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

Collective work

Historians and philosophers alike have pondered the crucial turning points of history-events that forever altered the course of civilization, and set the stage for the world in which we live today. In these essays, some of the most respected minds of our time ask the question "What If..."

- George Washington had never made his miraculous escape from the British on Long Island in the dawn of August 29, 1776?

- A Confederate aide hadn't accidentally lost General Robert E. Lee's plans for invading the North?

- Alexander the Great had been slain in battle, instead of saved at the last instant by a loyal bodyguard?

- The Allied invasion on D-Day had failed?

- The Mongols had succeeded in conquering Europe?

Both fascinating and frightening, What If? offers in-depth reflections on the monumental events of the past, and amazing speculations as to what our world might be like had things gone differently in that one singular moment in time.

"Fascinating and provocative."- New York Times Book Review

"The book of the year for any history lover."-Kirkus Reviews

"Counter-factual supposes, would-haves, might-haves, could-haves, possiblys, perhapses, probablys and maybes, in all their dizzying permutations."-Time

"Consistently well-drawn, these scenarios open intellectual as well as imaginative doors."-Publishers Weekly

"Great Fun."-Entertainment Weekly

"A captivating display of historical imagination, What If? takes us through 2,500 years of close squeaks and narrow misses."-C. Vann Woodward, Sterling Professor of History Emeritus, Yale University

What If? includes contributions by:

Stephen E. Ambrose
Caleb Carr
James Chace
Theodore F. Cook, Jr.
Robert Cowley
Thomas Fleming
David Fromkin
Ira D. Gruber
Victor Davis Hanson
Ross Hassig
Cecilia Holland
Alistair Horne
John Keegan
Lewis H. Lapham
David Clay Large
David Mccullough
William H. McNeill
James M. Mcpherson
Ted Morgan
Williamson Murray
Josiah Ober
Robert L. O'Connell
Geoffrey Parker
Peter Pierson
Barbara N. Porter
Theodore K. Rabb
Elihu Rose
Stephen W. Sears
Dennis E. Showalter
Barry S. Strauss
Arthur Waldron
Tom Wicker