in his Russian campaign rather than facing retreat in 1812. The collection spans centuries of crucial moments, from the Spanish Armada's potential English landing to the Gunpowder Plot's success, from Benedict Arnold delivering Revolutionary War victory to Britain to Archduke Franz Ferdinand surviving Sarajevo. These expert historians demonstrate how fortune and chance have repeatedly altered civilization's trajectory, creating a parallel universe of possibilities both fascinating and terrifying.
Genres: history, 20th-century, 21st-century, alternate-history
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: alternate-universe, what-if
Setting: Moscow, Russia, United States, Sarajevo
Period: 1812, 1941, September 11th
224 pages · Hardcover · Orion Publishing