What If?: The World's Foremost Historians Imagine What Might Have Been

Essays by Stephen E. Ambrose, John Keegan, David McCullough, James M. McPherson, and others

A fascinating collection of never-before-published essays on the great turning points in world history written by the most renowned historians at work today.

Historians and inquisitive laymen alike love to ponder the dramatic "what ifs" of history. In these twenty-two original essays, scholars ask the tantalizing question: Where might we be if history had not unfolded the way it did? Their answers are surprising, and sometimes frightening, but always entertaining.

David McCullough imagines George Washington's ignoble end at the hands of the British if he had not made his escape from Long Island in August 1776. Writing about the Civil War, James M. McPherson suggests General Robert E. Lee could have moved into Union territory and the ultimate crossroads– Gettysburg–and won it all in 1862, if only his Special Order No. 191 had not been lost and turned over to General McClellan. Would the Union have been cleaved in half? Stephen Ambrose describes what might have happened if D-Day had failed. If the storm enveloping the Normandy coast in 1944 had become worse on June 6th, the invasion would have resulted in catastrophe.

Other essay topics include Alexander the Great's luck, the Spanish Armada's ill wind, Napoleon's overconfidence, Hirohito's missed opportunity, and Hitler's inflated ego. In addition to the twenty-two essays, fifteen "sidebars," or shorter pieces, cover even more "what ifs." Among the contributors are Stephen W. Sears, Thomas Fleming, Victor Davis Hanson, Lewis H. Lapham, William H. McNeill, Williamson Murray, Josiah Ober and Theodore K. Rabb.

edited by Robert Cowley

featuring maps and photographs throughout