Rating: 
Summary: Fun, But Not As Good As the 1st Volume
Review: Following the vast success of the first What If collection, editor Cowley returns with another collection with a slightly different subtitle. Instead of "The World's Foremost Military Historians Imagine What Might Have Been" we now have "Eminent Historians." This is presumably to underscore the presence of nonmilitary essays and not a commentary on a decline in the quality of the contributors. It's worth noting that there's a startling lack of women in the two volumes-historical novelist Ceceila Holland appears in both, but apparently counterfactualism is overwhelmingly the brief of male historians. In any event, the twenty-five essays proceed in chronological order, and are supported by outstanding maps.As with the earlier volume, I generally enjoyed the essays that concentrated on the older events more, perhaps because they are more removed from time and consciousness and thus are more plausible. While the essays are all entirely accessible, the are somewhat uneven in quality and on the whole seem a little short. In fact, one criticism is that in many cases, an excellent contextual setup trails off into very little counterfactual speculation. Still, each essay is useful as a minor history lesson if nothing else. A more minor annoyance is editor Cowley's one page introduction to each essay, which summarizes it and gives away the main points. While some of my favorite essays were those which speculated on Pontius Pilate's sparing of Jesus, the continued exploration embarked upon in the 15th century by a massive Chinese navy, Napoleon's invasion of North American, and an examination of how WWII might have proceeded had the Allies not cracked the Enigma code machine-others that looked at the effects of small bureaucratic or political shifts were equally intriguing. For example, Robert O'Connell's fascinating look at how bureaucratic interference "torpedoed" WWI Germany's exploitation of its massive and potentially devastating submarine warfare "gap." James Chace's essay on Henry Wallace's political career, and a presidency following FDR's death that could have been, is so interesting in its own right, that the counterfactual implications are almost incidental to one's enjoyment. Other essays are more clumsily conceived, such as one positing American without Nixon, Johnson, and Kennedy, and one on Adolf Hitler being tried at Nuremberg. While these have interesting historical nuggets, they aren't as imaginative or interesting as most of the collection. Consider if Martin Luther had been burned as a heretic, or if a ragtag Australian unit hadn't held off an overwhelming Japanese force in New Guinea bent on securing the airfield from which to launch an invasion of Australia, or if WWII had started a year earlier. Had Cowley cut the five weakest essays and given the space to expand the remaining essays, it would have been a stronger collection-however, it's still well worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: A Journey Begun. -Right foot, begs Left.
Review: I began reading this book with great expectations. It was the best of plans, it was the worst of follow-ups. Say, this was a book I never fought myself from putting down. eh? What's wrong here? I loved Cowley's first "What If?" book! And this one's "almost" OK. I love History, Military History, Science, Religion, Scientific-Fiction, and Groucho Marx. What happened to the mix here? Was it a lack of "studious historical homework" of some of the writers? Or can we fault "timid" historical writers not wanting to "bathe" in counter-factual speculation? Hmm. Was there a special difficulty in writing for "non-simple outcomes" because it wasn't about "simple military" events? I read all the other fine reviews. Each critique gets close to the point, except "where's the Beef?" Bullseye! It hit me plain. The Meat of the story wasn't Tasty. Cowley's chapter by chapter intros always said it ALL! One need only bypass the chapters. Sorry, but it's true. One needs good historical scholarship (the Beef), AND one experienced Science-Fiction writer to actually carry it off and "deliver the Beef" (the Spice) in counter-factual performance. (and it is a "Performance") Good ideas alone do not make "what if?" stick in your gut! Ask Sammuel Clemmens. Good Scientific-Fiction writing has always been about "what if?" anyway, and for a past history to "branch into different possible futures" the time travel "macguffen" was invented. (Curious, the original H.G. Wells "Time Machine" was invented just for folks to "believe" the possible future. Later SciFi simply writes in the future as we now believe in almost anything. "History" without a Story. TV diners without taste.) Where's the chef with the flair of Prof. Harold Hill? I want to believe! For a good past "Change" to create an edible future, one requires a good solid "Story" of "this is what you GET!". Ergo, the missing "Spice" for the "Beef". "Oh, I believe there's always gotta be some Spice, kid."
This edition is truly "eating light". Please Try Again. Use spice as well as good stock. And remember, just using a larger heavier plate does not necessarily endear a better palette. (Short stories in paperback are also quite good eating.) Bon appetite!
Rating: 
Summary: Great Book
Review: I think that What If? 2 is a very good book which explores various senarios and speculates what might have been. I definitely reccommend this book to any history lover.
Rating:
Summary: Counterfactuals, if they are credible, blow me away.
