In Another America: Views and Reviews of Alternate Histories for the USA in the 17th-20th Centuries

by Alexander Rooksmoor

To what extent were many of the things we know about the USA always destined to be the case? Were there alternatives to it being a superpower of 50 states with a democratic system and speaking English? ‘In Another America’ looks at points in the history of the USA, and the wider world, when a different path could have been taken, altering the American outcomes that we know. It reviews and draws upon a wide range of writing on these issues to address a numerous questions. How different would the USA been if the Dutch colonies had survived; if the French had become the dominant power in North America; the British had won the War of Independence or the Confederacy the American Civil War? What differences would there have been if Mexico had held more of its lands; if Texas had remained independent or the states of Deseret and Sequoyah had been established? What would have been the consequences of Prohibition not being introduced; the USA invading Cuba in 1962 or sitting on the sidelines while a nuclear war raged between China and the USSR in 1971? How different would history have been if Henry Clay had been elected President in 1844 or Charles Hughes in 1916; if Theodore Roosevelt had been re-elected in 1912; if Franklin Roosevelt had been limited to two terms or if John or Robert Kennedy had not been assassinated? ‘In Another America’ considers these and other possible alternatives. It is sure to stimulate your interest and debate in different outcomes of history to the ones we have known.

In Another America’ is closest in style to the ‘what if?’ collections edited by Peter Tsouras, Robert Crowley, Duncan Brack, Niall Ferguson and Andrew Roberts. It draws on Alexander Rooksmoor’s two decades researching and teaching history and uses the analysis and debate into counter-factuals discussed down the years. It looks at both the detailed changes that could have occurred as well as much broader potential outcomes. This is a book that will fascinate anyone with an interest in how the USA we know developed and in how a wide range of authors, some now quite obscure, have viewed the potential alternatives.

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 19, 2014

Reviews

[Thomas Kienholz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grammatical errors

Numerous grammatical errors detract from what would otherwise be a solid book. Without them, I would've rated the book probably 4 stars.