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Virtual History: Alternatives and Counterfactuals

Virtual History: Alternatives and Counterfactuals

List Price: $17.50
Your Price: $11.90
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Interesting topic, uneven quality
Review: The book is an interesting attempt at answering the "what if" question in selected historical events. The only problem I find is the uneven quality of the essays. The best by far is Ferguson's paper on the First World War. Some essays are almost boring. The essay on Nazi England is just an overview of the people who would be sympathetic to or aligned with the Nazis. It does not provide any interesting arguments. If you are very interested in history buy the paperback edition. It is not a book worth spending too much money on.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: What history is all about
Review: This is a collection of essays by serious historians who have plotted "virtual histories" based on the premise that one key event happened differently than in reality. (one complaint: too centered on the English-speaking world) Convincing arguments that Charles I had everything going right for him, that the American Revolution was a sheer fluke that almost nobody wanted, that Britain should have allowed Germany to win the First World War, and that the Soviet state still had many decades of life ahead of it when Gorbachev arrived, are presented with gusto. Other essays are not really counterfactual at all, and should not have been included. The editor's introduction is also too long and contains a lot of ranting about teleology and contingency equations--ignore it. Despite these holes, the book is compulsive reading for history fans.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: What history is all about
Review: This is a collection of essays by serious historians who have plotted "virtual histories" based on the premise that one key event happened differently than in reality. (one complaint: too centered on the English-speaking world) Convincing arguments that Charles I had everything going right for him, that the American Revolution was a sheer fluke that almost nobody wanted, that Britain should have allowed Germany to win the First World War, and that the Soviet state still had many decades of life ahead of it when Gorbachev arrived, are presented with gusto. Other essays are not really counterfactual at all, and should not have been included. The editor's introduction is also too long and contains a lot of ranting about teleology and contingency equations--ignore it. Despite these holes, the book is compulsive reading for history fans.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Virtual History, edited by Niall Ferguson, was, quite frankly, a disappointment. The premise of the book was to explore possible histories for counterfactuals based on actions that were considered by the actors at the time, thus eliminating many of the more far-fetched possibilities. The editor is the author of some excellent books on especially economic history; "The Pity of War" is especially worthy of the reader's attention. However, in my opinion "Virtual History" misses the mark. After a rather ponderous ninety page introduction, there is a series of chapters on various periods, more history than virtual history and remarkably parochial in their outlook. Certainly English readers would be much more interested than the rest of us regarding such subjects as what would have ensued if the English king Charles I had kept his throne, or if a home rule for Ireland bill were passed in the English parliament in 1912. In fact, one wonders why this particular book was published in the U.S. It is hoped that in the future, Ferguson will turn his very considerable talents back to what he does best: ecooonomic history.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Not up to the caliber of Ferguson's prior efforts
Review: What else can I say?

This book is extraordinarily dry and verbose. There is very little "alternate history" here.

It really is best described as a work about other works of alternate history, aka Stephen King's "Danse Macabre".

As a big history buff, I did not enjoy this and the last few chapters were forced reading.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Not up to the caliber of Ferguson's prior efforts
Review: What else can I say?

This book is extraordinarily dry and verbose. There is very little "alternate history" here.

It really is best described as a work about other works of alternate history, aka Stephen King's "Danse Macabre".

As a big history buff, I did not enjoy this and the last few chapters were forced reading.


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