Review: If you love history, you probably have one. These two volumes are worth your time. It helps to know about what really happen & the various historian/authors usually supply background. Of course, unless you enjoy history, you're probably not reading this.
It's simple. Take a historical event & create a plausible alternate outcome. Three examples stood out for me. What if the Allies had lost on D-Day? The Germans throw the invasion back into the sea? It could have happened. Does the U.S. give up & turn it's attention to Japan? Does FDR get reelected? Mushroom clouds over Europe in 1945?
Pontius Pilate pardons Jesus instead of condeming him to death. Chtistainity is changed. No salvation through Christ's death on the cross. No cross, the ultimate symbol of the faith. Jesus dies of old age, confused, a great prophet maybe, but not the savior.
The French win the Franco-Prussian War or even if that stupid little war nevers occurs, history could have been profoundly changed. The unification of Germany could have been slowed down. The German Empire might not ever existed. Without that, a little skirmish in 1914 Europe would never have become World WarI. Without World War I, no World WarII, no Communism, no cold war.
Create your own scenario. Some of the histrians realy get into the aftermaths of their stories. Others not so much so, leaving you clamoring for more. But the reader or listener, can fill in the blanks. There are no right or wrong answers because it never happened.
Rating:
Summary: Counterfactuals, if they are credible, blow me away.
Review: If you love history, you probably have one. These two volumes are worth your time. It helps to know about what really happen & the various historian/authors usually supply background. Of course, unless you enjoy history, you're probably not reading this.
It's simple. Take a historical event & create a plausible alternate outcome. Three examples stood out for me. What if the Allies had lost on D-Day? The Germans throw the invasion back into the sea? It could have happened. Does the U.S. give up & turn it's attention to Japan? Does FDR get reelected? Mushroom clouds over Europe in 1945?
Pontius Pilate pardons Jesus instead of condeming him to death. Chtistainity is changed. No salvation through Christ's death on the cross. No cross, the ultimate symbol of the faith. Jesus dies of old age, confused, a great prophet maybe, but not the savior.
The French win the Franco-Prussian War or even if that stupid little war nevers occurs, history could have been profoundly changed. The unification of Germany could have been slowed down. The German Empire might not ever existed. Without that, a little skirmish in 1914 Europe would never have become World WarI. Without World War I, no World WarII, no Communism, no cold war.
Create your own scenario. Some of the histrians realy get into the aftermaths of their stories. Others not so much so, leaving you clamoring for more. But the reader or listener, can fill in the blanks. There are no right or wrong answers because it never happened.
Rating: 
Summary: This Book is Really About the Meaning of History
Review: Most alternative history texts are supposed to entertain as well as to instruct. When these texts are novelized counterfactuals--like any book by Harry Turtledove--the focus is on entertainment. However, when the ostensible purpose is simply to explore what might have been, then that author is crossing the gray line that separates fun from fact. In WHAT IF?, a select group of military historians each zoomed in on a critical turning point in battle history, and just as a train engineer can switch rails with the flip of a switch, so did each of these deflect factual events with a minor tinkering. The impact on the buying public was sufficiently jarring for a sequel, called unsurprisingly WHAT IF?:2 to also resonate. Here the focus is mostly, but not exclusively on matters military. Typically, a noted expert describes an actual event as it really happened. Then, this expert will introduce an historical wild-card, the future ramifications of which the expert will explore. There are twenty-five essays, beginning with the early death of Socrates, and continuing with essays that span centuries at a jump. The choice of topics is not unexpected in most cases. What if Jesus had not been crucified is one that has been contemplated eleswhere. Or what if William the Conqueror had himself been conquered at Hastings in 1066? Other issues are more original: What if Hitler had begun his war in 1938 when his Wehrmacht was less lethal than it would be one year later? Or what if Pope Pius XII had been more forceful in protesting the Holocaust? Most reviewers have considered the relative merits of individual essays. Some essays, one reviewer might argue, simply would have been most unlikely because of one historical reason or another. My focus is less on the legitimacy of one essayist's visual acumen or future hindsight and more on the sweep of alternate events that this text calls counterfactual history but is really playful history. When one reads that Jesus survived the crucifixion or that a defeated Hitler sat in the prisoner dock in Nurenberg, then one is forced to review history in much the same way that a professional historian might. What really did happen? What might have happened then becomes yet another isolated factor in what did. The thought processes, the logical sifting of cause and event, and the working out of an Asimovian sweep of Imperial Psychohistory then lead the reader into areas where only the gifted and daring historians tread. How each reader reacts to each essay is less a function of what the essayist brought to the historical table and more of what the reader himself can supply. In WHAT IF?:2 the reader is challenged to rethink long held assumptions of the iron grip of history and perhaps to find out that this iron is quite flexible after all.
