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Alternative Histories: Eleven Stories of the World as It Might Have Been
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363 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1986
9 people want to read
About the author
Charles G. Waugh
225 books12 followersCharles Gordon Waugh was born in Philadelphia, PA, in 1943.
He has published over 261 books, most of which are SF, fantasy, or horror anthologies and he has taught at Syracuse University, Ithaca College, Kent State University, and the University of Maine at Augusta.
Waugh is known primarily as a co-editor (with Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg) of the “Mammoth Book” series of genre anthologies.
He has published over 261 books, most of which are SF, fantasy, or horror anthologies and he has taught at Syracuse University, Ithaca College, Kent State University, and the University of Maine at Augusta.
Waugh is known primarily as a co-editor (with Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg) of the “Mammoth Book” series of genre anthologies.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 29, 2016
I started reading this book because I needed to learn the genre, in case I should need a touch of it for my current novel. I may, but if I do, I'll look to the likes of A Christmas Carol, or It's A Wonderful Life, which are essentially of the same genre. The first is a story of what Scrooge's life would be like if he doesn't change. In essence, he creates an alternate history by changing, as his dream advises. In the latter, George Bailey witnesses an alternate history of his town if he hadn't been born. They're both inventive and useful (if not life-affirming) exercises, if nothing else. Maybe I'll write each of those some time, just as morning pages.
By the way, an excellent example of this is Ray Bradbury's "A Sound of Thunder," which is the genesis of the phrase "the butterfly effect." In this one, a hunter goes back to the Jurassic--via a time machine and a company that brings you back, tracks a dinosaur that's about to die soon anyway, and puts a red mark on it so you know what to shoot. The catch: Do not step off a hovering path they lay out. If you do, you may step on a plant that was supposed to feed the animals that were a descendant of present-day buffalo, which supplied everything for many Native Americans...you get the idea. (That was my example.) So of course the guy steps off the path and steps on a butterfly. They return to their present that is now very different...Very worth your time.
Anyway, the eleven stories here are largely unimpressive. Mostly they're not stories; they're an actual history--like from a dossier, or a history book--of what would've happened if Benjamin Franklin had created the steam engine (there'd be flying machines in the Civil War and Crazy Horse would've flown them for the different U.S.) or if the French Revolution had ended differently. You get the idea. The complaint here is that most of them weren't stories; they were inventive--and sometimes over-inflated--histories told too factually that seemed of interest to the writer, but weren't to me. There just wasn't story. Seven of them struck me this way--7 out of 11. That's too many. And they were so long that I just skimmed them.
The better ones had story. A plot. For example, Napoleon is your irritated, and irritating, next-door neighbor. You feel bad for him because he's dying, and because he's unhappy that he hadn't climbed to a higher position than lowly lieutenant in the French army: "The Curfew Tolls." Or, you're the bomber pilot who doesn't drop the bomb on Hiroshima. You get tried for treason. Can you convince them you did the right thing? That's the best one: "The Lucky Strike." Or, the South wins the Civil War. The North stays the same, but the south is taken over by the suddenly-free slaves. But they fight amongst themselves, can't agree on a universal language from Africa (because they came from so many different countries and tribes), and the south falls to shambles and is about to be attacked again by the north. And the story starts with a Silent so crazed with his life that he literally beats his head against the wall nine times before he dies. Now that's a story! The very good "Hush My Mouth." There are some good parts of one or two more, but...
So this one should mostly be a pass, though the ones I liked I liked so much that you may want to check this out of your library and peruse the ones I recommend. It's a different genre; but some of the stories in this book are better thought about than read. But the ones I liked were very good.
