THE WAY IT WASN'T: Great Science Fiction Stories of Alternate History

by Martin H.--Ed. Greenberg ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1996

Alternate-world yarns exert an endless fascination: for one, because other worlds are scientifically respectable (modern particle theory admits the possibility); for another, the godlike power offered by historical what-ifs (for instance, what-if the Nazis had won WW II? Or what-if Christ had never been born? Examples of both are to be found here). Anyhow, these 14 tales, 1968-92, include several famous entries. Fritz Leiber's waggish ""Catch That Zeppelin!"" features Hitler as an airship salesman. In Kim Stanley Robinson's ""The Lucky Strike,"" the atom-bombing of Japan doesn't go exactly as planned. And Eisenhower plays clarinet with Louis Armstrong while Senator E.A. Presley applauds, in Howard Waldrop's amusing ""Ike at the Mike.

Pub Date: April 1, 1996

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 405

Publisher: Citadel/Carol

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1996

Categories: FICTION