Rating:
Summary: This Book is Really About the Meaning of History
Review: Most alternative history texts are supposed to entertain as well as to instruct. When these texts are novelized counterfactuals--like any book by Harry Turtledove--the focus is on entertainment. However, when the ostensible purpose is simply to explore what might have been, then that author is crossing the gray line that separates fun from fact. In WHAT IF?, a select group of military historians each zoomed in on a critical turning point in battle history, and just as a train engineer can switch rails with the flip of a switch, so did each of these deflect factual events with a minor tinkering. The impact on the buying public was sufficiently jarring for a sequel, called unsurprisingly WHAT IF?:2 to also resonate. Here the focus is mostly, but not exclusively on matters military. Typically, a noted expert describes an actual event as it really happened. Then, this expert will introduce an historical wild-card, the future ramifications of which the expert will explore. There are twenty-five essays, beginning with the early death of Socrates, and continuing with essays that span centuries at a jump. The choice of topics is not unexpected in most cases. What if Jesus had not been crucified is one that has been contemplated eleswhere. Or what if William the Conqueror had himself been conquered at Hastings in 1066? Other issues are more original: What if Hitler had begun his war in 1938 when his Wehrmacht was less lethal than it would be one year later? Or what if Pope Pius XII had been more forceful in protesting the Holocaust? Most reviewers have considered the relative merits of individual essays. Some essays, one reviewer might argue, simply would have been most unlikely because of one historical reason or another. My focus is less on the legitimacy of one essayist's visual acumen or future hindsight and more on the sweep of alternate events that this text calls counterfactual history but is really playful history. When one reads that Jesus survived the crucifixion or that a defeated Hitler sat in the prisoner dock in Nurenberg, then one is forced to review history in much the same way that a professional historian might. What really did happen? What might have happened then becomes yet another isolated factor in what did. The thought processes, the logical sifting of cause and event, and the working out of an Asimovian sweep of Imperial Psychohistory then lead the reader into areas where only the gifted and daring historians tread. How each reader reacts to each essay is less a function of what the essayist brought to the historical table and more of what the reader himself can supply. In WHAT IF?:2 the reader is challenged to rethink long held assumptions of the iron grip of history and perhaps to find out that this iron is quite flexible after all.
Rating:
Summary: What If in Deed....
Review: Perhaps you have read What If? which limits its attention to hypothetical situations throughout military history. In this sequel, Cowley assembles 25 speculative commentaries on both military and non-military situations. Their authors are either eminent historians or thoughtful non-scholars. They understand far better than most of their readers do what the limitations of such "What if?" speculations are. Heaven knows they are entertaining. Great fun indeed. But they also have substantial educational value because they are relentlessly thought-provoking. The erudition and intelligence of their authors also give them some degree of credibility: If indeed Pontius Pilate had spared Jesus or Adolph Hitler had been brought to trial after World War II ended, it is highly likely (or at least plausible) that what Carlos M.N. Eire and Roger Spiller hypothesize would in fact have happened pretty much as they suggest. Tom Wicker is the author of "If Lincoln Had Not Freed the Slaves" and makes abundant sense when delineating the probable impact on American history. Geoffrey C. Ward takes a somewhat different approach in "The Luck of Franklin Delano Roosevelt" as he exams seven "might-not-have-beens" on FDR's path to the presidency. Crowley provides a superb preface to each of the commentaries, followed by a brief biography of its author. With 25 different commentaries spanning almost 2,500 years, there is literally something for everyone. One word of caution: Do not avoid commentaries on subjects in which you now have little (if any) interest. You may well find them to be the most informative as well as most enjoyable to read...no matter which ones they may be. Congratulations again to Cowley for another commendable achievement.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but wish for more...
Review: Some of the earlier chapter's were well written and very intriguing, such as "What if Jesus Had Lived?" and "China's exploration carried further". However some of it wasn't all to interesting such as "What if Hitler had lived?", to sum it up as the book says, it wouldn't matter, bleah! It is still worth it if you liked the first book that they did. However if you're not much of an alternative history nut to begin with, don't bother.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but wish for more...
Review: Some of the earlier chapter's were well written and very intriguing, such as "What if Jesus Had Lived?" and "China's exploration carried further". However some of it wasn't all to interesting such as "What if Hitler had lived?", to sum it up as the book says, it wouldn't matter, bleah! It is still worth it if you liked the first book that they did. However if you're not much of an alternative history nut to begin with, don't bother.
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