By the way, an excellent example of this is Ray Bradbury's "A Sound of Thunder," which is the genesis of the phrase "the butterfly effect." In this one, a hunter goes back to the Jurassic--via a time machine and a company that brings you back, tracks a dinosaur that's about to die soon anyway, and puts a red mark on it so you know what to shoot. The catch: Do not step off a hovering path they lay out. If you do, you may step on a plant that was supposed to feed the animals that were a descendant of present-day buffalo, which supplied everything for many Native Americans...you get the idea. (That was my example.) So of course the guy steps off the path and steps on a butterfly. They return to their present that is now very different...Very worth your time.
Anyway, the eleven stories here are largely unimpressive. Mostly they're not stories; they're an actual history--like from a dossier, or a history book--of what would've happened if Benjamin Franklin had created the steam engine (there'd be flying machines in the Civil War and Crazy Horse would've flown them for the different U.S.) or if the French Revolution had ended differently. You get the idea. The complaint here is that most of them weren't stories; they were inventive--and sometimes over-inflated--histories told too factually that seemed of interest to the writer, but weren't to me. There just wasn't story. Seven of them struck me this way--7 out of 11. That's too many. And they were so long that I just skimmed them.
The better ones had story. A plot. For example, Napoleon is your irritated, and irritating, next-door neighbor. You feel bad for him because he's dying, and because he's unhappy that he hadn't climbed to a higher position than lowly lieutenant in the French army: "The Curfew Tolls." Or, you're the bomber pilot who doesn't drop the bomb on Hiroshima. You get tried for treason. Can you convince them you did the right thing? That's the best one: "The Lucky Strike." Or, the South wins the Civil War. The North stays the same, but the south is taken over by the suddenly-free slaves. But they fight amongst themselves, can't agree on a universal language from Africa (because they came from so many different countries and tribes), and the south falls to shambles and is about to be attacked again by the north. And the story starts with a Silent so crazed with his life that he literally beats his head against the wall nine times before he dies. Now that's a story! The very good "Hush My Mouth." There are some good parts of one or two more, but...
So this one should mostly be a pass, though the ones I liked I liked so much that you may want to check this out of your library and peruse the ones I recommend. It's a different genre; but some of the stories in this book are better thought about than read. But the ones I liked were very good.
February 27, 2015
It wasn't quite what I expected but it was interesting nonetheless. If I can get through a book, or in this case a collection of short stories, it is going to get at least three stars. I wouldn't read this again, but if you are a fan of speculative fiction, pick and choose some of the stories that pique your interest because several of them are quite good.
September 25, 2025
Reading this is nothing but a thankless chore. There were only two good stories. The others were too long, or too complicated or too preachy. What a bore!
Selections:
* "Hands Off" by Edward Everrett Hale. This wasn't science fiction. This was a minister jacking off. That two dogs are killed without a care is nauseating. He writes of one dog that he was so ugly, who would love him? I do, you fucker Hale.
* "Delenda Est" by Poul Anderson. Long, complicated Time Patrol story that fizzled out in the end. Two dogs get killed in this one, too.
* "The Wheels of If" by L. Sprague de Camp. I'm really tired of L. Sprague de Camp. He's vastly overrated. This alternate universe/alternative history monstrosity goes on forever. I couldn't follow about a third of it, and really didn't care. I finally gave up and skimmed. At least no dogs were killed.
* "In the Circle of Nowhere" by Irving E. Cox, Jr. A white guy writing about Native Americans and slavery. Oh, joy. At least it's short.
* "The Lady Margaret" by Keith Roberts. The best story by far. An alternative England, where the Roman Empire never fell and Popes are Emporers, restricts technology so that steam is king in the 20th century. WARNING: AT least seven horses and a "large ape" is killed.
* "He Walked Around the Horses" by H. Beam Piper. This story is like a bad penny -- it keeps turning up in anthologies, despite the fact that it sucks.
* "Custer's Last Jump" by Steven Utley and Howard Waldrop. This "story" has four very long parts and a BIBLIOGRAPHY. All of the parts, including the bibliography, are from an alternate universe where aircraft was developed by the time of the American Civil War. One author noted in the bibliography was L. Sprague de Camp, which I suppose was the inspiration for this tedious, repetative mess. WARNING: Thousands, if not millions, of people and animals die.
