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OT: any good "what if" historical books?

Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2017 2:29 pm
by gravyface_
Looking for some "deep dives" into the subject. I've seen a couple of Google, but interested in scholarly/historian theoretical books, or a good novel, but prefer the latter.

Like, what if Hitler didn't invade USSR? Or Japan didn't bomb Pearl Harbor, from a political/strategic perspective, and from an operational perspective, what if Germany bypassed Stalingrad or kept pushing for Moscow in '41 like Guderian wanted... etc. etc.

RE: OT: any good "what if" historical books?

Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 12:14 am
by Hairog
How about the World War Three 1946 series by... me [:'(]


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RE: OT: any good "what if" historical books?

Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 12:23 am
by Hairog
Book Two

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RE: OT: any good "what if" historical books?

Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 12:27 am
by Hairog
And Book Three

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RE: OT: any good "what if" historical books?

Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 8:41 am
by gravyface_
Ha amazing. I'll have to check that out. Do you play SC?

RE: OT: any good "what if" historical books?

Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 11:24 am
by Leadwieght
Hi Gravyface,

For some reason, I have Sealion in my mind. Back in the 1950s, C.S. Forrester, of AFRICAN QUEEN and HORATIO HORNBLOWER fame, wrote a longish short story on Sealion, I'll let you guess how he has it turn out. [;)].

There was also a serious alternative history of Sealion, called OPERATION SEALION that came out in the 1970s. Sorry I can't remember the author, dammit! It was interesting because it was written like a Cornelius Ryan WW2 history, complete with fake first-hand accounts and documentation. I read it a long time ago and am trying to find it again.

Not a novel, but extremely interesting is British historian Niall Fergusson's discussion of the "What-ifs of the First World War and how they could have changed what happened afterwards--see the last chapter of THE PITY OF WAR.

There's also the alt-history "What-If" series, which is global in scope, but has some interesting articles about WW2

RE: OT: any good "what if" historical books?

Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 12:38 pm
by BillRunacre
ORIGINAL: gravyface_

Ha amazing. I'll have to check that out. Do you play SC?

Harry not only plays SC, but he's also been working on a mod too:

tm.asp?m=4184302

RE: OT: any good "what if" historical books?

Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 4:52 pm
by sPzAbt653
Not part of your description, but this one might be interesting:
https://hitlertriumphant.wordpress.com/ ... on-sphinx/

RE: OT: any good "what if" historical books?

Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 7:47 pm
by Hairog
ORIGINAL: Bill Runacre

ORIGINAL: gravyface_

Ha amazing. I'll have to check that out. Do you play SC?

Harry not only plays SC, but he's also been working on a mod too:

tm.asp?m=4184302

I do play SC and Bill is is currently kicking my butt while testing PBEM. :)

RE: OT: any good "what if" historical books?

Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 8:33 pm
by gwgardner
You might try the Worldwar series of books by Harrry Turtledove. Definitely alternate WW2, with an alien invasion thrown in. Don't laugh! It's actually pretty good, but the author has the very annoying habit of providing a long synopsis of each previous book in the series.

Newt Gingrich has co-authored some really good alternate histories of the Civil War and The Pacific Theater in WW2, notably
Pearl Harbor: A Novel of December 8th

RE: OT: any good "what if" historical books?

Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 10:56 pm
by zombiewarrior07
It is Sci-Fi, but The Man in the High Castle by Philip K Dick is a very interesting read:

https://www.amazon.com/Man-High-Castle- ... igh+castle

RE: OT: any good "what if" historical books?

Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 10:56 pm
by gravyface_
Thanks fellas. Lots to dig into here.

RE: OT: any good "what if" historical books?

Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 11:26 pm
by Rand6897

I have a book by Showalter and Deutsch (1997): If The Allies Had Fallen, Sixty Alternate Scenarios of WW2.

Released previous as "What If? Strategic Alternatives of WW2".



RE: OT: any good "what if" historical books?

Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2017 12:13 pm
by jakemon
Also not part of your description, but entertaining and informative: Alan Furst's series of early war novels (e.g. Dark Voyage).

RE: OT: any good "what if" historical books?

Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2017 9:06 am
by Leadwieght
Richard Cox OPERATION SEALION