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Best Alternate History Stories of the 20th Century

Creators: Harry Turtledove, Martin Harry Greenberg
Publisher: Ballantine Bks.,U.S.
Category: Book

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Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

3 reviews
Sales Rank: 17007

Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 432
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3

ISBN: 0345439902
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.087660805
EAN: 9780345439901
ASIN: 0345439902

Publication Date: November 2, 2001
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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Also Available In:

•	Unbound - Best Alternate History of the 20th Centry
•	Library Binding - The Best Alternate History Stories of the 20th Century

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Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars

A good collection September 6, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

This is on the whole a pretty good selection of stories for anyone with an interest in alternative history. I presonally liked them all to varying degrees, and some pose some interesting ideas. I'll try and summarise them all and you can make up your own mind if the selection appeals to you, but I would recommend it.

'The Lucky Strike', Kim Stanley Robinson (35 pages) - The dropping of the first atomic bomb on Japan in WWII.

'The Winterberry', Nicholas A DiChario (9 pages) - JFK's diary written as an old man.

'Islands in the Sea', Harry Turtledove (26 pages) - The Byzantine khan chooses between Christianity and Islam in AD769.

'Suppose they gave a Peace', Susan Schwartz (27 pages) - An American family wait for news from their son in the Vietnam war.

'All the Miriad Ways', Larry Niven (10 pages) - A detective investigates a death in a reality where travel between alternative paths in history is possible.

'Through Road no Whither', Greg Bear (6 pages) - A rather odd tale about two Nazi officers after Germany won WWII.

'Manassas, Again', Gregory Benford (15 pages) - A war between robots and humans.

'Dance Band on the Titanic', Jack L Chalker (22 pages) - A man takes a job with an unusual ferry company.

'Bring the Jubilee', Ward Moore (99 pages) - A story about time travel and the American Civil War that is a bit long for this book, but get interesting towards the end.

'Utopia', Poul Anderson (19 pages) - A man from a civilisation derived from Ancient Greece visits a Scandinavian culture in a modern time period.

'The Undiscovered', William Sanders (27 pages) - William Shakespeare lives among Native Americans.

'Mozart in Mirrorshades', Bruce Stirling and Lewis Shiner (17 pages) - A wormhole to another branch of history is used to pipe oil from 18th Century Salzberg to a future time.

'The Death of Captain Future', Allen Steele (43 pages) - Not really alternative history, in my opinion, as it deals with a spaceship responding to a distress call on an asteroid (although it's a good sci-fi story).

'Moon of Ice', Brad Linaweaver (59 pages) - A translation of Goebbels' diary concerning Hitler's funeral in 1965, among other things.

4 out of 5 stars

A mixed bag, but very good overall February 13, 2004
15 out of 15 found this review helpful

This book is a collection of fourteen short stories, all revolving around an alternate history, one where an event changed the world we know. As with all anthologies, this one is something of a mixed bag. Personally, I liked Islands in the Sea by Harry Turtledove for its fascinating grip on how things might have been. Suppose They Gave a Peace by Susan Shwartz is probably my favorite, as it does exercise the mind, showing how a change in history might have made things not necessarily better, but certainly much different.

I suppose that it is for that reason that I did not like The Lucky Strike by Kim Stanley Robinson. It is a look at what might have been had the Enola Gay crashed, leaving its deadly mission to another plane; with this change one man stands against the evil Democrat in the White House, stopping America from sparking the nuclear arms race. The story was gripping, but the ending was cliched and frightfully predictable. One change gives me the world I want--a mindset that I find irritating in some alternate history stories. The rest, however, fall somewhere in between.

I must say that though there was one story that I did not like, they very all very well written. Though my taste may be different than yours, I can definitely say that if you like alternate history, then you will like this anthology!

5 out of 5 stars A stunning and thought provoking collection. January 22, 2002
19 out of 21 found this review helpful

I thought I'd give this book a try, as I looked sidelong at the cover. Was I in for a pleasant surprise! There are a few minor (and short) turkeys in the collection, but that doesn't detract from the fact that this book lives up to it's name. Collected alternative history stories that are the best I've ever read. Favourites being what happened when the Lucky Strike dropped the Hiroshima bomb rather than Enola Gay, and 'Bring On The Jubilee' where the South won the American civil war. Really great read, strongly suggest you give it a go.