alternate history -...
TRANSCRIPT
ALTERNATE HISTORYWhy It Is Worth Your Time
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ALTERNATIVE HISTORY
A genre of fiction consisting of stories that
are set in worlds in which history has diverged from
the actual history of the world.
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COULD BE RENAMED “WHAT IF” BOOKS
What if the Germans won World War II?
What if the Confederates won the Civil War?
What if the Cold War had become a nuclear war?
What if the British won the American Revolution?
What if President Kennedy was not assassinated?
What if Robert Kennedy was not assassinated?
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ALTERNATE HISTORY REQUIREMENTS*
The story must have a point of divergence from actual history prior to the time at which the author is writing.
A change that would alter history as it is known.
An examination of the ramifications of that change.
* According to Steven H. Silver a science fiction fan, bibliographer, publisher and editor.
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ANCIENT CONCEPT
Earliest example of alternate history is a section of a monumental history of ancient Rome written between 27-25 BC.
Entitled Ab Urbe Condita.
Contemplated an alternative 4th century BC in which Alexander the Great turned westward instead of eastward in extending his empire.
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MOST POPULARTHEMES
World War II and alternate histories in which the
Nazis or Japan win or the conflict is drastically
different.
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The novel follows the fortunes of the Roth family during the Lindbergh presidency, as antisemitism becomes more accepted in American life and Jewish-American families like the Roths are persecuted on various levels. Roth based his novel on the isolationist ideas espoused by Charles Lindbergh in real life as a spokesman for the America First Committee and his own experiences growing up in Newark, New Jersey.
The Plot Against AmericaPhilip Roth, Houghton Mifflin, 2004
The story begins in Nazi Germany, the Third Reich in April 1964, in the week leading up to Adolf Hitler's 75th birthday. The plot follows detective Xavier March as he investigates the suspicious death of a high-ranking Nazi. As March uncovers more details he realises that he is caught up in a political scandal involving senior Nazi party officials, who are apparently being systematically murdered by the Gestapo eliminating the remaining officials who planned the Holocaust (of which the German people are not generally aware). The Gestapo catches up with March at the unmarked site of Auschwitz's completely dismantled extermination camp.
FatherlandRobert Harris, Hutchinson, 1992
The story of The Man in the High Castle, about daily life under totalitarian Fascist imperialism, occurs in 1962, fourteen years after the end of a longer Second World War (1939–1948). The victorious Axis Powers — Imperial Japan, Italy and Nazi Germany — are conducting intrigues against each other in North America, specifically in the former U.S., which surrendered to them once they had conquered Eurasia and destroyed the populaces of Africa. This was caused by Giuseppe Zangara's successful assassination of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in 1933
The Man in the High CastlePhilip K. Dick, Putnam, 1962
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The key change in history in the novel is that the Trinity nuclear test of July 16, 1945 in New Mexico fails. The novel goes on to depict the outcome of Operation Downfall--the 1946 invasion of Japan--by American forces.
The Burning MountainAlfred Coppel, Harcourt, Brack and Jovanovich, 1984
The novel is set in a United Kingdom fictionally conquered and occupied by Germany in winter 1941. The novel's title refers to the branch of the Nazi SS that controls Britain and deals with the investigation of a murdered physicist who was working with the resistance to remove the captured King from England. The outcome of the book involves the death of the King and an incident which will bring about war between Nazi Germany and the neutral United States.
SS-GBLen Deighton, Cape, 1978
The failure of the United States to provide aid to Britain in 1940 leads to a successful mission by Rudolf Hess as his entreaties for peace negotiations were accepted. Britain withdraws from World War II and the war continues mainly as a stalemate between Germany and the Soviet Union. The United States never became involved in the conflict, and Charles Lindbergh is president of a peaceful country seeking closer economic ties to the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.
FarthingJo Walton, Tor Books, 2006
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ALTERNATE HISTORY WEBSITES
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HTTP://ALTHISTORY.WIKIA.COM/WIKI/MAIN_PAGE
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HTTP://WWW .ALTERNATEHISTORY.COM/DISCUSSION/
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HTTP://GROUPS.GOOGLE.COM/GROUP/SOC.HISTORY.WHAT-IF/TOPICS?PLI=1
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TELEVISION
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The science fiction television show Sliders presented alternate histories under the science-inspired guise of quantum-navigating the multiverse. The vast majority of alternate Americas in most episodes are nasty dystopias, although sometimes this is not evident at first.
Sliders1995-2000
In Lost, the characters time travel to 1977 and attempt to create an alternate history. However, while the only intended ramification was for Flight 815 to land in Los Angeles, instead, it is revealed that their actions were the cause of the crash, ultimately.
Lost2004-2010
Using this theme several times, including The City on the Edge of Forever, this episode involved the crew of the starship Enterprise discovering a portal through space and time, which leads to Dr. McCoy's accidentally altering history resulting in a different World War II outcome and requiring the death of a love interest of Captain Kirk’s in order to return to the “normal” timeline.
Star Trek - The City on the Edge of ForeverApril 6, 1967
Major Robert Gaines, orbiting earth has a systems malfunction and blacks out, waking up on Earth. Inconsistencies quickly pop up. His own daughter does not recognize him, and everyone keeps calling him Colonel when he knows he's a Major. He tries to return to his space capsule, but blacks out again and finds himself back in orbit, but lands safely. He believes it was simply a nightmare, but controllers on the ground receive another transmission — from Colonel Robert Gaines…
Twilight Zone - The ParallelMarch 14, 1963
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OTHER BOOKS
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