Alternate Gettysburgs

By: Brian and Martin H. Greenberg (editors) Thomsen

Book Overview

Gettysburg is one of the most crucial battles in American history. But what if it had turned out differently? In this collection, today's most popular writers of alternate history look at that... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0739426427
• ISBN13: 9780739426425
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Berkley Books
• Length: 342 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.

Customer Reviews

It's a collection and like all collections...

...it suffers from the fact that it was written by a dozen different authors. Some are very good, most are decent. Two are awful. The gimmick in this alternative history is, of course, 'What if the Battle of Gettysburg had turned out differently?' It is inspired by this Faulkner quote: 'For every Southern boy fourteen years old, not once but whenever he wants it, there is the instant when it's still not yet two oclock on that July afternoon in 1863, the brigades are in position behind the rail fence, the guns are laid and ready in the woods and the furled flags are already loosened to break out and Pickett himself with his long oiled ringlets and his hat in one hand probably and his sword in the other looking up the hill waiting for Longstreet to give the word and it's all in the balance, it hasn't happened yet, it hasn't even begun yet, it not only hasn't begun yet but there is stll time for it not to begin against that position and those circumstances which made more men than Garnett and Kemper and Armstead and Wilcox look grave yet it's going to begin, we all know that, we have come too far with too much at stake and that moment doesn't need even a fourteen-year-old boy to think This time. Maybe this time with all this much to lose and all this much to gain: Pennsylvania, Maryland, the world, the golden dome of Washington itself to crown with desperate and unbelievable victory the desperate gamble...' Is it worth reading? If you're a Civil War buff and don't mind 'slumming' by reading an alternative history rather than a normal history book - yes it is worth your time. Personally, I don't think of it is as slumming - I think of it as nice little foray into what-may-have-been. However, alternative histories are often looked down on by more than a few serious readers of history. I would recommend if you are not very familiar with the facts of the Civil War and general and the Battle of Gettysburg in particular that you read the Appendix (the last section) first - included are the 'Gettysburg Address', three good short histories of the war and the battle and one interesting essay(controversial, but also my favortite) that tells you why the Confederacy never could have won anyway, no matter the outcome of the battle.

What might have happened on Cemetery Hill ?

Counterfactual history, often poohed by academicians, is a popular topic for story - tellers, and the American Civil War one of the popular historic topics for writers of all specializations. And what is more popular then speculating, what might have happened, if alternate decisions during Gettysburg Campaign had produced a different outcome ? How might a different the outcome have affected American history, or even the fate of the world, if the South had been victorious in these crucial three days in summer 1863 ? Or what else could have happened in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania ?The editors have charged a dozen-odd writers of different background to think and write with these questions in mind. Some of the stories stay in the realm of counterfactual history and point to the fact, that only a few different decisions or developments may well have altered the whole course of events. For anybody interested in military history, these chapters - like well known military writer Harold Coyle's "Sedwick's Charge" or Doug Allyn's Custer's First Stand - will attract attention, as well as the concluding essays, which investigate the potential for alternate developments during the Gettysburg Campaign and beyond this narrow window over the whole war. Of the more fictional and literary stories, one explores the impact of a completely different Gettysburg Address, another one muses about the murder of Abraham Lincoln and even touch the realm of science fiction in a piece about how powerful contemporary events may interact and even change century old historic facts. This one certainly one of the best pieces of the volume, the overall quality is varying strongly from excellent reading stuff over intriguing essays on alternate history to some outright dull and uninspired texts.All together, "Alternate Gettysburgs" is a recommendable addition to any wargamer's or civil war buff's library, a good companion for week-end trip to the Battlefield Park or just an occasional dip into what is the arguably most covered and researched conflict in human history.

What if the Confederates won the Battle of Gettysburg?

It is not surprising that alternative history stories about the United States are intrigued by the possibilities offered by the Civil War, or that the Battle of Gettysburg is the focal point of such speculations, or that Pickett's charge is most often considered as the pivotal moment. I remember watching war gamers playing out the Battle of Gettysburg on an immense map, and, of course, those playing the Confederates immediately took the high group on Culps Hill, Cemetery Ridge, and the Round Tops and tried to slaughter the Army of the Potomac as it arrived upon the scene. "Alternate: Gettysburgs" is an uneven collection of short stories and essays focusing on various visions of what might have been with a key change here or there. Actually, few of the stories deal with Pickett's charge, but it is clearly the pivotal event of the battle. Harold Coyle does a reversal by having the charge abandoned and having the Federals try "Sedgwick's Charge" instead. Doug Allyn's "Custer's First Stand" has the flamboyant cavalry officer making a foolish mistake in trying to stop Jeb Stuart from attacking the Union rear during the charge. Probably the oddest story in the collection, with its combination of history and science fiction, William H. Keith, Jr.'s "In the Bubble" takes wargaming to its ultimate level. "The High-Water Mark" by Brendan DuBois tweaks history a bit to turn the Civil War into a World War. Most of the stories include afterwords from the authors explaining their points of departure from history.Two of the stories deal with the Gettysburg Address. "The Blood of the Fallen" by James M. Reasoner has Lincoln giving a different speech at the dedication of the National Cemetery because in this alternative world his son Tad dies from his fever. I especially liked Kristine Kathryn Rusch's "Well-Chosen Words," because as a rhetorician I appreciate her point that the Gettyburg Address might be Lincoln's most famous speech but he gave another one of equal importance (both of which, I should note, are etched in marble on opposite ends of the Lincoln Memorial). Other stories are set in the alternative future of a world in which the Confederacy won the Civil War. Simon Hawke's "A Gun for Johnny Reb," is one of the few to try and ground the alterations in something beyond wishful hoping, offering a more realistic version of Turtledove's novel "The Guns of the South." Certainly there are hits and misses throughout the book, but surely there are enough intriguing tales to make reading this book worthwhile for Civil War buffs.Ironically, the best part of the book for me was the closing essay by William R. Fortschen, "Lee's Victory at Gettysburg...And Then What?" which throws cold water on the idea that a Confederate victory then and there would have changed the outcome of the war. Fortschen argues that a Confederate victory on the second day would have been more probable (suggesting that a 15 minute break to fill empty canteens with water would ha

Interesting collection of short stories

This book of short stories explores Gettysburg from a fictional standpoint. For example, one story asks "what would have happened if Longstreet called off Picket's charge and then, sensing an opportunity, Union General Sedgewick mounted an attack?" The stories range from total flights of fancy to more subtle alternate outcomes. Interestingly, not all altenative outcomes are of a Confederate victory. There are some stories that examine what would have happened if the Union victory had been more decisive, i.e., if Meade had pursued the retreating Lee and destroyed Lee's army.Two stories look at Lincoln's Gettysburg address. One of the stories looks at what would have been the implications if Lincoln had given a very different speech than the one he actually delivered and the other looks at the speech from the perspective of a Union victory so decisive that the war was virtualy ended.There are a couple of futuristic stories. One takes place in the future in a South that is separate from the United States and has draconian racial codes. In this story a boxing bout takes place between a black fighter and a white one. The other futuristic story is about battle simulators, who, through incredibly realistic technology, do virtual recreations. The book concludes with an appendix of several essays. All in all, though somewaht uneven, this is an interesting book for Civil War enthusiasts