I was going to say Rasputin,
But from what I've read,
his personal hygene was terrible, though he also engaged in rampant sex with St Petersburg's elite and poor.

I am curious though, to see evidence of his charasmatic personality, and try to figure out why he appealed to so many people.

And he died as king, in his own bed! For a Stuart, quite an achievement.

Ted -- love your choice! I agree -- without the reading Gaol bit, re: Oscar Wilde. And Bosie really did turn nasty towards him later, as I recall.

Would Charles II fit the wanton sex requirement?

I can't decide between Giacomo Casanova or Oscar Wilde (without the Reading Gaol bit). Someone who had lots of wanton sex.

Marco Polo - to find out whether he really was an explorer.

Neil Armstrong - did he walk on the Moon?

Jim wrote: " read 1st chapter of Part 2 of War and Peace's Epilogue to get Tolstoy's view on why individuals don't cause history to happen
very interesting and persuasive to me"

Really enjoyed War and Peace, but he does get a bit repetative regarding his ideas of Hx and it's causes in the epilogue. Made sense to me though...but he does go on a bit.

read 1st chapter of Part 2 of War and Peace's Epilogue to get Tolstoy's view on why individuals don't cause history to happen
very interesting and persuasive to me

Yes, those are the books I have, James: What Ifs? 2 and What Ifs? of American History.

The American one was the first book I read after my stroke, and was a great choice. The essays were short enough that I was able to hold the chain of thought necessary to read and understand them. Tried a whole book at that time and just couldn't do it. I think my favorite essay in that book is the one on how the Cold War got "hot" in the Cuban Missile Crisis.

For me, the alternate history stories are fascinating if they're well done. Harry Turtledove's prose is nothing special, but his background research is deep and thorough and he does a very good job of portraying the ordinary day-to-day lives of people in other times. He also puts a lot of thought into the implications of the changes in events he posits and explores them in detail.
Turtledove has studied the personalities of people who shaped events, too, and often incorporates them as characters, intermingled with fictional characters who wouldn't have been famous but are often leading players in his narratives.

There are also a couple of excellent books titled What If and What If 2, which are collections of essays by military historians on how things might have been caused to turn out differently and where those different outcomes might have led.

There's a series of books called "What Ifs of ..." insert types of history. I have a couple of them. Essays from historians as to what might have happened if something else hadn't have happened. Very interesting.

not interested in what if's -

just think 1 person can't make history happen in the sense of changing history by themselves

a president/dictator can declare war but if no one goes or makes people go, no war

just looking for books on theories of history

There's lots of fantasy novels based on what-if in history. Here's a site that lists a lot of it:
http://www.uchronia.net/
Harry Turtledove is supposed to be one of the better authors of that stuff. I'm not into it, though. I can't believe reality turns out the way it does half the time.

the more I think about Tolstoy's theory of history, the more I think he's right

as for the scientists changing history, history could have just as easily been changed if they hadn't discovered whatever they discovered
even Hitler's parents changed history by having Him - what if they had married someone else -would that have changed history/World war II/the holocaust etc
also if the ArchDuke hadn't been assasinated in 1914 would that have meant no WWI/

anyone know any good books on the philosophy of historical theories?

I've mentioneed elsewhere the idea I once had but didn't pursue of writing a book titled, "What if...." It would have been fun, but maybe too esoteric.

What if Gore had been president during 9-11? I can tell you who I wouldn't want to live life as--W. I just watched the movie. I knew him many years ago; a fairly accurate portrayal, I thought.

That reminds me, Marian, of a quote I think I saw once from Napoleon. I think it was "They never forgave me for not being George Washington."

Usually events roll along in the manner Tolstoy said.
However, there are exceptions and like Jim said, wars can be won or lost by the actions of one person. What if Robert E. Lee had taken the job of commander of the Union forces which Lincoln had offered him? What if the anti-slavery delegates in 1776 had refused a compromise & held out for abolition? What if George Washington had decided that the role of emperor was perfect for him? It's fun going on with this, but I'll stop.

David Liss wrote The Ethical Assassin A Novel, which I read recently. His characters have a conversation about 'who runs things' or creates our history. He says that no one does - we're all just running down a hill (our lives) trying not to get squished by the boulders (events that are pushing us). I don't agree entirely, but often it seems so.

I think there are some people who have changed the course of history tremendously. In the sciences, Newton, Pasteur, Mendel, Einstein all made history changing contributions. I'm not sure, if they hadn't, a contemporary would have. Probably in most cases, but sometimes break throughs could have taken decades or even centuries longer.