* "The Curfew Tolls" by Stephen Vincent Benet. A story in the form of letters to a sister. Oh, joy. An alternative Napoleon, who is basically a failure in the military. Compared to the preceeding stories, this one is quite short.
* "Hush My Mouth" by Suzette Haden Elgin. The most interesting story -- a cult develops in the black South where all white people have died.
* "Interurban Queen" by R. A. Lafferty. Interurban = trolleys. I'm no fan of cars or big cities, but Lafferty is insufferable as he preaches against cars or big cities. One of his worst stories.
* "The Lucky Strike" by Kim Stanley Robinson. Interesting for about ten pages, then you just want Robinson to wrap this fucker up.
* "Afterward: Aliohistory in Science Fiction" by Barton C. Hacker and Gordon B. Chamberlain. Stupid essay IN TWO PARTS with a bibliography that is longer than a couple of the included stories. Don't even bother. It begins in French -- and isn't translated. The essay also assumes that one form of alternative history story is vastly superior to the others. AND it also assumes you've read every sci-fi and fantasy story and novel ever written. Fuck that.
Selections:
* "Hands Off" by Edward Everrett Hale. This wasn't science fiction. This was a minister jacking off. That two dogs are killed without a care is nauseating. He writes of one dog that he was so ugly, who would love him? I do, you fucker Hale.
* "Delenda Est" by Poul Anderson. Long, complicated Time Patrol story that fizzled out in the end. Two dogs get killed in this one, too.
* "The Wheels of If" by L. Sprague de Camp. I'm really tired of L. Sprague de Camp. He's vastly overrated. This alternate universe/alternative history monstrosity goes on forever. I couldn't follow about a third of it, and really didn't care. I finally gave up and skimmed. At least no dogs were killed.
* "In the Circle of Nowhere" by Irving E. Cox, Jr. A white guy writing about Native Americans and slavery. Oh, joy. At least it's short.
* "The Lady Margaret" by Keith Roberts. The best story by far. An alternative England, where the Roman Empire never fell and Popes are Emporers, restricts technology so that steam is king in the 20th century. WARNING: AT least seven horses and a "large ape" is killed.
* "He Walked Around the Horses" by H. Beam Piper. This story is like a bad penny -- it keeps turning up in anthologies, despite the fact that it sucks.
* "Custer's Last Jump" by Steven Utley and Howard Waldrop. This "story" has four very long parts and a BIBLIOGRAPHY. All of the parts, including the bibliography, are from an alternate universe where aircraft was developed by the time of the American Civil War. One author noted in the bibliography was L. Sprague de Camp, which I suppose was the inspiration for this tedious, repetative mess. WARNING: Thousands, if not millions, of people and animals die.
* "The Curfew Tolls" by Stephen Vincent Benet. A story in the form of letters to a sister. Oh, joy. An alternative Napoleon, who is basically a failure in the military. Compared to the preceeding stories, this one is quite short.
* "Hush My Mouth" by Suzette Haden Elgin. The most interesting story -- a cult develops in the black South where all white people have died.
* "Interurban Queen" by R. A. Lafferty. Interurban = trolleys. I'm no fan of cars or big cities, but Lafferty is insufferable as he preaches against cars or big cities. One of his worst stories.
* "The Lucky Strike" by Kim Stanley Robinson. Interesting for about ten pages, then you just want Robinson to wrap this fucker up.
* "Afterward: Aliohistory in Science Fiction" by Barton C. Hacker and Gordon B. Chamberlain. Stupid essay IN TWO PARTS with a bibliography that is longer than a couple of the included stories. Don't even bother. It begins in French -- and isn't translated. The essay also assumes that one form of alternative history story is vastly superior to the others. AND it also assumes you've read every sci-fi and fantasy story and novel ever written. Fuck that.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews