What If? 2

Unabridged
Author: Geoffrey C. Ward , Caleb Carr , Lance Morrow , Cecelia Holland
Narrator: Murphy Guyer
Genres: History
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Date: December 2008
Length: 6 hours
Ratings:
Formats:
  • CD

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Overview

There is no surer way to feel the danger or the good fortune of our collective past than to contemplate those moments when the world's future hung in the balance. Our brightest historians speculate on some of these intriguing crossroads and the ways in which our lives might have been changed for the better -- or the worse.

These unabridged essays range across the full span of history. Geoffrey Parker describes ramifications that might have included a divided Reformation movement, a strengthened Catholic leadership, and no European settlements in the Americas. And Caleb Carr argues that we could have been spared the horrific last six months of World War II in Europe if Eisenhower had seized his chance to destroy the Nazis in the fall of 1944.

This all-star list of award-winning and bestselling authors includes Lance Morrow, Andrew Roberts, Cecelia Holland, Theodore F. Cook and others.

Selected Reviews

What If: Fascinating!

by Ward Kelly
  • Book Rating: 4/5

Fascinating

by Julie Ames
  • Book Rating: 3/5

More...

Read All 11

Reviews (11)

What If: Fascinating!

Written by Ward Kelly on August 17th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 4/5

This book was very interesting. It takes key points in history and speculates what would have happened had their been a change at a pivotal point. The book gives lots of historical groundwork for each event, and then takes us down unexpected paths while painting a picture of what the world might have been. Some of the excerpts were: Pontius Pilate spares Jesus, Repulse of Hastings, Chinese discovery of the new world, Martin Luther burns at the stake, The luck of Franklin (Roosevelt), Prime Minister Halifax (rather than Churchill), VE Day Nov 11 1944, No Bomb: no end, A tale of three congressmen (Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy) and What if Pizarro hadn't found potatoes. My favorite was No Bomb: No end. It paints a very stark picture of what would have been had we invaded Japan. Very worthwhile read.

Fascinating

Written by Julie Ames on September 26th, 2007

  • Book Rating: 3/5

I enjoyed this book, but the premise of "What If" got a bit old after a while. Nevertheless, fascinating detail of historical events, and a very thought provoking set of events. If you love history, have the patience and enjoy the premise, you will very much enjoy this book. The narrator was quite pleasant to listen to.

Great alternate history.

Written by Rick White on August 30th, 2007

  • Book Rating: 4/5

If you are unfamiliar with alternate history / counter factuals this is an excellent beginning, the Christ tale was ok the rest of the book was great, the last chapter regarding potatoes was very interesting. The performance was good and kept me engaged , as a fan of this genre the stories were consistent with what could have really happened , no extreme possibilities just what could have reasonably been. A delight for the mind and imagination.

if you like history...

Written by Scott Ciccarelli from Albuquerque, NM on January 5th, 2007

  • Book Rating: 4/5

I love learning about history, especially obscure stuff-like the impact of the potatoe on the world. Awesome. If you enjoy history, I think you would like this book. It's true occasionally, the authors does not spend enough time on the What If? question,( I mean it is a What If? book, right?) but on the whole I think it's very entertaining. My only major problem is that the book was abridged when it was listed as unabridged. Kinda lame.

Horrible

Written by Anonymous from Colton, NY on September 17th, 2005

  • Book Rating: 1/5

I only listened to the first CD , I can't believe it would have gotten better. Faulty conclusions and suppositions, based on hot air. Anyone could waste a life on what if's.

Interesting but generally boring

Written by Dan Pressley from Fort Worth, TX on June 27th, 2005

  • Book Rating: 3/5

Several times I almost just turned off this book. It dragged mostly and I found myself very bored. There were some interesting views on historical events but they were long-winded and could have been done in outline format instead. Get this only if you are a historical event fanatic.

What If

Written by Anonymous on June 1st, 2005

  • Book Rating: 1/5

Horrible. Do not get this book. The facts could not be more obscure and the events less relevent to all but the most die-hard history buffs. I stopped after the first two discs. I was dissapointed that I could not give this a rating of less than 1 star.

Interesting, but long winded.

Written by Anonymous from Boyce, VA on April 3rd, 2005

  • Book Rating: 3/5

Interesting book. I enjoyed the historical aspect of the book. However, the "What If" part would drag on too long for my taste. At the start of each historical item, I found the topic very interesting and the possibility of alternate outcomes perplexing. However, after 20 minutes of listening to the author's ideas, I got bored with being guided through the possiblities. There is a lot of "What If's", but if something happened different in history, there are so many ways it could have turned out. Interesting to think about, but at some point you think... "Well. It did happen the way it happened so let's move on."

What if? 2

Written by Lombard Rice from Sacramento, CA on March 4th, 2005

  • Book Rating: 1/5

Book 1 may have been good, but this was so bad that I did not finish it. The author is not logical in his approach, and devotes too much time to what DID happen and thus short-changes what MIGHT HAVE happened.

Better than part 1 and a good audio book

Written by nottelling from COLLEGEVILLE, PA on December 22nd, 2004

  • Book Rating: 4/5

This book is better than part one, because it's not as focussed on military history. For instance, it tells what might have happened had the potato not been brought to Europe from Peru. Good book for the highways.

Selected Reviews

What If: Fascinating!

by Ward Kelly
  • Book Rating: 4/5

Fascinating

by Julie Ames
  • Book Rating: 3/5

More...

Read All 11

Author Details

Author Details

Carr, Caleb

"Caleb Carr was born in Manhattan and grew up on the Lower East Side, where he still lives. In addition to fiction, Mr. Carr writes frequently on military and political affairs. He is the series editor of the Modern Library War Series, and is a contributing editor of MHQ. He has also worked in television, film, and the theater."