A little alternative History

[Air1 136]

I just finished reading a very good book titled: Refighting The Pacific War, An Alternative History of World War ll. Edited by Jim Bresnahan.

 

Thanks to the military aircraft in FLIGHTand the history of Hawaii in general this book is very throught provoking in deed. So, for you military history buffs like me out there..................

A very interesting ( what if ) question and answer by more than thirty historians, authors, and veterans regarding what happend if events in the Pacific had unforded differenty during WW II. Starting with Pearl Harbor and detailing every island hopping campaign to the end of the war in the Pacific. Things could have been very very different.

So check it out if you are so inclined.

 

Steve A

[HiFlyer 9,358]

I love what ifs and alternative histories! :yahoo:

 

Coincidentally enough, I just this week finished a what if sci-fi story called Weapons Of Choice. (Kindles and IPads rule!) Pretty bizarre but very well thought out and detailed, and a definite popcorn eating page turner, especially now that the series is complete, and all three books published...........

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_of_Time

 

From Publishers Weekly

 

At the start of Australian author Birmingham's stellar debut novel, a United Nations battle group, clustered around the U.S.S. Hillary Clinton (named after "the most uncompromising wartime president in the history of the United States"), is tasked in the year 2021 with stopping ethnic cleansing by an Islamist regime in Indonesia. When an experiment goes horribly wrong on a special ship doing research on wormholes, most of the battle group is deposited in the middle of the U.S. fleet on its way to Midway in 1942. The WWII carriers and supporting vessels attack a Japanese Self-Defense Force ship, triggering devastating computer-operated defensive fire from the 21st-century fleet that cripples the 1942 US fleet, including the USS Hornet and the USS Yorktown. While the action sequences are outstanding, this book really shines in depicting the cultural shock that both navies experience. The Clinton group reflects a multicultural society that finds the racist and sexist attitudes of 1942 America almost as repugnant as those of the Axis powers, while the mere thought of non-whites and women not just serving in uniform but holding command drives many Allied officers and civilian officials apoplectic. The author also subtly shows the ways in which 20-plus years of the War on Terrorism have changed our attitudes. Unlike many alternate histories, the novel avoids the wish-fulfillment aspect inherent in the genre. This is the first of what should be a hugely (and deservedly) successful series.

[Air1 136]

Devon, sci-fi is my thing. I will have to check out that series for sure. Check out the movie "THe Final Countdown" It involves just the opposite situation. The U.S.S. Nimitz is baring down on the Japanese attack group before they hit Pearl Harbor Dec.7th 1941. Have you read Harry Turtledove, he is a master of alternative History. I also like David Weber, Jack McDevit, and Allen Steele for regular si-fi series.

 

Sorry for the OT book reviews, Back to FLIGHT

 

Steve A

[EastCoastGuy 0]

The book The Burning Mountain is a good "what if" scenario too. The premise is that the first Trinity nuclear test failed, and the allies had to proceed with Operation Downfall -- the invasion of Japan.

[n4gix 4,947]

Devon, sci-fi is my thing. I will have to check out that series for sure.

<snipped for brevity>

Have you read Harry Turtledove, he is a master of alternative History. I also like David Weber, Jack McDevit, and Allen Steele for regular si-fi series.

 

As soon as I read the synopsis of the trilogy, I went straight to Amazon to order all three at once, after checking my local libraries for availability. Harry Turtledove's work is phenomenal! You've also listed three of my favorite authors. I really like David Drake and Eric Flint. Eric is a neighbor of mine and we occasionally have a chance to get together to hoist a few.

[HiFlyer 9,358]

I like all of those and have seen the movie several times. Several of the authors you mentioned also have walk-ons as characters in the book, in a sort of Homage by the author to other authors who influenced him.

• Harry Turtledove, one of the most prominent alternate history authors, appears as "Commander Turtletaub", an aide to FDR. Turtledove has on occasion used the name 'H. N. Turteltaub' as an alternate pseudonym for his works. References to Turtledove's WorldWar series also appear.
  
• S.M. Stirling and Eric Flint, also alternate history authors, were tuckerized as Secret Service agents.
  
• "Lieutenant Matt Reilly - Australian thriller writer. Meteorology Officer, USS Leyte Gulf. Redshirted.
  
• Garth Nix, Dale Brown, Tom Clancy and Stephen Euin Cobb - thriller writers appearing as counterboarding specialists aboard USS Leyte Gulf.
  
• "Captain Harry Windsor" - a SAS officer sometimes referred to as "Prince Harry". Prince Harry of the United Kingdom, grandson of Queen Elizabeth II.
  

[Air1 136]

Thanks guys, like i'm not far enough behind with my reading already thanks to FLIGHT and this forum. Now I have to go find all these books. Operation Downfall what if is really covered well in Refighting the Pacific War.

 

Steve A

[RichLP 32]

Japanese access to the raw materials and, most critically, oil, had been completely removed long before the bombs were ever dropped. An invasion of Japan would have been extremely costly, and in the larger picture, relatively unnecessary, at least in any short period of time. Conventional bombing could have accomplished the same, inevitable, end... just nowhere near as quickly.

 

That being said... you mess with the bull, you get the horns! ; )

[HiFlyer 9,358]

The author of the Axis of time trilogy (henceforth known as World-war 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3 respectively) Is continuing the series ten years after the events of the final book. The novel will be called Stalin's Hammer. (henceforth referred to as World War 3.0)

[EastCoastGuy 0]

Speaking of alternative "history," I had some history-challenged person in-game once loudly proclaim that the P-51 was never used in the Pacific in WWII, and anyone who says otherwise is a liar.

 

Sigh... :Loser:

 

I pointed him to the Wikipedia article for a overview. http://en.wikipedia....Pacific_Theatre

 

Education -- what a concept.

[Jayjay 62]

I just finished reading a very good book titled: Refighting The Pacific War, An Alternative History of World War ll. Edited by Jim Bresnahan.

 

Thanks to the military aircraft in FLIGHTand the history of Hawaii in general this book is very throught provoking in deed. So, for you military history buffs like me out there..................

A very interesting ( what if ) question and answer by more than thirty historians, authors, and veterans regarding what happend if events in the Pacific had unforded differenty during WW II. Starting with Pearl Harbor and detailing every island hopping campaign to the end of the war in the Pacific. Things could have been very very different.

So check it out if you are so inclined.

 

Steve A

 

Steve,

You might also be interested in Ian Kershaw's book "Fatefull choices. Ten decisions that Changed the World, 1940-1941" Every decision described is deeply analyzed and the author also discusses the feasibility and consequences of alternative decisions.

 

Jean-Jacques