Wars are probably where one man's actions are easiest to see a huge effect. What if Napoleon was replaced by someone who used his navy better? A more timid commander was in place of Patton? The events those men made decisions on affected the course of entire civilizations.

I kind of remember that, Jim, but remember disagreeing. I thought then that some people do change history single-handedly. Now, I realize that one person can change many minds, but then they must act and follow for the actions of the one to be significant, and often it is catapulted by the deeds of others. Now I get it; not when I read it. Tough book to read, I remember.

I'm reading WAR AND PEACE in which Tolstoy posits that history is not caused by one person's actions but is the consequence of innumerable actions by innumerable actors.

Tolstoy also writes that historians/individuals look at history as a sequence of individual discrete events when history is actually the result of a continuous convergence of a number of events.
i.e., an individual doesn't change history by himself/herself by individual acts

how do those theories hold up to all of You?

Ever see 'The Butterfly Effect' with Ashton Kuchner? Chilling idea.

Zheng He - to find out whether he sailed around the world or not

Unlike Manuel I don't have the intention to change history because who can garantee me that the world gets a better place through my changes??? But I would love to remember what I saw and learned and heard.

jesse jackson on election night-from martin to barak
coretta scott king
eleanor roosevelt
oops the question is life not just one day or moment
i still like charlemagne
saul had a crazy life
joan of arc
euripides
homer
galileo
madame cure
ingres
magritte
mary cassatt
jung

I wouldn't trade entire lives with anyone; I like my own life too much. For a day? Sure, if I can pick the day.

Obama on the night of the election results. Defintely not Obama the day after the innauguration with all the problems he inherited.

Anthony when he first met Cleopatra.

John Hancock signing the Declaration of Independence.

Anyone in the crowd to hear MLK's "I have a dream" speech.

jim is right.
these deals are always too complicated with some hidden consequence.

so if we get to live as these people, do we get to change history? do we go in remembering what happens on such and such date and the consequences of such and such battle or such and such a marriage?

Do I get to change my mind about attending the play at Ford's theatre? Can I issue an arrest warrant for John Wilkes Booth because I know he is planning to assasinate me?

Can I tell Capt Smith to take a more southerly route and perhaps take extra precautions by sailing more slowly and perhaps posting more lookouts?

Can I warn my relatives to skip their trip to Britain on the Lusitania?

Are we allowed to warn the fleet and make them sail out of Pearl Harbor on Dec 6th?

A day as Hildegard of Bingen so I could hear her original music sung by her Sisters.

A day as Sor Juana de la Cruz when she is writing her love poems.

An evening as Zelda when she & Scott Fitgerald were still young & in love...

Queen Isabella when she's deciding whether she should support Columbus...

I'd like to spend a day or as Eleanor of Aquitaine, and if I had a second day Katherine Swynford, 2 women who had some political influence in a time where women generally did not. If it had to be a life then I would take Katherine Swynfords.

Modern conviences are great, but all is relative and I would like to think that I would give them up for a time to experience "history"

Those genies are tough customers. Like dealing with the Devil.
- A hypochondriac makes a deal to be immortal, then gets sentenced to life without parole.
- Another is an inmate on death row & gets his execution put on hold until he finishes his last meal. He gave the Devil his imagination, so he doesn't die, but just eats his last meal, beans, forever...
- Or a woman wishes her husband back to life but he's already embalmed, so he just screams forever & she goes insane.

No thanks. No deals with genies or the Devil! No living in times when the average life expectancy was younger than I am now, either.

Einstein would be a good candidate. He was smart & seemed like a lot of fun. Clemens & Franklin lived too early, but otherwise they'd both be contenders. Bill Gates? Nah, too famous. It's a tough choice, but I think I'd prefer to be someone in at least the 20th century with a fair amount of money, yet not so rich & famous as to need guards.

Jim, that's disturbing...!

A lot of people I've asked have told me modern amenities trumped any desire to experience life a Napoleon or Julius Caesar or Queen Elizabeth I...

The premise reminds me of an old 'Twilight Zone' or something. A guy finds a genie & wishes to be the leader of a modern country. He winds up being Hitler just before the fall.

I'd want to be a modern person. I like antibiotics, dental care, flush toilets & electric too much to want to go into the past too far.

Just for fun: If a genie appeared to you and said "Okay, you can live the life of any historical person, but you cannot change a thing" who would you opt to be? So, you could be Marie-Antoinette, but sorry, you're still going to have to face the guillotine. Is there someone who's "secrets" you are dying to find out? Would you choose someone who lived a turbulent life, or something a bit tamer? The ordinary, the obscure, the movers and shakers?

Would you answer change if it was just a day versus having to live their whole life?